Of Human Beings? Essay, Research Paper
Work has always
been an integral part of our lives as far back as 776BC in the times of the
Greeks to the present
day.?? As Applebaum states, ?Work is
like the spine which structures the way people live, how they make
contact with material and social reality, and how they achieve status and
self-esteem.?1.? It appears from
this quote alone that work is necessary in the development of the human
being.? For most, life
without work is a tragic downward spiral into the depths of depression, loss of
self worth and mental illness
which disables them from functioning and developing to their full potential. So
what is it about work that
enables us to develop?? In this essay I
want to look at the idea of work in a historical context to
highlight it?s relevance in our development.?
Work today has come a long way from that of the Greeks and
so I also want to look at the ways in which the modern workplace continues to
try and develop people
through Human Resource Development (HRD) and discuss to what extent this is successful. ???? First of all, what is work?? A simple definition states, ?Work uses the
things and materials of nature to fashion tools
with which to make objects, grow food, and control the living creatures and
forces to satisfy human
needs and wants?2. However, if we are
arguing that work acts in developing us then there must be some
greater depth and meaning to work.?
Marie Jahoda3.talks about the Latent Functions of work to achieve
good physical and psychological health and Maslow4.
Believes work can enable us to achieve our
highest potentials and psychological levels.?
Surely then work plays a more important role than just
fulfilling simplistic needs and wants for survival? ?? ??Work is extremely diverse, while at the same time it is
characterised by one main issue; the need to make a living as
an act of necessity for life.?
Recognising this diversity leads to admiration for human ingenuity,
endurance and skill.? Over thousands of
years the processes of work have dramatically transformed our
planet and has shaped almost all of what we see around us.? I want to look at this development of
work, after all ?The new is generated by both the living and the dead?5. and so I will look at past
developments to gain an understanding of work today beginning with the Greeks. ???? The early Greeks saw work as a curse. The
word for work derives from the Greek word for sorrow, ponos, which
suggest exhaustion, heavy-heartedness and drudgery.6.? They believed work enslaved a person, taking
away his independence which was extremely highly valued by the Ancient Greek civilisation.? It was believed that work corrupted the soul
and chained a person to another.? The Hebrews regarded
work as atonement and expiation for the original sin of Adam in disobeying God while at the
same time read in the scriptures of mans purpose on earth.? In Genesis it states, ? The Lord God took the man
and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it?7. and the Hebrews enacted upon
this.? It was the Christian civilisation
that began to accrue meanings to
work that are similar to that
of the modern work ethic.? Like the
Hebrews they believed work was punishment from God but at they
same time they began to attribute positive meanings to work.? It was seen as a necessity in maintaining
health in body and mind, reflecting the research carried out by Marie Jahoda in
her studies of
unemployment in Marienthal where people experienced psychological problems with
the loss of
employment8..?
Early it had been regarded as?
sinful to collect worldly goods but with the Christian?s new
attitude of wealth as a form of giving charity it?s evil and wicked
connotations began to dwindle.?? Through charity God?s blessing would fall
upon them.9. ???? Up until this point, work was carried out
to attain salvation from God but St. Thomas Aquinas put in motion the
process of profit making and ownership of property.? For the first time the idea of a ?Just Price,? which
involved the exchange of monetary reward for work, enabled people to earn a
living.? At the same time,
work was only seen as a means to achieve the immediate needs of oneself and
family and once this
had been fulfilled they stopped working.?
If you didn?t need to work then you weren?t looked down upon
unlike today where those who don?t work are seem as idle and lazy.? Their leisure time seemed to
bear far more relevance to them than their work. ???? It was with the birth of the Protestant
Work Ethic that work became intertwined with morality.? Martin Luther said that there was no
distinction between? working and serving
God and infact believed it was the best way to serve God10.?
Calvinism continued to strengthen this idea.? If one didn?t work or simply didn?t like work then it was assumed
that their ?pathway to heaven? was thwarted.?
Success at work was considered as a sign that God was pleased with you
but for the Calvanists their hard work was nothing if it was not rational and
efficient in all forms10. ???? It appears to me that work served to
develop people in a spiritual way.? I
want to look at this more closely through work in the Middle Ages within the
Monastic Movement.? This movement was
one of social planning, economic organisation, dedication to manual labour,
tolerance of craftsmanship and technological innovation.11.?
It is quite a contrast to our capitalist culture which stresses the
relevance of labour through it?s products and has used technology and invention
to achieve better levels of productivity in the aim of achieving higher
profits.? Monasticism, shaped by earlier
Christian ideas, saw the significance of work in the process of labour and not
in its products.? Ovitt (1987) writes, ?
It was centripetal and socialistic in its pursuit of communal self-sufficiency?
The legacy, the, of the first ascetics and first monastic theorists favoured
manual labour, but always as a means to a spiritual end.?12.?
Monasticism created a respect for work.?
It was surrounded by spacious buildings, well-tended gardens and
cultivated fields where their work regime was a balance of labour with
intellectual effort through reading, writing, discussion and participation in
the planning of work activities within the monestry.? Mumford (1967) said they, ? Shared work and the benefit of shared
mind.?13.?
Teir work was not fixed for life in one single occupation but they
experinced high division of labour.?
Each worker had equal duty and equal reward, and any surplus was put back
into their community to the up keep of the buildings or the purchase of new
equipment.? The monks also received
medical care and nurseing, it was as though they had created their own mini
welfare state14.. The system that the
monks used showed how efficient work can be when it is organised and planned
collectively and when it is achieved through the co-operation not coercion of
the workers.? In the monasteries the
?whole man was employed.?15. which
meant every aspect of their life development occurred within their work. By
adding the act of study and intellectual pursuit they created a model for
co-operative effort on a high cultural level.?
?? Anything that was unrewarding, therefore
not developing them, was given over to machinery whereas the modern workplace
gives machinery and technology as much of the work as possible, even when it
results in a meaningless and mindless life for many15.???? Why you might ask have I chosen to look
at the life of the monks in the Middle Ages and those that lived thousands of
years ago.?? For most of us in the
modern world work is not an option but an act we must do to be able to
live.? How does work in this modern
society develop us then?? It seems clear
that work in the past has not been as relevant and was actually looked down
upon by the Greeks or it has been used to try and secure salvation.? It seems to have had very little to do with
developing the self but rather a means to an end; heaven or punishment from God
for the initial sin of Adam. Work wasn?t important but the salvation was.? People achieved development outside of the
workplace through their religion which attended to their spiritual
development.? The monks were almost
revolutionary in their approach to work having implemented many of the modern
management techniques such as job rotation, however it was a collective
decision making body whereas modern organisations tend to enforce their
practices upon the workforce.? What is
interesting in particular is the integration of intellectual work with the act
of labour suggesting a more intellectual and spiritual level of the human
being.? Anything that didn?t give them a
sense of achievement was given over to technology enabling them to live an
enriched life.? Unfortunately, for many
people, this isn?t an option in modern society which many repetitive and
mundane tasks to done within the workplace.???? Developing ourselves as religious, moral
beings fit for God seems rather outdated in achieving our
self-development.? Before I go on to
discuss whether work develops us in modern society, I want to take a look at
the changing nature of work itself, looking at Medieval Europe between the 11th
and 15th centuries.?? One
very important source of information about the attitudes of craftsmen towards
their work is De Diversis Artibus by
Theophilus.16.? His writings describe in detail the
considered conclusions that craftsmen made in regards to their own work, which
are shown to be mature and educated in their structure as well as having a
clear understanding of where their work fits in the universal order of things.? Dodwell (1961) says, ?Nowhere in the Middle
Ages is there so full and sincere an account by an artist of his own
conceptions and ideals?17. It is
a written expression of his own ideas, in his own words, about his own work and
conceptions of his work.? Theophilus, as
a skilled craft worker in the working of glass knew in great detail the
knowledge he needed to preform the task to the highest standards.? He knew the problems that could occur and
how to detect them, with solutions to these errors.? In doing so he is able to achieve ??the perfection of the self.?18. Ovit (1987) writes, ? These medieval
notions, which we moderns have reified into ?R and D? and ?profits? define
alternative technology that is itself a tool for clarifying the complex relations
between? the individual soul, the
natural world, and the creator.?18? For Theophilus the ultimate purpose of work
was to attain persoanl and spirtual goals.?
Shelby (1970) in the study of Cooke
and Regius manuscripts believes that
they revealo a pride in their craftsmanship and a joy of building for the sheer
skill of it.? I feel through the
illustrations in Appendix 1 and 2 this very idea is evident. The Canterbury
Cathedral19. shows the extent to
which great care and devotion was given in using their skills to produce a
beautiful building for the glory of God.?
We can see that there was a deep relationship between the craftsman and
his masonry: the walls almost breathe his satisfaction and achievement ? what
do we have to show the achievements of modern man? The Millennium Dome20.??
This can also be seen in Appendix 2 with the dramatic difference in art
forms.? The time, attention to detail
and devotion of the artist of the first painting by Joachim Wtewael (1566-1638)21. is a far stretch from the stripes of
simplistic colours in the second painting by Kalina22.. We are unable to see any form of the
artist?s develop
painter of the 17th century.?
In both cases the modern form of activity does not show the full
potentialities of the those working on the subject.? Surely the architects of today can produce far more beautiful and
marvellous in design than those of many thousands of years ago but we don?t.? The processes of today are heavily influenced
by the industrial revolution, the work of Taylor and the rationalisation of
Ford?s production line.? How can the
worker on a production line tightening a screw as the product passes by enable
the person to develop his/herself compared to the exquisite work of the
medieval mason?? This is where I feel
the problem lies and where HRD tries, for many, to play the role that the
skills, challenge, and satisfaction of the pre-industrial society which no
longer exist.??? Perhaps work no longer
develops us when it is monotonous and uninteresting.? It is said that we ??know more about how to make a living than
how to live.?23? We place economic institutions at the centre
of society whereas previously it had been the church which developed the people
spiritually.? With this change of
structure to our society then, how are we developing in modern society????? HRD is a process implemented within the
workplace to develop it?s workforce.?
Since the fall of religion due mainly to the industrial revolution, our
moral code of practice has been shaped by the practices of the
organisation.? Learning, often seen as a
sign of development, within the workplace is there to try and achieve improved
quality, flexibility and adaptability.?
It is believed that the learner benefits in ways that ?spill over? from
the workplace and through learning they enlarge and develop themselves.? They not only gain knowledge and skills
through HRD but a breadth and depth of understanding and from this increased
self-confidence and esteem.? Beardwell
and Holden say that learning fosters development, which in turn changes people
and are no longer the people they once were23.? Our development seems to be centralised
within the workplace which turns us as humans into a resource.? In some respects new employees are a type of
raw material to the company which needs to be developed just like a
product.? This suggests then that HRD is
just a way to develop us into a manageable resource for the company?s use to
maximise productivity.?? I have already
stated that training and learning with the workforce which is promoted as
developing the worker actually only exists as a way in which to achieve better
quality, flexibility and adaptability.?
We all develop and learn from the day we are born, just like all other
animals, which leads to the skillful and effective adaption and manipulation of
our environment.? Our development is for
our survival not for capitalist gain.?
People continue to develop throughout life whether encouraged or not,
whether formally or not, whether the outcomes are valued or not.? They learn at home and at work, in their
social sphere and through their hobbies.?
The monks were the closest to achieving this with the balance of labour
and intellectual pursuit. What happens when the employee is given the
opportunity to go on training to develop his/her communication skills but
doesn?t want to go and? has little
choice not to due to pressure from management; does this develop the employee
or would it not be better for the employee to choose their own path of
development to achieve their own potentialities and not those laid down by the
organisation after all who owns our development and learning????? Work is no longer part of a spiritual
journey, so where is it taking us?? Down
the raod of manipulation, exploitation and capitalist gain?? How can a person stacking shelves in their
local supermarket receiving only the minimum wage, ever be expected to develop
through his work.? There are no skills
involved, no reall levels of achievement, unless like the check-out people in
Asda who can achieve a ?Golden Scanner? award for 22 products or more through
the till in a minute24., the
shelf stacker can aim to achieve a ?Golden Stacker? award.? We should look to the Greeks who placed more
emphasis on leisure and work was just a means of chaining the person down and
stealing a persons independence.? We
seem to believe that work gives us independence because it gives us spending
power but surely it is our consumer society that is enslaving us to the
capitalist system through the necessity to show status through our consumption
patterns.? The Greeks developed
themselves through the use of their leisure time and work was seen as a mere
act of attaining the immediate needs of a person.? Too often it is assumed that people will develop through work
within the organisation when actually only 10 percent of people ever
self-actualise in the workplace. ???? In conclusion then, it cannot be denied
that work is vital to our development as it is the main activity of our daily
lives and without it we suffer both physical and mental deprivation. Work in
the right context can enable us to grow and develop through the use of our
skills, our learning and the social relationships we build within the work
context.? It structures who we are; our
status, where we live, who we interact with and so on.? What HRD and management theorist often fail
to recognises is that we are all unique individuals with very different paths
of development that we wish to explore. Endnotes1. Applebaum H ?
The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1992) State University
of? New York Press ? Introduction P. ix 2. Applebaum H ?
The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1992) State University of
New York Press ? Introduction P. x 3. Jahoda M ?
Work, Employment, and Unemployment (1981) American Psychologist, 36, 2 4. Mullins L.J ?
Management and Organisational Behaviour. Fourth Edition (1996) Pitman
Publishing 5. Casey C ?
Work. Self and Society: After Industrialism (1995) Routledge ? P. 1 6. Yankelovich D
? (Chapter 1) The Meaning of Work in Englewood Cliffs N.J – The Worker and the
Job (1974) Prentice-Hall 7. Gideon Holy
Bible ? Genesis 2:15 8. Jahoda M ?
Employment and Unemployment (1982) Cambridge University Press 9. Yankelovich D
? (Chapter 1) The Meaning of Work in Englewood Cliffs N.J – The Worker and the
Job (1974) Prentice-Hall10. Yankelovich
D ? (Chapter 1) The Meaning of Work in Englewood Cliffs N.J – The Worker and
the Job (1974) Prentice-Hall 11. Ovitt (1987)
cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern
(1992) State University of New York Press 12. Ovitt (1987)
cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern
(1992) State University of New York Press ? P. 200 13. Mumford
(1967) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and
Modern (1992) State University of New York Press ? P. 202 14. Mumford
(1967) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and
Modern (1992) State University of New York Press 15. Applebaum H
? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1992) State University
of New York Press ? P. 202 16. Theophilus
(1961 translation by Dodwell) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ?
Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1992) State University of New York Press 17.Dodwell
(1961) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and
Modern (1992) State University of New York Press ? P. 238 18. Ovit (1987)
cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern
(1992) State University of New York Press ? P. 239 19.
www.canterbury-cathedral.org/ 20.
www.greenwich-dome.co.uk/dome.html 21.
www.sunsite.dk/cgfa/w/p-wtewael1.htm 22.
www.artincontext.org/LISTINGS/IMAGES/FULL/A/IW5POYYA.htm 23 Thoreau cited
in Englewood N.J ? The Worker and the Job (1974) Prentice-Hall P.19 23 Beardwell I
and Holden L ? Human Resource Management ? Second Edition (1997) Pitman
Publishing 24. BOR
Presentaion ? Group 12 (2000) 25. Mullins L.J
? Management and Organisational Behaviour. Fourth Edition (1996) Pitman
PublishingBibliographyApplebaum H ? The Concept of Work
? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1992) State University of? New York Press Beardwell I
and Holden L
? Human Resource Management ? Second Edition (1997) Pitman Publishing Casey C ? Work. Self and Society: After Industrialism (1995) Routledge Jahoda M ? Employment and
Unemployment (1982) Cambridge University Press Jahoda M ? Work, Employment, and
Unemployment (1981) American Psychologist, 36, 2 Mullins L.J ? Management and
Organisational Behaviour. Fourth Edition (1996) Pitman Publishing Yankelovich D ? (Chapter 1) The Meaning
of Work in Englewood Cliffs N.J – The Worker and the Job (1974)
Prentice-Hall BOR Presentaion ? Group 12 (2000) Gideon Holy Bible ? Genesis 2:15 www.canterbury-cathedral.org/ www.greenwich-dome.co.uk/dome.html www.sunsite.dk/cgfa/w/p-wtewael1.htm www.artincontext.org/LISTINGS/IMAGES/FULL/A/IW5POYYA.htm 1. Applebaum H
? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1992) State University
of New York Press ? Introduction P. ix 2. Applebaum H
? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1992) State University
of New York Press ? Introduction P. x 3. Jahoda M ?
Work, Employment, and Unemployment (1981) American Psychologist, 36, 2 4. 5. Casey C ?
Work. Self and Society: After Industrialism (1995) Routledge ? P. 1 6. Yankelovich
D ? (Chapter 1) The Meaning of Work in Englewood Cliffs N.J – The Worker and
the Job (1974) Prentice-Hall 7. Gideon Holy
Bible ? Genesis 2:15 8. Jahoda M ?
Employment and Unemployment (1982) Cambridge University Press 9. Yankelovich
D ? (Chapter 1) The Meaning of Work in Englewood Cliffs N.J – The Worker and
the Job (1974) Prentice-Hall 10.
Yankelovich D ? (Chapter 1) The Meaning of Work in Englewood Cliffs N.J – The
Worker and the Job (1974) Prentice-Hall 10.
Yankelovich D ? (Chapter 1) The Meaning of Work in Englewood Cliffs N.J – The
Worker and the Job (1974) Prentice-Hall 11. Ovitt
(1987) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and
Modern (1992) State University of New York Press 12. Ovitt
(1987) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern
(1992) State University of New York Press ? P. 200 13. Mumford
(1967) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and
Modern (1992) State University of New York Press ? P. 202 14. Mumford
(1967) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and
Modern (1992) State University of New York Press 15. Applebaum
H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1992) State University
of New York Press ? P. 202 16. Theophilus
(1961 translation by Dodwell) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ?
Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1992) State University of New York Press 17.Dodwell
(1961) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and
Modern (1992) State University of New York Press ? P. 238 18. Ovit
(1987) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and
Modern (1992) State University of New York Press ? P. 239 18. Ovit
(1987) cited in Applebaum H ? The Concept of Work ? Ancient, Medieval, and
Modern (1992) State University of New York Press ? P. 239 19.
www.canterbury-cathedral.org/ 20.
www.greenwich-dome.co.uk/dome.html 21.
www.sunsite.dk/cgfa/w/p-wtewael1.htm 22.
www.artincontext.org/LISTINGS/IMAGES/FULL/A/IW5POYYA.htm 23 Thoreau
cited in Englewood N.J ? The Worker and the Job (1974) Prentice-Hall P.19 23 Beardwell
I and Holden L ? Human Resource Management ? Second Edition (1997) Pitman
Publishing 24. BOR
Presentaion ? Group 12 (2000)