Transcript Week 11 Lecture Work

Work
• What obligations do we have in
choosing work?
• What obligations do we have as
workers?
• What entitlements to work do
we have?
• What entitlements do we have
as workers?
What obligations do we
have as workers?
• To self ?
– to do only meaningful work
• To others?
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–
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colleagues
employer
profession
customers/clients
competitors
community
environment
• How do we prioritize among
these?
Work as a Social Benefit
• Is work important enough to
require just distribution?
– Why or why not?
• If yes, what principle(s) of
distributive justice apply to
work?
• Given the connection of work
and self-esteem and selfidentify, does it matter what
kind of work people have access
to?
Work and Happiness
• Job
– Activity: Unpleasant, not
personally meaningful
– Working conditions: poor
• Career
– Activity: Challenging, not
personally meaningful
– Working conditions: generally
good, but often stressful and long
hours
Work and Happiness
• Vocation
– Activity: personally meaningful,
socially useful
– Working conditions: vary
Other Views about Work
• Protestant work ethic
– Work is supposed to be
unpleasant because it’s a
punishment.
– Hard work will be rewarded in
this life.
• Buddhist work ethic
– Desire less and work less.
– Reverence for all living things
• Value your colleagues, customers
• Protect the environment.
What are workers
entitled to?
• Some possible answers for the
currently employed:
– to continued employment
– to fairness and against
discrimination
– to safe working conditions
– to associate, e.g. to unionize
– to privacy
– to autonomy and free speech
– to a personal life
– to fair compensation
Further questions about
worker entitlement
• Are all workers entitled to an
equal opportunity to have
– a job? a career? a vocation? a
vocation with good working
conditions?