Thursday, November 15, 2007

Do jobs determine our sense of self?

From Robert Rubin's In An Uncertain World:

People who are heavily dependent on a job for their sense of self become hostage to the job and to those who have power over them. Some one whose identity is not job-dependent, on the other hand, has the ability to walk away, which creates a sense of psychological independence. (p. 319)

Are these people more the exception than the norm? Perhaps on Wall Street where there are a number of high performers this may be true, but I think for a lot people, a job is mostly just a way to pay the bills. And for the other lot of people it's both - the job has its enriching parts but for the most part it is also a way to pay the bills.

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