A new book examines our attitudes about our jobs

Posted on January 10, 2024
Your job does not have to be fun … but you probably need it to help feed your family. Dave Dahl reports on a new book that looks at our relationship with our jobs. (Robert Bruno)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A new book by a University of Illinois labor and employment relations professor examines the relationships people have with their jobs.

Robert Bruno asks students to come up with six words to follow the phrase Work Is …

He says the responses fall under some dominant themes: “Feeding family. Sustenance. Work is how I provide. Work is all-consuming. Work goes on forever.”

The attitudes cut along generational lines – think “work-life balance” for younger workers – and Bruno speculates as to what the responses would have been in the postwar years through the 1950’s.

“There might have been responses that suggest a greater connection or loyalty to their employers,” he said. “There is certainly very little of that in responses now, but a lot has changed in that social contract between employers and employees.”

The book is called What Work Is.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].

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