In 1930, John Maynard Keynes prophesied that by the end of the century technology would have advanced enough that countries like Great Britain and the United States would have arrived at a 15-hour workweek. From a technical point of view, we would also be able to do this. Yet technology has opened up new ways for us to work more. In addition, jobs were created that are ultimately useless. In Europe and North America in particular, people carry out activities throughout their working lives that they secretly believe do not need to be done.
David Graeber researched the phenomenon of “bullshit jobs” in 2018 in his book of the same name. It all started with an article for a magazine that was supposed to be provocative. An assumption made him take up the topic: Everyone knows working people who, according to the impression from the outside, do not actually do much. The list of such jobs seemed endless and the question of whether it is really possible that these jobs are actually useless and that those who do them are also aware of it did not let go of him. Can anything be more demoralizing than waking up in the morning throughout your adult life and doing a job that you secretly believe doesn’t need to be done? There are many surveys on whether people are happy in their job, but hardly any on whether people have the impression that their job has a right to exist. There are many taboos on the subject of work. The fact that many people do not enjoy doing their jobs and find every excuse not to go to work appealing cannot readily be addressed publicly.
What types of jobs are there?
David Graeber has divided the “bullshit jobs” into five categories. These are: flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers and taskmasters.
The flunkies: Throughout human history, rich and powerful people have tended to surround themselves with servants of all kinds. Some real work is expected from some, but there is also a portion of people whose job it is just to stand around and look impressive. An example of this is a concierge in a residential building: he spends half the time pushing a button to open the front door for residents and then saying “Hello”. These remnants from the feudal era extend to reception staff in places where they are actually not needed. But who would the superiors be superiors of if there were no flunkies?
The goons: This means people whose activities contain an aggressive element, but who only exist because other people employ them. State armed forces are an example of this. States need armies only because other states have armies. If no one had an army, armies would not be necessary. But there are also jobs in a call center, the task of which is to make people buy things they don’t need instead of solving the problems that they call about. These people get paid for aggression and deception. Hardly anything is more uncomfortable than when one is forced, against one’s own nature, to persuade others to do things that contradict their own common sense. This psychological violence is at the core of what it means to be a goon.
The duct tapers: These employees only exist because of a flaw in the organization. They are there to solve a problem that shouldn’t really exist. Cleaning is necessary. Things get dusty even if they just stand around, and the normal way of life leaves its mark. But cleaning up when someone creates unnecessary chaos is annoying. The duct taper is forced to organize his own work around the care for a certain value, because seemingly more important people do not care. This includes revising texts and reports by star authors, as well as ducting together programming codes that were not written correctly from the start.
The box tickers: These people have to do paperwork to pretend that they are doing a task, but actually keep postponing it. They are busy documenting work without doing actual useful work. In a nursing home, for example, the wishes of residents were recorded and working time was spent on that without ever acting on these wishes.
The taskmasters: These people manage other people who do not have to be managed at all. Either they hand out work to subordinates who already know their job well, or they keep creating new bullshit jobs.
These types can also occur in mixed forms. In addition, there are actually meaningful activities that are used to support a meaningless project.
People who do such “bullshit jobs” often feel ambivalent and diffuse. Therefore, they also develop fears and lose self-confidence. However, many people are forced to do such work because they have to support themselves and their families.
Graeber brings up a contemporary problem that affects many people.
