[31 Jan] What are your views on work and leisure?

Some philosophers say that the hallmark of advanced societies are being able to work more and more and produce more output and hence more money to live a better life. On the other hand, others say that a society should try to attain the highest level of leisure possible, while fulfilling their basic needs, as work is just a human construct. The famed German sociologist Max Weber says “iron cage”.

What are your views on work and leisure? Do you see work as an iron cage or something to enjoy and purpose your life on?

Work involves activities where we put our mental and physical efforts to achieve some target or goal. In contrast, leisure is the time when we are free or have no work. I believe work and leisure both are equally important.

Having said all the above, the definition of happiness differs from person to person. Some may feel happy with the six, seven or eight-digit number balance in their bank account. For this set of people work is a priority. At the same time, some may define happiness as mental peace or spending time with parents or something else. This set of people may prioritise leisure over work and strive to fulfil only basic needs. For me, happiness is when I have a purpose in life to strive for and can also find some time to revive myself.

To gain a sense of achievement, I do increase my workload at the same time I work on improving my efficiency. This will help me do more and more work in the same frame of time and I can find an equal amount of time for my hobbies or other areas of interest.

As various psychologists have said, our body is like a machine. If we don’t use the machine regularly its nuts, bolts and engine will corrode and stop functioning. On the other hand, if we start the engine and keep it running forever it will heat up and fuse. So, to keep the machine both friction and rest goes hand in hand.

To conclude, work is not an iron cage in fact it gives us a purpose to live for. However, leisure is equally important to revive ourselves to do work more efficiently and be more productive.