Christopher Michaelson, ethics and business law professor at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, recently spoke with WCCO Radio about his new book, Is Your Work Worth It?, and the diverse perspectives that shape our understanding of meaningful work.
From the story:
Michaelson: I want to say that this book is co-authored with Jennifer Tosti-Kharas, a colleague that I’ve been doing scholarly research with for a long time, and it’s worth it to get a little scholarly and wonky. A comparative measure: When we think about worth, we’re not just thinking about the monetary value alone, but what about the monetary value in exchange for the benefit that you get from it, the contribution that you make, and so on. And sometimes we just, when we are contemplating work, we just think about what’s the salary going to be, the things that are easily measurable, and there’s so much that is involved in worth that isn’t measurable that matters.
Host: Why did you write this book? Was it just you contemplating this, you and your partner, or was this a vibe that you were feeling from other people and you wanted to look into it?
Michaelson: We kind of think that everybody asks this question about their work at some point, and some people have more freedom, actually, to act upon their answer. You know, to make a change, to choose a different line of work, to choose not to work. It’s a privilege which very few of us have. And by the way, I just described it as a privilege; maybe it’s a curse not to work. But I think a lot of people, during the workday or during their work time, think, sometimes, ‘Is it worth it?’
