30 Days of Gratefulness: Ramadan Part 7: Gainful Employment

Question: What value do I place on “work”? From where did I recieve my work ethic? How was I influenced? Why is it that I consider it important that I succeed in the workplace?

Observing my Muslim colleague fast; striving for betterment in their personal relationship with those they hold dear during this the Holy Month of Ramadan, has got me thinking about what I hold fast to my heart. Among other things, work. And in particular my own brand of work ethic.

Emaar Business Park, Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/4; 1/640sec; ISO-100

Emaar Business Park, Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/4; 1/640sec; ISO-100

From a historical perspective, the cultural norm placing a positive moral value on doing a good job because work has intrinsic value is a relatively recent development. Working hard – in the absence of compulsion – was not the norm for Hebrew, classical, or medieval cultures. It was not until the Protestant Reformation that physical labor became culturally acceptable for all, even the wealthy.

The Greeks and the Hebrews regarded work as a curse. Manual labor was for slaves. The cultural norms allowed free men to pursue warfare, large-scale commerce, and the arts, especially architecture or sculpture. Skilled crafts were accepted and recognized as having some social value, but were not regarded as much better than work appropriate for slaves. Hard work, whether due to economic need or under the orders of a master, was disdained.

Noble Steed @ Emaar Business Park, Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/5; 1/10sec; ISO-200

Noble Steed @ Emaar Business Park, Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/5; 1/10sec; ISO-200

At some point it was recognized that work was necessary for the satisfaction of material needs, but Plato and Aristotle made it clear that the purpose for which the majority of men labored was in order that the minority, the élite, might engage in pure exercises of the mind: art, philosophy, and politics.

The Greeks believed that a person’s prudence, morality and wisdom was directly proportional to the amount of leisure time that person had. A person who worked, when there was no need to do so, was dissolving the much admired distinction between slave and master, for leadership was based on the work a person didn’t have to do.

Revolving Doors @ Emaar Business Park, Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/8; 1/200sec; ISO-400

Revolving Doors @ Emaar Business Park, Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/8; 1/200sec; ISO-400

Do I view that wealth and virtue are incompatible? How do I feel about the Stoic view that wealth should be pursued only for the purposes of generosity and social good? How extreme both these are!

Annointed at birth with a capable brain, a quick wit, nimble limbs and complete use of my faculties, this work ethic of mine seems programmed to take me over a full five days per week then seems to go to sleep a full two days thereafter. It seems even work needs a break now and then!

 

About Alice

I run, I jump, I sing, I dance. Whether climbing trees, walls or stairs I do it at a clip. When out, my date is always Trusty Nikon (who never lets me down in the attire stakes; so smart in his black, with a pop of red!). Where does it lead, this love affair of mine? Well, its lead me to Dubai, via the matrimonial aisle, thanks to a gorgeous husband who whisked me from Coogee beach, Sydney into the Arabian Peninsula - to my new home, Dubai. I am a freelance writer and photographer and my wish is to snap away, to scribe and to share it all with you. Enjoy.
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