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Willyoubeaworkeroralaborer?Tobetrulyhappy,apersonmustfeelbothfreeandimportant.Peopleareneverhappyiftheyfeelcompelledbysocietytodoworktheydonotenjoy,orifwhattheydoenjoyisignoredbysocietyashavingnovalueorimportance.Inasocietywhereslaveryinthestrictsensehasbeenabolished,thesocialindicationsaroundwork,thevalueofworkandthesalary,havedegradedmanylaborersintomodernslaves-wageslaves.Peopleareconsideredlaborersiftheirjobhasanadverseeffectonthem,yettheyfeelcompelledtocontinueworkingbythenecessityofconformingtosocietalexpectationsandearningtherevenuetosupportthemselvesandtheirfamilies.Thepolaroppositeoflaborisplay.Whenweplayagame,weenjoywhatwearedoing,butitisapurelyprivatepastime;societydoesnotcarewhenorwhetherweplay.Betweenlaborandplaystandswork.Peoplearelabeledasworkersiftheirpersonalinterestscoincidewiththejobssocietypaysthemtodo;whatisnecessarylaborfromthepointofviewofsocietyisvoluntaryplayfromtheindividual'spersonalpointofview.Whetherajobistobedesignatedaslabororworkdepends,notonthejobitself,butonthetastesoftheindividualwhoundertakesit.Thedifferencedoesnot,forexample,correlatewiththedifferencebetweenamanualandmentaljoborbetweenjobsofloworhighesteem;agardenercoveredindirtinagreenhousemaybeaworkerwhileawell-dressedcitymayormayprovetobeanunhappylaborer!People'sattitudetowardtheirworkdetermineseverything.Toworkers,leisuremeanssimplythehourstheyneedtorelaxandrestinordertoworkefficiently.Workersarethereforemorepronetodedicatemoretimetoworking,takingtoolittleleisureratherthantoomuch.Tolaborers,ontheotherhand,leisuremeansautonomyfromcompulsion,soitisnaturalforthemtoimaginethatthefewerhourstheyhavetospendlaboring,andthemorehourstheyhavefreeforplay,thebetter.Besidesthemerehoursspentinleisure,workersandlaborersdifferintheamountofpersonalsatisfactiontheyderivefromtheirjobs.Workerswhoenjoytheirjobswillbehappier,lessstressed,andgenerallymoresatisfiedwiththeirlives.Theywillalsoworkwithmorediligenceandprecisionbecausetheyhavefosteredasenseofpersonalprideintheirjobs.Ontheotherhand,laborers,whosesoleincentiveisearningtheirlivelihood,feelthatthetimetheyspendonthedailygrindiswastedanddoesn'tcontributetotheirhappiness.Insteadofvaluingall24hoursoftheirdayasenjoyableandproductivehours,theygaugeonlythetimespentinleisureandplayasmeaningful.Unfortunately,laborersarealltoocommonplace,andonlyasmallpercentageofthepopulationisintheluckypositionofbeingworkers.24Inrecentdecades,technologicalinnovationandthedivisionoflaborhavecausedmajoreconomicchangesbyeliminatingtheneedforspecialstrengthorskillinmanyfieldsandhaveturnedmanypaidoccupationswithenjoyableworkintoboringlabor.Increasingproductivitywithautomatedmachines,suchasrobots,hasreducedthenumberofnecessarylaboringhours.Itispossibletoimagineanupcomingsocietyinwhichthemajorityofthepopulationwillhavealmostasmuchleisuretimeasinearliertimeswasenjoyedbythemedievalaristocracy.Themedievalaristocratshadanabundanceofleisuretimebutoftenwasteditintrivialpursuitofgamesandfashion.Likewise,modern-daylaborerswithtoomuchleisuretimemayfinditdifficulttorefrainfromtheaddictiveandtrivialpursuitsofcelebritygossip,extravagantfashion,andexcessivevideogamesandTV-similarbadhabitsthatwastevaluabletime.However,it'snotnecessarytotakesuchatoxicattitudetowardsuchapositivethingasleisuretime.Infact,inmanycountries,peoplenowusetheirleisuretimetoimprovetheirmindsandtheirworkingconditionstocreateahappier,morecontentedlife.Lifelonglearningcanmakethedifferencebetweenbeingbored,unhappylaborersandworkerswhofindmeaningandjoyintheiremploymentandlife.Continuingeducationorexperientiallearningcanofferanarrayofclassesfrompleasantdiversionssuchassports,artclassesormusictoleadershipdevelopment,advancedaccountingskills,orCAD(computer-aideddesign),tonameonlyafew.CAD(Whateverthejob,peoplewhoenjoytheirworkfindtimepassesquickly.Theyhurltheirpassionintotheirwork,beitphysicalliketheworkofasmith,ormorementallikethatofascientistoranartist.Evenpurelymentalworkcansufficeasanoutlet,asaptlyexpressedbythephrasesinkingone'steethintoaproblem.Eventually,everyonehastofindajobandearnaliving.Laborersareslavingawayatajobtheydon'tenjoyforasmallmonetaryreward,waitingalldayuntiltheygohomeandplay.Butwhilelaborersarecountingdownthehours,workersareenergizedandfocused,takingoptimumpleasureinthetaskathand.Bychoosingajobthatisbothusefultosocietyandpersonallyfulfilling,workersmaintainasimultaneoussenseofpurposeandenthusiasmthatimprovestheirwholelives.Sointheend,whateverjobyouchoose,youmustcontendwiththisessentialquestion:Willyoubealaboreroraworker?