Identity, Work and Labor

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What are the differences between work and labor? There are many differences between work and labor. At the same time, it is complex to point out these differences because they are subtle. To illustrate one difference between work and labor, here is an example from a building site. The manager or contractor organizes the structure of the tasks that need to be executed. The laborers are those who are doing the heavy work, laying bricks, digging the holes and carrying the lumber. The manager, foreman and the laborers, however, are all working at the site. It is only those doing the heavy work that would be considered to be laboring.

Some people work very hard and they really enjoy their work, while others find work to be a chore, could at times feel that they are laboring though tasks. Another difference may be that others work very hard but they could become very competitive in their work. They may want to be better than their co-workers and that may lead them to become a slave to their work. Working extra time after your normal working hours could seem like labor even it is a job you enjoy. Sitting in the office late at night for the third night in a week you could end up feeling like you are laboring through a difficult project.

For so many Another example with people who work in a bank, or in a big or small company, their work is their life, they live to work and without work they feel lost and at times they lose their identity. When I was in Chile I worked in a big corporation. I used to observe people’s behavior and how attached they became to their job; it was their own little world and they were totally identified with it. In my observation I saw that most of the people I was working with had a limited world, out of their ...

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...lenging to maintain balance between what you love to do and work. For instance high-powered executives can forget what it is like to have time to enjoy themselves with their family and friends, and as a result they can become depressed or their vision of life becomes so limited that all that exists in their world is work. An overworked executive may never have done laboring for money, but may have labored through difficult projects. Humanity could be different if people could choose to work at what they love and have passion for. it. They could have balance in their lives; they could grow with their family and enjoy life. Ultimately, all of us need to work; some of us do laboring jobs, and at times many of us will labor through a difficult projects. In my opinion labor is a heavy heavier or burning feeling and work can be busy but incredible productive and enjoyable.

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