# Work and Dignity By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2022-11-28 Work can provide a sense of accomplishment. Taking on a task, seeing it through to completion, and contributing to something meaningful can be important for how we establish and maintain our self-concept and self-worth. Work has inherent dignity. It doesn’t matter if the work is primarily mental or physical, inside or outside, directed or autonomous, lucrative or subsistence. All work has dignity because it allows each of us to participate in the creation and execute and fulfill our responsibilities. Teddy Roosevelt asserted that “[[Comparison]] is the thief of joy.” In a society in which identity and well-being are precarious, it is understandable that one might be compelled to continually compare oneself to others. Frequently these comparisons revolve around career and income. Such comparisons might serve psychological needs, but it tends to diminish the joy associated with the dignity of work. Chances are good that many times one compares oneself to another and feels superior, and the other person feels inferior. These comparisons miss the mark. A better set of metrics might focus on the degree of fulfillment one feels by engaging in one’s work, and the degree to which one’s work contributes to the betterment of our society. Feeling better about oneself by observing there are people worse off is an impoverished notion of [[success]]. Analytics focuses attention on rigorous measurement. It is essential that one selects elements that capture what is important rather than what is obvious or easily accessible. How might organizations change if they attempted to maximize the dignity of their work? #### Related Items [[Dignity]] [[Psychology]] [[Society]] [[Work]] [[Organizational Analytics]]