From The Editor
Pamela Gerloff
Pamela Gerloff, Ed.D., is the editor
of More Than Money Journal. Her prior publications and consulting
work in schools, businesses, and nonprofits have focused
on learning, growth, and change. She holds a doctorate in
human development from Harvard University.
Among my happiest memories of childhood and
adolescence were times I spent working. Really working.
Doing chores around home. Cleaning sinks. Taking care of
animals. Spending a summer evening with my family while
each of us did different tasks, like cutting grass, raking
leaves, washing windows" There was never a shortage
of work. I enjoyed doing useful things at school, too, like
scraping lunch plates in the cafeteria kitchen. It may seem
strange today, but back in that place and time, kids were
allowed and encouraged to work. Now we live in a culture
that seems to define work as something you do mainly in
order to get a tangible, monetary reward, or status in the
eyes of others, or power. The common perception is that
"work" is something to be avoided, something
you try to get away with not doing, something that only
those less fortunate or less intelligent have to do. (There
is a presumption that "smart people" don't
do "real" work-they just make lots of
money, reaping the big profits from work done by others.)
To me, work was fulfilling, satisfying, rewarding
in itself. It was also a way of connecting to home and community,
a way of contributing something of value. In work, I experienced
"flow"- that feeling of peaceful contentment
and connection to something deeper in myself and in life.
In work, I developed a sense of self-worth, self-respect,
and self-confidence. By working, I learned that I could
do things. I learned that I was competent, that I was needed,
and that it felt good to work.
This now sounds almost anachronistic in a
culture that seems to hold confused and ambivalent attitudes
toward work. If you don't work you're a lazy
bum; yet, it's the people who make money without doing
much "work" that our culture seems to most admire.
John Ruskin's words-"The highest reward
for man's toil is not what he gets from it but what
he becomes by it"-express a sentiment that many
people simply don't relate to anymore. (What do you
mean the reward for work is what you become by it? You work
to get things: Money. Security. Influence. Comfortable surroundings.
Ego gratification. Freedom.)
Recently, I told a ten-year-old boy that I
used to enjoy working as a child. He replied that he wished
he didn't have to do any work. None of his friends
had to, and they could get everything they wanted. As we
talked, it became apparent that his goal in life was to
have a lot of money and not to have to work too much.
That seems to be the new American dream. Success
is making lots of money. Success is not having to work.
Success means doing only certain types of work (high status
jobs with high pay and a high glamour quotient).
This journal issue turns all that on its head,
although we didn't begin with that intention. We just
wanted to explore the relationship between money and work.
What we found was that many people are redefining for themselves
the meaning of success-and, in the process, are examining
their own relationship to money and work. People are questioning
pervasive cultural assumptions about success, work, and
money; they are going against cultural norms-even
when they are uncertain, when they seem all alone, or when
it is simply hard for them to do. Above all, people are
questioning their own assumptions, thoughtfully examining
the purpose and meaning of their own lives, and acting to
align their money, their work, and their values.
The result of our exploration is this compendium
of viewpoints about work and money, including Mark Albion
discussing how to find your "right place" in
your work life; Bob Kenny on learning to support his son's
passion, even when it's not the same as his; Vicki
Robin on why it can be hard to think of work as separate
from earning money; Dov Charney demonstrating a cost-effective
way to pay workers more while still being economically successful;
Diana Paolitto reflecting on the choices she made to balance
work and family; Molly Stranahan and Ruth Ann Harnisch on
what happens when you don't have to work for money;
and Juliet Schor on the dilemma our society is experiencing
with so many people spending so much time working that we
don't have time left to smell the flowers.
Work is so central to our lives, whether or
not we work in a capacity that is formally recognized or
rewarded. In humans, there seems to be an urge to give of
ourselves, to challenge ourselves, and to express ourselves
in some way in the world. It is an urge to become who we
are and who we have the potential to be.
If, as a society, we are to realize our highest
potential, I believe we will need to carefully examine the
limitations we place on our growth by the way we measure
success. The people in this issue are leading the way, as
they guide us into dialogue about work and money, and ultimately,
the meaning and measure of success.