Streszczenie:
In my thesis I'm investigating the work ethic in modern western societies. The starting
point of my thesis is a notion that work remains an important aspect of humanity. In
line state Richard Sennett, that people can learn about themselves through the things
they make (The Craftsman 8). This quotation refects the importance of work for
humans, both on the individual and social level. The main aim of my writing is to
prove that changes in understanding work have a signifcant infuence on building a
coherent picture of oneself. What is more, I will try to prove that modern
mechanization of work and devaluation of work values (such as a sense of community
and skill development) make it difcult to construct an integral 'I' structures and
contribute to the slow corrosion of societies.
My starting point is craftsmanship and its work ethic. In order to describe what
valuable work is I refer to Richard Sennett's book The Craftsman and focus on the
concept of the work ethic in craftsmanship. My concern is to discover the fundamental
features of being a craftsman, which also happened to shape the individuals
character. The investigation on the idea of craftsmanship leads to a few conclusions.
First of all, when it comes to describing the characteristic features of an artisan,
manual labor isn't as important as mental abilities and the methodology of work.
Being a craftsman in its core doesn't really rely on physical activities, but instead it
indicates certain qualities, most of all critical thinking. Another issue concerning
craftsmanship is the aim of work, which can be described as doing a job well for its
own sake. A job well done is strictly connected to understanding the work feld and
therefore having control over the craft. In a wider perspective understanding work
fulflls one of the basic homo faber's needs, namely: satisfaction and sense of
fulfllment. What is more, understanding work allows us to recognize a part of reality
which is an integral part of contemporary society.
Next, I move on to describe changes in work structures followed by the process of industrialization and rapid development of technology. The Industrial Revolution
changed the model of work completely. New work environments had forced
substantial changes in the very structure of work itself. Fragmentation of tasks and a
progressing routinization resulted in the lack of understanding work processes
themselves. This in turn undermined the value of work as a shaping ego factor.
Further development of the service sector and the so-called immaterial labor
only accelerated this process and led to a situation in which (as Graeber states) many
people do not see the point in carrying out their work as they consider it unnecessary.
This sense of unnecessary labour can be very dangerous as it – in the long term –
makes it difcult t o build a coherent work narrative based on one's activities. Karl
Marx described this trend as labour alienation and argued that the lack of work
understanding may lead to the isolation of man from his work, a sense of lack of
control and, then – to huge disorders when it comes to building a career path.
Although Marx was referring mainly to the industrial sector, current processes of
alienation afect workers from the service sector more and more. Sense
of meaninglessness work not only leads to frustration, but primarily prevents selfrealization
and robs one from the feeling of work satisfaction. As noted by Sennett,
modern societies have to face the problem of massive work devaluation, which
translates into the corrosion of one's character and has a negative impact on society
as a whole.
Fortunately, the process of corrosion in not irreversible. In the last chapter, I take
up potential solutions, where by returning to basic work values, the individual could
develop their characters in a sustainable way. Here, I focus on two particular aspects:
social economy and the DIY formula, as they both can be treated as a starting point for
deeper changes in one's lifestyle. Also, at the very end, I briefy discuss the possible
future of work structure. Bearing in mind that technology development plays a
signifcant role in changes to work structure, it is worth to take a closer look on the
constantly developing network society and its likely impact on the new understanding
of work development.