Cursed Objects3 Okt 2024

Kill the Boss in Your Head

Is there actually any moral value to hard work? From the Dignity of Labour to CEO Mindset, Girlbossing and Instagram Hustle propaganda, our entire culture is full of messages that working hard and 'loving what you do' will make you a good person. Aspiring idlers Kasia and Dan are here to tell you why that's wrong.

Prompted in part by the Wellcome Collection's new 'Hard Graft' exhibition, we discuss bullshit jobs, proper binmen, modern slavery, and the horrifying frequency with which people are injured, maimed and killed in their line of work, from children in 19th century cotton mills, to exploited migrant workers and climate-related heat deaths in the 21st century.

More light-heartedly, we discuss our most hated teenage jobs, and what the ideal length for a working week would be - 2 days? 3 days? What happened when Pret told their workers they needed to show they "aren't just here for the money"? And why does Keir Starmer think that workers and their bosses are 'on the same side'?

Some links, as promised:

The Four Yorkshiremen sketch

Who remembers Proper Binmen?

David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs

Sarah Jaffe's Work Won't Love You Back

Paul Myerscough on Pret and affective labour

Please watch the amazing film Office Space!

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Theme music: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

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