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Comment by ProjectArcturis | Hacker News Reader

Has anyone ever wanted to work? There's a reason it's called "work" and they have to pay you to do it.

Yes, I know lots of people who want to work. They derive satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment from it. That they get paid isn't the primary thing for them -- that's just a necessity of life.

But they wouldn't feel that way working just anywhere. They have found a great match with an employer who treats them well.

I'm guessing none of these people work in low-wage positions.

Depends on what you mean by low-wage. None are working for minimum wage, but some are working for well below the median income in this area.

Many do, and employers promptly abuse it. Many who have been lauded in the covid times as heroes, the people who really keep society together, are criminally undervalued in compensation and other benefits. Aside from these, there are field where the love for the field is looked upon as a compensation in itself, and therefore it pays less and abuse more, for example computer game developers.

Although, I don't think work is the default for humans. Evolutionally speaking I'd think taking care of the self, the partner, and the immediate next of kin would come first, and would take most of the day. In this light, a 9-5 is really unnatural, because you give "your best" to a completely different context. I see the point in it personally, but I also understand why it could feel unnatural and undesirable.

Hmm, I used to think that. But then I took a year off. I probably could have coasted about 5 years, more if I invested it in a particular way. But at the end of it I would have had nothing. So I went back and got a job. It seemed more interesting than doom scrolling reddit and youtube. It just seemed kind of wasteful to me to do basically nothing. As I realized my hobbies I did not really care about either.

"Oh, you hate your job? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody and we meet at the bar" -- George Carlin

> they have to pay you to do it.

Things can be both enjoyable and necessary[0]. I could imagine that early humans may have enjoyed the "work" of hunting (given that some modern people still seem to), even though it was also necessary for feeding themselves.

[0]: Money being a stand-in for "necessities" here.

I like my job and I do enjoy having SOME obligation to do SOMETHING. But if money wasnt factor in my decision making I'd probably work 3 days a week and spend more time on hobbies or volunteering. Having no work at all makes me a bit listless.

Yes. I've worked for nearly 30 years now (mostly corporate and consulting jobs). I enjoy it and always have.

I've learned that this sentiment is somewhat uncommon, though.

Often it's the other way around.

Just look at nurses. They are chronically underpaid, yet still do their jobs.

Teaching relies heavily on "just do this extra bit you don't really have to... it's for the kids, after all". Stay a little longer, get this extra thing done, just buy that thing yourself, come in a little early to help with this other thing. You're sick but this kid emailed to say they didn't understand the lesson the sub taught... and you could help, so you do. Implicitly, when not explicitly. It gets a lot more obvious that's what's going on after you leave education and see what a normal job is like. Which might be less insulting if the pay were competitive, but it's not that hard for a competent teacher to leave for another sector and see a 20-50% TC increase. You lose the Summers but everything else is better.

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