Should We Care About Hard Work?

By some estimates, the average American in the world's largest economy, is working longer hours now. It isn't a perfect measure partly because the boundary between paid work and rest is vanishing and the question of how hard people work is very subjective.

While the Americans lead in "working harder", the Europeans and the notoriously industrious Japanese have some catching up to do on the path blazed by America.

Simply because the trend appears in the direction of working harder than we used to, it doesn't mean we are worse off. We need less time to prepare our meals, thanks to the microwave oven. Modern technology has made available to us many such conveniences which cost us more in money but save us time. Even shopping is a breeze for those of us using the internet.

Working hard or having a lot of work isn't necessarily bad. Work does give order and meaning to one's life. It can provide a sense of self-worth and dignity. Even from a moral perspective, there is virtue in hard work. "Free time" means idleness- this is the cornerstone of the work ethic that has brought us to the civilization that we are enjoying today.

So, the short answer to my question abve is: Yes, we should all care about hard work.

Hopefully, we can work smart as well. We can only realize the full value of our work if we work in a place with a system that operates on meritocracy, ie. recognizing and rewarding effort on the basis of merit.

In many countries plagued by corruption and operating on crony capitalism, contracts are awarded and promotions are given to suit political objectives. In such places, there is no equitable distribution of wealth and how hard you work is not the solution to how well you do in your life.