Work

Did you know that people have a right to work? This is laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Of course, this is not without consequences. Thus, the educational background is of decisive importance. Nonetheless, it is good that work is given this high status. Without work, the entire future of some people is being questioned.

Even worse, is when a person becomes unemployed. Not only is his/her income at stake, but basically their entire existence. For a lot of people living on the fringes of civic society, unemployment was the beginning of their downfall.

Anyone who has a job hardly knows what it means. There are those who consider it to be a regular burden and dream about it's being done away with. When asked what they would do instead of working, the answers are mostly very ignorant and naïve, regardless of whether the necessary finance is ensured or not.

Do the people in reasonably well off countries really know how to organise their leisure-time, so that they could spread it over the whole day, every day, if they didn't have to work? Would they be happy with their chosen leisure-time activities, or would they only be enjoying not being at the beck and call of an employer?

Does the simple depriving people of work make them happier or just poorer? Of course, you could name any number of jobs that everyone would love to get rid of. Really everyone? Is somebody who couldn't quite make the grade at school and is also not very good at practical tasks, quite satisfied in later life, to carry out more simple work or does he/she just not want to admit that they're unsatisfied?

Certainly, according to the rules of economics, working is all about producing, thus, it is urgently needed to ensure that we have necessary supplies. One differentiates between execution and planning. In theory it sounds good: A requirement profile is covered by an aptitude profile. Does that mean that every individual gets the job for which he/she is suited?

In the widely spread practice of job-sharing however, a number of problems arise. E.g., how much of the aptitude profile does the requirements profile actually exploit? To the employer, this makes little difference, his/her main concern is that the requirements are met. Really? How satisfied can anybody be, when the greatest part of their abilitiy is not even being used?

There's worse to come: There is a point, when the person secretly gives up, does then however, channel his/her abilities into a hobby. Germany is a typical environment for talented hobbyists. If all the competence, which is apparent when carrying out a hobby, were to be channeled in to the working world, we would be almost unrivaled as far as efficiency is concerned.

On the other hand, it seems that employees are slightly incapable of looking for the job that fits in with their competences. Is it perhaps, that a number of people do not, careerwise, realistically estimate their abilities? Does one still learn that, in one's circle of friends nowadays, or is it a case of 'hawks do not pick out hawks' eyes'?

It is however, also difficult. Most of the employees, as far as their own duties are concerned, are not able to see further than their noses. Partly because of incapability, unwillingness but also because the structures have become so complex. A 'cultural revolution' with a widespread exchanging of the functions, would last for about three days before everything collapsed.

This can best be seen in the case of employees who dream of being self employed. Finally, no more boss, to decide for oneself what's to be done and what one can make of it. What is mostly forgotten, is that no business can survive without customers and their demands, are often harder to live with than those made by the bosses.

Any bad state of affairs, which is given the chance to settle in, is dangerous. Part of it is the lack that some people have, to be able to set targets and, under certain circumstances, to see them through, even against one's own wishes. Perhaps also the resignation, giving up hope that one could reclaim the lost place in society. This is easily said, however, what must be done differently, so that it will work better this time? 11/12