Lesson plan
Workism
Workism is a term describing excessive devotion to work ethic, so much that it defines a person's purpose in life. American journalist Derek Thompson coined the term in a 2019 article for The Atlantic. Workism may come across as cult-like because it burdens workists to present themselves positively, rely on groupthink, let work dictate their relationships and thinking, and pursue an idealised outcome that may be unrealistic. Workism may be experienced as oppressive by both working and non-working people. Workist attitudes may develop in the context of a historically Protestant work ethic, or independently as a heuristic bias redeeming hustle culture, in which people try to justify the immense sacrifices they have made to maintain and advance their careers, rather than the reason they started making those sacrifices. It is also claimed that workism has trickled down from the top, for whom this disposition makes more sense. Workism takes after, but differs from productivism and producerism. Producerism focuses on the merit of what is being produced, through any means, while workism focuses on the merit of accomplishing or earning something through work. Productivism is like workism, but more readily praises non-work activities, assuming those activities produce something of tangible value or lead to it.
Article summary
Workism is a term describing excessive devotion to work ethic, so much that it defines a person's purpose in life. American journalist Derek Thompson coined the term in a 2019 article for The Atlantic. Workism may come across as cult-like because it burdens workists to present themselves positively, rely on groupthink, let work dictate their relationships and thinking, and pursue an idealised outcome that may be unrealistic. Workism may be experienced as oppressive by both working and non-working people. Workist attitudes may develop in the context of a historically Protestant work ethic, or independently as a heuristic bias redeeming hustle culture, in which people try to justify the immense sacrifices they have made to maintain and advance their careers, rather than the reason they started making those sacrifices. It is also claimed that workism has trickled down from the top, for whom this disposition makes more sense. Workism takes after, but differs from productivism and producerism. Producerism focuses on the merit of what is being produced, through any means, while workism focuses on the merit of accomplishing or earning something through work. Productivism is like workism, but more readily praises non-work activities, assuming those activities produce something of tangible value or lead to it.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.