I was raised to believe that someone with a good “work justice” is just someone who works like a maniac, no matter what the job, no matter what the task, no matter what the reward. A good worker is basically a machine — a human body that puts its head down, plows away, and gets the task done at all costs.

The person I have just described has two great advantages at the job. One is that almost everyone will indeed acknowledge him as a “good worker,” and so he will receive the praise and confidence that comes from being recognized as such. The second advantage is that he will likely be so submerged in his work that there will be no time the think about his work — a fact that will free him from the emotional pain of self-awareness that would result from considering how pointless, destructive and even inhuman is his work and indeed a very large portion of his life.

Thus the ethics of the average worker vis a vis his job seems to boil down to this: stay busy, stay unaware, stay hired.

Instead of this all-around sorry way of thinking about work, I propose the following principles as the first steps toward a new and improved ethics of work:

A good worker works for some worthy purpose. The more worthy the purpose, the better the work. Good work, on balance, makes the world a better place.
A good worker does not work at the expense of himself or others. Work, whatever work it might be, should be in service of life, both one’s own life and the lives of others. Work that does damage to the life it is supposed to serve is bad work. Good work, then, is a net positive for everyone involved.
A good worker does enough work, neither too much nor too little. Making widgets can be good, relative to the need for widgets. Making too many widgets is bad — a waste of time and resources, and perhaps harmful in other ways as well.
A good worker perseveres through challenges in order to finish the job — or a good worker quits the job when his judgment tells him it is time to quit. Both quitting and persevering require integrity and the courage necessary to sustain it. Good work is work that is loyal to the value of the job and which quits the job when it strays from that value.
A good worker makes the job into a form of play. Mere work is something we do to achieve an extrinsic purpose; the meaning and value of mere work is entirely relative to that purpose. Work in itself is therefore of no intrinsic value. Play, however, is something that is done for its own sake. It is often possible to make one’s work into a form of play and it is always desirable to do so. All other things being equal, work that involves play, or which is itself a form of play, is better than work that is done only for the sake of some extrinsic goal.
Above all, a good worker is aware, actively reflecting on the nature of his work and seeing it as an important component of his life, an expression of his values, a cause to which he is morally, politically, and spiritually dedicated — or not, in which case he sets out in search of better work.

As a future professional, how can I advocate JUSTICE in my field and/or career? Cite AT LEAST 2 ways on how to propagate justice in your future workspace. Elaborate on how you are to show it.

Public Answer