Is work a four letter word?

[Mandy Muffin]

It's Monday morning and I am not going to work.  I have been saying that for 15 years, as I took early retirement back in 1997.  But since the curse of Eve, mankind and womankind has been forced to do labor  as a sort of punishment. At least that is the Biblical version.  Most of us labor because we want to be able to afford a good life. Others labor because that's the way things are.   

I became interested in the subject of labor when I went to graduate school back in the early 1960s.  I took Labor Economics as my specialty area of study.  I made my living managing the work function for a number of years.  An early job was as a job interviewer, then as a wage and salary analyst.  I graduated to negotiating contracts with labor unions, then to running the employment office for a major employer.  I managed plant services for large Midwestern defense contractor for a few years then ended up in health care management.  (A curious arrangement in America is the coupling of work and health care insurance.  But how that happened is an entirely other blog.)

Work, or lack thereof, has become a major concern to our American way of life.  The nature of the labor market has changed, with women taking a ever greater role,  non-Americans doing a significant amount of the work that "American's won't do," an increase in private sector employment, the ever increasing technical needs, automation taking away repetitive and dangerous work, etc. 

Work itself is at a crisis in our country as tracking the "real" unemployment number has shown that a little under 25% of our nation is either unemployed or under employed.  http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts  Many people are not happy about the state of work today. Some may say it is the greatest issue in America although the past election was more influenced by social issues. The lack of employment opportunities is still a burning issue in our nation. 

As I have aged, I am still curious about the world of work although I don't do it anymore.  I don't calculate the value of work or the changing nature of it.  I am not desperate for it nor am I in need of someone to define it for me.  But there was a time that I was.  

Are you happy in your work?  Are you paid a fair value for what you do? What could  be improved to make the labor market function better? 

[MGDJ]

Work is changing in America. Some people resist the change and some people embrace it. Technology and automation has eliminated a lot of manual labor jobs in America and the push for college has never been greater due to the need for management of processes. Free society ensures the rights of the marketplace to change its structure. Truly, no individual has control of his or her job, even what they get paid. It is ultimately up to the market. Smart people find ways to exploit the market changes and not try to rail against them.