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Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
New York Times ^ | 2-21-19 | Charles Duhigg

Posted on 02/21/2019 4:42:34 PM PST by DeweyCA

(Skip)

After our reunion, I wondered if my Harvard [Business School] class — or even just my own friends there — were an anomaly. So I began looking for data about the nation’s professional psyche. What I found was that ... a surprising portion of Americans are professionally miserable right now. In the mid-1980s, roughly 61 percent of workers told pollsters they were satisfied with their jobs. Since then, that number has declined substantially, hovering around half; the low point was in 2010, when only 43 percent of workers were satisfied, according to data collected by the Conference Board, a nonprofit research organization. The rest said they were unhappy, or at best neutral, about how they spent the bulk of their days. Even among professionals given to lofty self-images, like those in medicine and law, other studies have noted a rise in discontent. Why? Based on my own conversations with classmates and the research I began reviewing, the answer comes down to oppressive hours, political infighting, increased competition sparked by globalization, an “always-on culture” bred by the internet — but also something that’s hard for these professionals to put their finger on, an underlying sense that their work isn’t worth the grueling effort they’re putting into it.

(Skip) What’s interesting, however, is that once you can provide financially for yourself and your family, according to studies, additional salary and benefits don’t reliably contribute to worker satisfaction. Much more important are things like whether a job provides a sense of autonomy — the ability to control your time and the authority to act on your unique expertise. People want to work alongside others whom they respect (and, optimally, enjoy spending time with) and who seem to respect them in return.

...finally, workers want to feel that their labors are meaningful.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: happiness; meaning; purpose; success
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The writer found that many of his Harvard Business School classmates, who had gone into prestigious, high-paying jobs, were miserable because they didn't get any meaning out of their work. They were making lots of money...and feeling worthless. I imagine many of them were also secularists who think that Christianity is stupid.

Other studies have shown that once a person earns enough to be comfortable (today around $55,00), pay increases don't provide more happiness. People need enough money to not be anxious about paying bills, but after that it doesn't make much difference.

Btw, he talked about "quality jobs." Look for this to be a possible way to discount Trump's job growth stats. Dems will say that they are not "quality" jobs - ie. jobs that provide meaning, as well as a paycheck.

1 posted on 02/21/2019 4:42:34 PM PST by DeweyCA
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To: DeweyCA

Oh here’s a tale of woe I was just waiting to hear.


2 posted on 02/21/2019 4:44:56 PM PST by Steely Tom ([Seth Rich] == [the Democrat's John Dean])
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To: DeweyCA

Yep, a pivot by the left that is an attempt to damage the Presidents ability to point to the jobs that have been created.


3 posted on 02/21/2019 4:47:14 PM PST by taxcontrol
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To: DeweyCA

Once many people (especially young people) decide they don’t want families, they often don’t see their niche in this world; it will continue when they’re gone as if they never existed, and it bums them out. On a positive note, they have a lot more freedom and disposable income while they’re here...


4 posted on 02/21/2019 4:47:36 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: DeweyCA

Btw, he talked about “quality jobs.”

Remember the Reagan/Bush years with a booming economy and it was the same refrain........burger flipping jobs.


5 posted on 02/21/2019 4:48:37 PM PST by taterjay
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To: DeweyCA

2/3 HBS = BS


6 posted on 02/21/2019 4:49:14 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: DeweyCA

First World Problems


7 posted on 02/21/2019 4:49:17 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: DeweyCA

What’s really making them miserable is that miserable New York Times.


8 posted on 02/21/2019 4:49:28 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: DeweyCA

Like that old Toby Keith song, Happiness Can’t Buy Money.


9 posted on 02/21/2019 4:49:44 PM PST by KC Burke (If all the world is a stage, I would like to request my lighting be adjusted.)
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To: kearnyirish2
Once many people (especially young people) decide they don’t want families, they often don’t see their niche in this world; it will continue when they’re gone as if they never existed, and it bums them out. On a positive note, they have a lot more freedom and disposable income while they’re here...

That day when the wake and realize that their cats/dogs are no substitute for children.

10 posted on 02/21/2019 4:56:26 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: DeweyCA

They are miserable because they are white male heterosexuals and they know that they are the source of all the evils in the world. Who wouldn’t be miserable? They know they don’t deserve their white privilege and they do everything they can to not appear racist or bigoted, they espouse liberal politics and they still remain white male heterosexuals.


11 posted on 02/21/2019 5:00:01 PM PST by webheart (Grammar police on the scene.)
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To: dfwgator

I have a family but don’t believe it is for everyone; I just can’t stand people who years before decided one way or the other and now regret their decisions. I work with plenty of childless white women over 50 who really resent their non-white peers who are at this point becoming grandmothers.


12 posted on 02/21/2019 5:04:23 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: DeweyCA

See? Money won’t make you happy. Vote Socialist!


13 posted on 02/21/2019 5:07:26 PM PST by simpson96
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To: DeweyCA

I have a friend who owns a machine shop. He has a kid named Drew, a millineal that works for him. Drew decided that he didn’t want to go to college and chose a career path in the trades. This kid is awesome, hard working and wants to learn the machinists trade. Drew despises his peers and considers them lazy. The kid really enjoys what he is doing and has a bright future in front of him.
I have discovered that the millineal generation has kids that really have what it takes, or they are totally clueless about life.


14 posted on 02/21/2019 5:20:03 PM PST by wjcsux (The hyperventilating of the left means we are winning! (Tagline courtesy of Laz.))
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To: kearnyirish2

Maybe these women find comfort in going home to their cats.


15 posted on 02/21/2019 5:22:34 PM PST by wjcsux (The hyperventilating of the left means we are winning! (Tagline courtesy of Laz.))
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To: DeweyCA

Maslow’s Hierarchy found that once a level was reached, it ceased to be much of a motivator. The ennui described in the article is a plateau on the way up and culminates in the Peter Principle.


16 posted on 02/21/2019 5:30:11 PM PST by sparklite2 (Don't mind me. I'm just a contrarian.)
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To: wjcsux

No, they are angry because of that.


17 posted on 02/21/2019 5:39:49 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: DeweyCA

Funny...I’m comfortable (but *far* from wealthy),retired and reasonably happy.


18 posted on 02/21/2019 6:27:07 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Mitt Romney: Bringing Massachusetts Values To The Great State Of Utah.)
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To: taterjay
Thanks to little jimmy carter, I couldn't find a job in engineering. So I became a mathematician. It was all part of GOD'S plan. I love my job. Praise the Lord GOD.
19 posted on 02/21/2019 6:31:40 PM PST by Do the math (Do the math./)
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To: Gay State Conservative

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants”

Some old white guy.


20 posted on 02/21/2019 6:53:43 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!")
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