Leave the Grind Behind

Is Work Meaningless?

This article is part of the Claritas spring 2022 issue, Flourishing. Read the full print release here.

BY CLAYTON LEE

Like many undergraduate business students, I found myself busy recruiting for a full-time job this past summer. I remember scrolling through LinkedIn a couple of days before my summer internship began and seeing my classmates and peers landing great jobs left and right. As the “I’m excited to announce…” posts flooded my feed, my anxiety about my own job prospects began to build. After countless applications and multiple interviews, I landed a job that I thought was great, but quickly doubted. What if I chose the wrong job? Could I have gotten a better job if I had worked harder? 

I realized my whole life up until that point had revolved around the idea of work. The culmination of my elite American education was to land a great job at some bulge bracket investment bank or FAANG company. But somehow I had never really asked myself: what’s the right attitude I should have towards work, and can my work ever help me truly flourish? The wisdom of the biblical book Ecclesiastes provides a helpful perspective on a healthy relationship with work amidst the rising global dissatisfaction with careers.

Workers in the United States are increasingly unhappy with their careers, which economists have recently identified as “the Great Resignation.” A recent report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that there were 11.3 million job openings on the last day of January 2022, compared to 7.23 million during the same month in 2021. [1] [2] People are quitting their jobs at historically high rates and deciding to retire earlier. In a recent 60 Minutes segment, LinkedIn’s Chief Economist Karin Kimbrough stated that Americans are getting burnt out, and a diverse group of people from Baby Boomers to Gen Z are leaving their jobs behind. [3] Workers have used their free time from the pandemic to reevaluate their lives; they want higher pay, greater flexibility with their work’s location and hours, and better opportunities for advancement. [4]

Take Melissa Williams, who talked about her experience in the same 60 Minutes segment. She decided to leave a marketing job in early 2021 after finding herself struggling to balance marriage, motherhood, and her career. Feeling overwhelmed and burnt out, Melissa started working at Worxbee, a platform that pairs remote assistants with company executives that need administrative assistance. She now assists three different managers from her home. Although she is just as busy as before, working virtually from home allows Melissa to care more for her family and teach English as a side job, which is her true passion.

Something strikingly similar is happening halfway across the world in China, where the Lying Flat (躺平 (tǎng píng)) movement is taking place. Like the Great Resignation, Lying Flat began in 2021 as a countercultural movement against traditional Chinese values such as working hard to achieve success, getting married, and having children. The movement has even caught the attention of the Chinese government, who restricted the use of the phrase across Chinese social media platforms.

More and more Chinese people are unplugging from their lives and, in a sense, “chilling.” Chinese Citizen Luo Huazhong, for example, quit his factory job and is now getting by on odd jobs, living a very simple and austere life. [5] Huazhong now spends his free time reading philosophy and exercising. He even has social media followers who call him the “Master of Lying Down!”

The similarities between the rising labor movements in America and China are striking. Even though the countries are very different in their political, economic, and social structures, there seems to be a common underlying problem: work is no longer a satisfying life purpose. Can we see a similar sentiment among Cornell students?

Cornell University, with its elite Ivy League status, houses some of the brightest minds in the world. A quick LinkedIn search shows that many Cornellians compete for jobs in high-paying and high-stress industries like investment banking, consulting, and technology. According to Cornell’s Class of 2019 Postgraduate Report, the top employers for Cornell graduates are all big-name companies like Google, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, Facebook, and many others. [6]

This desire for high-paying jobs indicates that there is no Great Resignation or Lying Flat movement happening at Cornell. But unfortunately, this “rise-and-grind” culture has negative effects on the mental health of many Cornell students. Cornell seems to create a pressure-cooker environment, where competition is key and job status is the metric for success. One popular post on the Cornell subreddit from three years ago talks about this draining culture: 

“I hate the heavy air of depression and stress that floats around and the fact that everyone ignores it and pretends it isn't there. I hate that everyone seems to care only about their grades or landing a 90k soulless financial analyst job at Goldman Sachs.” [7] 

These stories and social media posts of distressed students are backed up by real data. According to the 2019 Cornell Undergraduate Experience Survey, 40.5% of Cornellians reported being very often overwhelmed by all that they had to do, with 33.5% of Cornellians reporting being often overwhelmed. Interestingly enough, non-Ivy schools report similar numbers at 38.4% and 31.8% respectively. [8] The data seems to indicate that strained mental health is something that is being felt across all universities, not just at Cornell.

The American “Great Resignation,” the “Lying Flat” movement in China, and the grind culture at Cornell all show that people across the world have a troubled relationship with work. In a search for an antidote, the biblical book of Ecclesiastes is a useful resource that provides wisdom and insight into a healthy relationship with work. Work is one of the central ideas explored in Ecclesiastes as the writer, who is referred to as the “Preacher” in the text, breaks down the different aspects of work. 

Before exploring these ideas, we must address one very common word that occurs throughout Ecclesiastes. The Hebrew word hevel (הֶבֶל) is often translated to “meaningless” or “vanity” in English translations, and is used 38 times in the book. [9] In the opening verses of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher laments using this word: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:1 NKJV). However, this translation doesn’t capture the original meaning of the word hevel, which is more accurately translated as “vapor” or “smoke”. Think about the nature of smoke: it seems to be material, but when you reach out to grab it, it disappears. It’s fleeting, and ultimately, it is very temporary.

The Preacher runs through several thought experiments on a variety of topics, including work. He paints a sobering picture of the repercussions of workaholism. Working all you want and gaining loads of riches is great, but the Preacher acknowledges that it will lead to more unrest and sleepless nights – especially when compared to the experience of a simple laborer (5:12). The amount of stress, burden, and risk taken on by a work-a-holic can destroy you from the inside out. He further contends that there are some of those who are unable to enjoy the wealth they earn. They’ll just end up leaving it for someone else to enjoy (6:2).

The Preacher also writes about his own experiences. He lists all the worldly pleasures he’s ever had—riches, concubines, servants, and other possessions. But he ultimately concludes that it is all hevel (2:1). Why does he draw this conclusion? Because, the Preacher says, it doesn’t matter in the end. Sinner or righteous, clean or unclean, those who offer sacrifices to God and those who don’t, they all meet the same fate: death (9:2).

This conclusion is especially striking, and one I would have never expected from a Biblical text. Yet strangely enough, the Preacher also talks about the positive aspects of life. For example, the Preacher tells the reader to “eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.” He also says, “I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage.” Biblical scholar Dr. J. Daryl Charles addresses the dichotomy between the negativity and positivity found in Ecclesiastes, saying “…‘Meaninglessness’ is not applied to human work categorically. It applies, rather, to anything that stands outside of or apart from a theocentric outlook on life.” [10] As Dr. Charles notes, the Preacher makes it clear that life can have positive meaning and enjoyment only if viewed from the right perspective, where God is the center of everything.

When we look at work from a godly perspective, we see it as a gift that we can enjoy. Quickly, life and work begin to seem less hevel than they once did. The Preacher is inviting us to enjoy the little things in life, like enjoying a good meal or drink (Ecclesiastes 9:7). It is a simple practice that helps us look past the big existential questions and lets God in the picture, which may be what the current definition of work is missing. Work should neither be a tool to gain power and status nor something to abandon and tailor to one's own needs and desires – work is a gift from God. 

When you find yourself grinding away at a problem set or pulling an all-nighter to study for your prelim, try to reframe your work as a gift. Working and striving can certainly seem meaningless, but when we invite God into the picture everything can change. We realize that the life we have on earth is not all that there is. It forces us to be present and genuinely interact with the world around us, while realizing that life is fleeting. We only have a short time left in this world, so let’s cherish what we have before the days of darkness arrive (Ecclesiastes 11:8).

To quote American Christian minister Robert Short: 

“Within the larger context of the Bible, the teacher in Ecclesiastes is essentially a kind of negative theologian, asking questions that can be answered only by a future revelation of God, and clearing the road for this revelation by smashing any and all false hopes to pieces. Ecclesiastes is the Bible’s night before Christmas. He (the Preacher) shows us human self-sufficiency stretched to its absolute limit and found sadly wanting.” [11] 
And if this is where Ecclesiastes leaves us, it is where Jesus and the Gospel can take us. Ecclesiastes shows us the bad news before the good news, but it ultimately allows us to view work not as a burden, but as a beautiful gift from God. [12]

This article appeared in Claritas’ Spring 2022 Flourishing Issue.

SOURCES

[1] “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary,”  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2022, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm. 

[2] Statista Research Department, “Monthly Job Openings in the United States from February 2021 to February 2022, Statista, April 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/217943/monthly-job-openings-in-the-united-states/. 

[3] 60 Minutes, “Why are Americans Choosing to Quit Their Jobs in Record Numbers?” January 9, 2022, YouTube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brw-jN9b-Sg.

[4] Bryan Mena, “ Workers Quit Jobs at a Record Level in November,” Wall Street Journal, January 4, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/job-openings-us-growth-01-04-2022-11641256945. 

[5] Elsie Chen, “These Chinese Millennials Are ‘Chilling,’ and Beijing Isn’t Happy,” New York Times, July 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/03/world/asia/china-slackers-tangping.html.

[6] Cornell University Career Services, Class of 2019 Postgraduate Report, 2019, https://scl.cornell.edu/sites/scl/files/documents/2019_PostGradSurveyWeb-VD.pdf.

[7] u/snarrkie, “I legitimately hate Cornell,” Reddit post, December 7, 2018, https://www.reddit.com/r/Cornell/comments/a45y4j/i_legitimately_hate_cornell/.

[8] Cornell University Division of Planning and Budget, 2019 Cornell Undergraduate Experience Survey, 2019, https://irp.dpb.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019-CUE-Survey-tables.pdf.

[9] Joel K. T. Biwul, “The Use Of Hebel In Ecclesiastes: A Political And Economic Reading,” HTS Theological Studies (August 2017), http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/hts/v73n3/57.pdf.

[10] J. Daryl Charles, "Wisdom and Work: Perspectives on Human Labor from Ecclesiastes," Journal of Markets & Morality 22, no. 1 (Spring 2019): 7-40. https://www.marketsandmorality.com/index.php/mandm/article/view/1387.

[11] Robert Short, A Time to Be Born—A Time to Die (New York: Harper Collins, 1973).

[12] Tim Mackie, “Ecclesiastes Part 1,” in Exploring My Strange Bible, podcast, https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/ecclesiastes-part-1-hevel/id1271147429?i=1000391533506.