What Is The Value Of Life, Pt. 4: Work

Summary: Imagine yourself in a scenario you’ve likely experienced multiple times before: you’re at a party, a meeting, or some other type of social gathering where you don’t already know everyone there. As you’re standing around the coffee pot or waiting in line for some handout, the person next to you extends their hand and says, “I’m Harold Enterprise, the CEO of Harold’s, Inc.” How do you respond? In most cases, you tell them your name and your occupation, or at least your title within the organization that employs you. This is a common social exchange all across what we might consider the industrialized portions of the world. We introduce ourselves with what we consider the most critical pieces of information: who we are, and what makes us valuable. Granted, we may not always respond with something work-related. If I’m at the salon, where Kat is a dominant figure, I’m more likely to say something like, “I’m charles, Kat’s nesting partner.” Why? Because my relationship with Kat is what establishes my value in that situation. There is an unspoken yet recognized need to establish what makes us worthwhile, why someone should talk with us, or why this new person we’ve met would want to engage with us on any level. What’s interesting is that, depending on the situation, we’re willing to sacrifice our morals, to answer with something other than the truth, if we think doing so provides a level of benefit. For instance, in my initial example, Mr. Enterprise introduces himself as the CEO of his company, a company named after himself. Whether you recognize the name of the company is irrelevant because it’s the presumed fact that he is a CEO, Chief Executive Officer, and that establishes his value. But what if Harold is actually a self-employed contractor who cleans other people’s offices and mops floors for a living? If we saw him performing his actual duties, we might think, “Ah, he’s just the janitor. He only said he was a CEO to over-inflate his value.” Yet, in some arguments, we’re all the CEO of our own lives, so how is Harold’s false? After all, he didn’t say what Harold’s, Inc. does. As a private contractor, he could well have created a corporation or limited liability company (LLC) for tax purposes. Yet, if he had said, “Hi, I’m Harold and I’m a janitor,” that would have likely changed our perception and, perhaps most importantly, our valuation of him. Unless we’re at an event designed specifically for janitors, we’re less likely to want to strike up a conversation with the janitor than we might a CEO. How people perceive what we do and the importance of its role in society influences how our lives are valued. This is a critical part of our identity. Studies have repeatedly shown that losing our jobs <a href="https://www.hcbh.org/blog/posts/2020/september/suicide-risk-after-a-job-loss-how-to-recognize-the-warning-signs-and-what-you-can-do-to-help/#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20there%20are%20132,day%20in%20the%20United%20States.&text=For%20those%20people%20experiencing%20these,can%20increase%20risk%20of%20suicide.">increases the risk of suicide</a>, regardless of age, gender, or level of education. Losing our jobs is about more than losing an income, though that’s certainly important. Being unemployed strips us of a sense of identity. If Harold suddenly finds himself without any contracts, is he still a CEO? Is he anything? If we’re going to discuss the value of life, we have to look at our relationship to work and how that influences our perceived valuation. Please note that we’re not inferring that a person doesn’t have any value outside their stated profession, that would be short-sighted and largely incorrect.

What Is The Value Of Life, Pt. 4: Work

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