"Is Your Job Just Work?"

"Is Your Job Just Work?"
Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, November 15

Russell Muirhead, an associate professor of government at Harvard and the author of the book Just Work, explains why more professionals than ever before are searching out careers promising "more than a paycheck." A growing sense of career restlessness means that more U.S. workers are changing careers, going back to school or simply taking sabbaticals to think over their next move. It's all part of a generational change, says Muirhead, as employees re-think the very notion of work.

In an interview with Harvard's Mallory Stark, Muirhead explains the changing notion of work in today's marketplace: "Today, many of us want more than a secure job at a prestigious firm with a fat paycheck...
They want work they find fulfilling and meaningful." In developing this theory of generational change in the world of work, Muirhead raises questions about our expectations of work, the role of the employer in creating meaningful work for employees, and the whole notion of how work is distributed within society. Work should be more than "just work" - it should be fulfilling at the same time.

Muirhead delves into the double meaning of the title of his recent book, explains the concept of "fitting work," and analyzes why employers should be concerned about creating just work for their employees. Creating "just work" does not have to mean a break with the American work ethic, says Muirhead, as long as workers understand that the notion of "working hard" actually means "working hard for a reason."

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