Working to keep a roof over the head of yourself and those you love is an identity. It's social proof that you have value, that you can do something for someone else.

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annzabelle 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I was funemployed for a 9 month stretch last year (layoff severance package, followed by waiting for a visa and traveling), and when I wasn't traveling, I found my life kind of falling apart with a lack of structure. I tried to schedule workout classes and hobbies, as well as involvement in my church, but it just didn't fill my time, and none of my friends were free during the day. I spent a lot of time with my retired parents, but the time we spent together became very low quality, and it was tinged with the knowledge that I ought to be doing something else with a lot of my time. I also spent a lot of time scrolling.

I started work again 3 weeks ago, and I find myself using the time outside of work much better because there is less of it.

I would still love a 30 hour work week, and if I had young children, I am certain that I would cherish time off much more.

	▲	SaucyWrong 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		As somebody who is currently rounding month 6 of funemployment, I agree wholeheartedly with this statement.

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thepasch 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Working to keep a roof over the head of yourself and those you love is a necessity. It can become an identity if you enjoy what you do, sure, but that is not a given for, I'd say, a big majority of the workforce, globally.

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slyzmud 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I agree with you, 99% of the people work just to pay bills, but that doesn't make the other part false.

I'm a software engineer and love thinking about problems methodically. Every time I hear a someone saying that programmers are no longer required (even if I don't agree with that) if feels really bad, it's equivalent to saying that what I do best in life has no value anymore.

To put it on other words: I really like philosophy, but what value do they provide in modern world? Who pays for the work of a philosopher? I think people will start of thinking of programmers like that eventually.

	▲	poslathian an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I’m lucky to have more than my share of really exceptional programmers to hang out with and they all say the same thing: “I haven’t been writing code for months and don’t expect to again” This is a way different sentiment than “programmers aren’t needed anymore” - I’m just seeing ambition, motivation, and fun go up in lockstep. I first heard this in November and slowly one by one it’s everyone whose opinion I respect. FWIW the other popular topic is how abysmally stupid and limited these amazing tools continue to be, despite also being magic. Oh and that none of us have gotten token maxxing to succeed, despite lots of trying.

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besterman23 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

You’re arguing to a subset of people who have made work their entire life and have retroactively justified their sacrifices with thoughts such as high compensation means what I do is socially valuable. However, at the same time they work at Meta or something making internal tools to make product developers 5% more efficient at tweaking the addiction algorithm to gain 0.2% more screen-time per user.

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thewebguyd 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

You have value just by virtue of being a living being. No one needs work to have or portray value, that's just capitalist propaganda.

My own identity certainly isn't "IT manager," nor do I derive life meaning or self actualization from what do to collect a salary to feed myself and have shelter. In fact, my career/job is by far the least important thing in my life, I have it purely out of necessity.