Protestant Work Ethic
As I often do, I had a conversation with a friend at work. He is aware of himself a lot more than I am of myself. I am not envious exactly, but he does give me a model to emulate, for certain. In our latest conversation, I mentioned that I am working on the ATITS concept, as a way to examine the drives and pressures that I often put on myself. In the conversation (which cannot be shaped, as it is organic and inspiration cannot be directed), the idea that John Calvin’s ideas - filtered through various technologies - were making working people (i.e. me) miserable.
Let me take a minute to explain. This is a two-strand parallel conversation, so please do not get too far lost. I will also try my best…
John Calvin was one of the leaders of the Protestant Revolution that captivated Geneva in the late 1500s. One of the main tenets espoused by Calvin was that people could come to know God through dedicated effort and attention to God’s works. Perhaps this time frame is the genesis of the phrase “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.”
The Puritans arrived on the shores of America in or around 1620, and set up their grand experiment in Protestantism. Industry and productivity were the order of the day (My guess is that none of the Puritan pilgrims were selected for the journey because of their ability to work the land. This hypothesis may explain why they made so many curious and incorrect decisions about how to provide for themselves. In other words, the fact that the Indians showed them how to fertilize the ground and work it means to me that the Pilgrims had no skills in this arena.). Hard work and lots of it were assumed to be the tickets to the Hereafter.
OK, let’s for a second assume that this work ethic (present since the founding of the country) has persisted to this day. That the appearance of sloth arouses suspicion, and that the appearance of hard work is assumed to arouse no suspicion.
A parallel argument is that technology has progressively enabled us to work at further and further distances from our clients. At one point not so long ago, one had to deal with a merchant in person to obtain their services. Then, it became possible to stay at home, and submit a written order for services. Next, it became possible to call on the phone for the same purpose. Most recently, there are two inventions that make the worker much more entangled than they were previously. Those two inventions are the telephone answering machine and the email inbox.
Let me explain. In the in-person and telephone exchanges, the client is interacting with the provider in real time. When the phone is hung up, the transaction is complete, and now the work can begin. In this assumption we also build in the belief that the client recognizes when the work may begin, and an estimate of when the work will be completed. Likewise, in the scenario involving the mail-order, the provider may send a brief acknowledgement of the order, along with an estimate of the begin and end dates.
People have different attitudes about such things these days. They believe that the voicemail on the phone is acknowledgement that work will begin, and immediately. Likewise, since email is pervasive and reliable, they believe that the message has been received and that work will begin on their request right away. These beliefs are unsustainable, especially since there is now no concept of a worker “being away from work.” The voicemail (or email) will remind one about the WORK that was MISSED while flaunting your sloth…
OK, now back to John Calvin. His premise (indulge me) was that people should be strenuously engaged in working toward an understanding of God. Any “free time” is the Devil in disguise, and voicemail and email might be creations in his prodigious shadow. (Go ahead and reinvigorate your weary bones and recharge your soul, and rest quietly knowing that your position on the treadmill is still waiting when you return…)
I see now that I have fallen into a trap. I have assumed that the voicemail is the contract, and that the party on the phone assumes that work is beginning immediately and will conclude apace. Likewise, the fact that there is an email in the inbox means that I NEED to deal with it immediately, or ELSE. I have attached a meaning to the “Red Eye of Satan” or the “Unread Count” that simply is not there.
People, when they call, are just waiting for acknowledgement from the other party, exactly as before. The email is just an attempt by the client to gain the provider’s attention. It IS not and HAS not put any pressure per se on anyone to do anything. That pressure came from me, in MY zeal to be perfect.
The conversation with my friend ended with his wish that I can see through the Protestant work ethic that I have exemplified over time. I did not quite understand what he meant, so he patiently explained. If one puts too much emphasis on WORK over self-development, the outcome can be catastrophic. I see that he is right. I am convinced, frankly. The next issue is that I do not know what I truly want for myself. I have some ideas, but they all seem unconvincing, frankly….
p.s. #FuckYouJohnCalvin