Our Society Needs to Value Work That Makes a Difference
TL;DR – By rewarding work beneficial to the collective good, we can create a culture where people are motivated to make positive change happen.
Many of the highest-paying jobs are net-negative for society.
Our country’s incentive structure is currently set up to reward activities that are harmful to society.
Because we only do things that make money, many of the smartest, most educated folks are working on Viagra, maximizing a few more pennies from ads, extracting a few more hundreds-of-a-penny from a stock trade, or how to make the law so complex, only your firm understands it.
Stock traders enable financial chicanery, advertising optimizers enable consumerism, bankers push our economy toward disaster, and lobbyists provide government largess to the highest bidder.
At the same time, there are so many people working in fields that actually make a difference to society but they don’t get paid nearly as much.
It is counterproductive that in a time where there are countless opportunities to create a positive impact, the most profitable jobs do little to benefit the common good, and in many cases harm it. With incredible technologies like artificial intelligence, DNA sequencing, energy production and storage and so many more on the horizon, they must be aligned with what’s best for the species.
We need to shift the focus of our economy and value and reward work that contributes to a better world. To build a better future, we should recognize, reward, and promote jobs that further the well-being of our communities and the world.
Good Work is Undervalued
Our current system does not provide adequate incentives for those who undertake roles that contribute positively to society. We are wasting incredible talent, highly-skilled individuals, on harmful activities. The “human resources” could be better utilized on issues that help the human race. Educators, researchers, doctors and nurses, social workers, counselors, and scientists should be more valued in our society.
Industries like technology, renewable energy are healthcare could go a long way in protecting our planet and enhancing public well-being. Today, they often make the wealthiest people wealthier, often to the detriment of society.
Isn’t it time we reevaluated our priorities to ensure work that makes a real difference is valued accordingly?
We need to be smarter about how our incentives are structured.
People Like Getting Paid
People like getting paid to do things they love. What if we rewarded people for helpful jobs- careers that make a difference? It would not only be good for the individual but also for society as a whole.
Helpful jobs are out there. We need to encourage more people to get involved in these careers. With the right incentives, we could make a world of difference.
By making it financially rewarding to help the common good, we can make everything better.
It’s not just about the money – people also like feeling appreciated. By having a sense of contributing to a better future, more people will be happier, and more fulfilled.
When we make helpful jobs more financially rewarding, not only do we incentive people to enter these careers, but we also show give people more meaning in their lives. The elusive win-win situation.
Recruiting Smarter
Research has consistently shown that job satisfaction and quality of life improve significantly when employees feel that their work has a positive impact on the world around them. More efforts must be devoted to raising awareness about the importance of industries that contribute to the community’s well-being, the country, and even the world.
Addressing this problem requires a multi-faceted approach. For instance, implementing educational programs within schools and workplaces could increase awareness about the value of industries that benefit society. Additionally, governments could provide tax incentives or subsidies for companies that prioritize sustainability or social welfare, incentivizing businesses to act responsibly.
The point is to get more people working on what’s good, and less working on what’s bad.
Calling Out the Parasites
There are many sectors or careers that can be seen as parasites on the human race, taking and taking but not contributing. We need more awareness of the harm done by extractive sectors.
This incentive causes several problems our biggest problems:
- Economic inequality: The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
- Environmental degradation: Our planet is being destroyed at an alarming rate.
- Social unrest: There is a growing sense of anger and frustration among the population.
There are plenty of occupations and sectors that actively harm society.
- The complex system of banks, insurance companies, real estate professionals, hedge funds, and other financial institutions we call the “financial industry” makes “products” that are risky and harmful to the economy.
- The advertising industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that is designed to convince people to buy things they don’t need (often with money they don’t have) with manipulative and deceptive tactics.
- The military-industrial complex links the interests of the military, the defense industry, and the government. It produces weapons and other military equipment that is often not needed and promotes force to solve problems that could be solved peacefully.
- The “news” media is sensationalized and biased. It peddles misinformation about important issues. It’s addictive. People who watch a lot of cable news are more likely to be stressed and anxious. They are also more likely to have negative views of the world. They push distractions to protect their owners.
Many of these are what anthropologist David Graeber calls Bullshit Jobs.
Why are we letting so many actively harmful occupations come with massive financial rewards?
Moving Forward
As we work toward building a more mindful and sustainable society, it is crucial to remember that change starts with each individual. One way to participate is by letting your voice be heard: Sign up for the Less Bad newsletter to join others in learning more about our world’s challenges and exploring ways to pivot toward a more sustainable future.
There is hope – and the first step is valuing and rewarding work that makes a difference. By redirecting our focus and prioritizing beneficial jobs, we have the power to shape a future where the well-being of our communities, our country, and our planet is at the forefront of everything we do
Growing the Right Kind of Jobs
Forget the robots – there’s plenty of work, for everyone
You wanna grow jobs?
We all want to live in a society that is safe, prosperous, and forward-thinking. This means giving incentives to teachers, doctors, police officers, and other professionals who make a positive impact on our lives.
There are whole fields and industries centered around improving the world just waiting to be created.
Toward an Industry of “Help”
Through our wallets, consumers have the power to demand companies spend more resources on helping the world. Through Impact Consumerism, we can push incentives away from careers that exploit the world, toward careers that contribute to progress.
The field of understanding, measuring, and improving the impact of business on society has grown significantly in recent years. But if we want to avoid disaster, it needs to grow much larger, much faster.
As businesses are increasingly held accountable for their social and environmental impact, there is a growing need for professionals who can help them navigate this complex landscape and create positive change.
Chief Impact Officer
If enough consumers decide to demand more from businesses, corporations will have to have a position like “Chief Impact Officer.” Someone responsible for holistically understanding the impact of business. The ways to minimize negative impact, and promote positive impact. Someone responsible for seeking out and forming partnerships with organizations, other businesses, charities and non-profits, the local community, etc on how to make a positive impact on the world.
In theory, today’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) managers already oversee something similar. We need to make those positions as prestigious (and well paying) as the other C-level ones.
The Impact Officer would have to deal with things like
- Employees and HR relations, how are people paid, how are women and minorities represented
- Community relations, how is the company dealing with their neighbors
- How fairly are customers being treated, are marketing making exaggerated claims, are refunds too difficult?
- Supply chains and sourcing questions, where are the materials used for goods coming from and what are the working conditions there
- Government relations – who is getting political donations, why, and what laws or regulations are their lobbyist working on
Those are big responsibilities with complex demands. Imagine all these big departments full of people working hard to make progress. Imagine a day when a company’s Chief Impact Officer carries as much clout and prestige as the CTO, CFO, or CMO
Think of all the highly valuable skills that right now go to making rich people richer at any cost. Wouldn’t it be better to put those skills to use to help all of us? Rich people can still get richer, they just have to do it without hurting all of us.
Impact Scoring / Analysts
One particularly tantalizing possibility is an increase in the number of professionals employed in measuring business impacts and finding ways to address those issues.
A perpetual criticism of ESG / Impact / woke investing is that it doesn’t really mean anything. There aren’t standard metrics, companies aren’t sure what to measure, or how. As more people work in that area (because businesses make it a priority), we can make real progress.
This involves analyzing the social and environmental effects of a business’s operations, products, and services. This type of work requires a strong understanding of data analysis, research methods, and social and environmental issues. Jobs in this field may include sustainability analysts, social impact analysts, and environmental impact analysts.
Developing and implementing metrics to track and evaluate a business’s social and environmental performance goes a long way toward moving us forward.
Marketing / Customer Service
Instead of obfuscating and lying, marketing teams instead were put to work explaining why their company believes that X issue is important to work on.
Think about the impact if each company had even a small team looking at problems that relate to their industry, or that are of particular concern to their customers, and how the company can best help address that issue.
Impact Consulting
There are already various organizations that help companies with their “corporate responsibility.” This field has been around for a while. But it needs to get much bigger. Along with consultants that specialize in cutting costs (firing people) we need more consultants specializing in improving the social impacts of a company. IT would be great if they were more in demand.
Social Entrepreneurship
People are referring to “social entrepreneurship” as businesses aiming for a positive impact on society or the environment while also generating profits. This creates opportunities for talented individuals to combine their skills with their passions to make a tangible difference in the world.
We Can Make Helping Pay
If we push companies to prove to us they are on our side, we can reward (financially and culturally) behaviors that contribute to the common good.
Young professionals won’t have to choose between making money and doing what is right.
They can do both.
That should translate to fewer graduates choosing careers in corporate law or finance, careers that reward financially but on the whole, don’t serve the interests of progress.
We need to get to the point where organizations that understand, measure, and communicate their overall impact have an advantage over companies that don’t.
Rewarding Transparency
Careers that provide more transparency are essential if we want to move forward. From finance to government, tech to healthcare, there is a growing need for individuals who can provide transparency and accountability. As technology continues to advance and information becomes more accessible, the demand for transparency in all aspects of life will only continue to grow.
Journalists
Journalists play an important role in democracy. They help keep the public informed about what is happening in the world, and they often put their lives on the line to get the story. Through their work, they help hold governments and other powerful institutions accountable. Journalist research and conduct interviews to hold our institutions and leaders accountable. We need more real news.
Media Criticism
Another field of work that helps to increase transparency is media criticism. Media criticism is the practice of analyzing and evaluating media texts, such as films, television shows, books, newspapers, advertisements, and more. It involves examining how these texts are made and what messages they carry. Media critics are essential in helping the public understand the implications of what they consume daily.
Scientists and Researchers
Scientists are responsible for making discoveries that can change the world. Scientists are vital to progress. Whether it’s artificial intelligence, DNA sequencing, robotics, blockchain technology, energy storage, and so many other forms of innovation are around the corner. They can transform society for the better, or they can lead to chaos.
Scientists and engineers design and build the structures and machines that we use every day. They play a vital role in our society. They discover new knowledge about the world around us. They help us understand the universe and our place in it. These eggheads do stuff like develop new medicines and find new sources of energy. They are constantly working to make the world a better place with their experiments. We need more of them doing it for everyone’s benefit.
Data Analysts
Data analysts have become increasingly important as technology advances. They are responsible for analyzing data and helping to make sense of it. This type of work requires an understanding of statistics, programming, and data visualization tools.
And while there are certainly new types of careers waiting to be made as we move toward a better future, many of the most important ones are all around us, we just don’t promote them.
Jobs That Help Humanity
We should reward careers that contribute to the common good with better pay, benefits, and support.
Many careers help humanity. These people work hard to make the world a better place, and they should be rewarded for their efforts.
With the right incentives in place, we can make the world much better.
- Teachers – We’ve entrusted teachers with our future, they educate the next generation. They often work long hours to help mold the minds of the future generation and pass on knowledge, helping students reach their potential.
- Doctors and nutritionists – Doctors help save lives every day. They keep people alive and can help contribute to a better quality of life. A productive population is a healthy one, so we need as many good doctors and nutritionists out there helping to make the country healthier.
- Nurses – Nurses are the unsung heroes of the medical field. If we didn’t have nurses, the medical field would be in a lot of trouble. Nurses that help provide care for the elderly will be particularly necessary as the baby boomers age.
- Social Workers – Social workers help some of the most vulnerable people in our society. They provide support and resources to people who are struggling with poverty, addiction, and other challenges. They work with families, children, and the elderly to ensure that they have the resources they need to live healthy and happy lives.
If we had more people contributing to society and fewer being left behind, we’d be much better off. In the case of moving a person from the fringes of society to being a contributing member, – 1 + 1 doesn’t equal 0, it equals 2.
- Police Officers – Police officers help keep our communities safe. They put their lives on the line every day to protect us from criminals. Even though a few bad apples murder innocent people for no reason, the majority of police officers are good people who deserve our respect. We need good police for healthy communities.
We need to reward people who do good work in the world. If we make it financially rewarding, then everyone will be better off! Careers that benefit society should be embraced by all so more individuals can enter these fields and help us change our communities for the better.
How Do We Reward Helpful Jobs?
Rewarding good jobs requires a collective effort from consumers, businesses, and policymakers. We need to prioritize the well-being of employees, the environment, consumers, and the common good (and yes, shareholders too) to create a more sustainable and equitable economy.
By being responsible consumers and demanding that corporations do their part, we can create a better future for everyone.
Learn more about Impact Consumerism
