Never Not Working by Malissa Clark

Author:Malissa Clark [Malissa Clark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Published: 2024-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

Work Devotion Schema

According to sociologist Mary Blair-Loy, societal factors have shaped our shared cultural assumptions of what makes a meaningful and worthwhile life.11 These assumptions, called schemas, are how we make sense of the world. They are frameworks for how we see, filter, and understand what is going on around us. As a society, we have embraced the work devotion schema to describe the cultural model of work that defines individuals by their singular devotion to their careers and work. The work devotion schema endorses and idolizes what scholars have dubbed the ideal worker—a person who prioritizes the interests of their employer over their own.12 The ideal worker is someone who puts in long hours in the office, brings work home and frequently works outside of traditional work hours, is constantly available to respond to work requests, and is eager to demonstrate their work devotion by taking on last-minute assignments or work trips—even (and especially) when they conflict with a personal or family obligation. They seemingly do not have competing obligations that might get in the way of their total devotion.

A commercial for the accounting and advising company Marcum epitomizes how we continue to reinforce the ideal worker norm, even in 2023. In the commercial, a confident-looking job applicant is shown in an interview proclaiming, “I was put on Earth to work here. I don’t have hobbies. I don’t believe in weekends. The only thing I love more than emails and spreadsheets is meetings … about emails and spreadsheets.” The camera zooms in to reveal a Marcum adviser who was feeding these lines to the applicant through a device in the applicant’s ear. The commercial then proclaims, “Ever wonder where the people with all the answers get all the answers?”13 The take-home message was clear—if you want to land that big job, you need to make it very clear in your interview that you are, indeed, that ideal worker.

How do you know if the work devotion schema is prevalent at your company? It may be as simple as asking the questions, “What do people at our company believe about people who work a lot of hours?” and conversely, “What do people believe about people who work fewer hours?” At Best Buy, posing these two questions to focus groups of employees revealed a strong ideal worker norm.14 In response to the first question, a majority of employees described people who work a lot of hours in positive ways, noting they were “dedicated,” “important,” “they go above and beyond,” and “they’ll get more rewards.” When describing those who worked fewer hours, employees used descriptors such as “slackers,” “they don’t care,” “not contributing what they should,” “not making themselves available,” “not engaged. They need more work,” and “not a team player.” You’ll learn more about the innovative workplace initiative that sought to change Best Buy’s ideal worker culture in chapter 5.

The work devotion schema has become so embedded into our society that we no longer question it, and we unthinkingly pass it on.

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