Definition and Origins of Bullshit Jobs
– A bullshit job or pseudowork is meaningless or unnecessary wage labor.
– Workers are obliged to pretend that their job has a purpose.
– Polling in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands shows that around 40% of workers consider their job to be a bullshit job.
– Coined by anthropologist David Graeber in a 2013 essay.
– Elaborated upon in his 2018 book ‘Bullshit Jobs’.
– Bullshitization refers to the transformation of previously meaningful work into a bullshit job.
– Can occur through corporatization, marketization, or managerialism.
– Academia has been affected by bullshitization due to the expansion of managerial roles and administrative work.
– Neoliberal educational reforms contribute to the erosion of academic freedom.
Academic Bullshit Jobs
– The expansion of managerial roles and administrative work in academia has led to the creation of bullshit jobs.
– Graeber and others argue that academic freedom has been eroded as a result.
– The gig economy and the neoliberal university contribute to the prevalence of academic bullshit jobs.
– The book ‘The Gig Academy’ explores the labor dynamics in the neoliberal university.
– Academic bullshit jobs have been a subject of research and discussion.
Critiques and Analysis of Bullshit Jobs
– The concept of bullshit jobs has been subject to criticism and debate.
– Some argue that the perception of a job as bullshit may be subjective.
– Others highlight the negative impact of bullshit jobs on employee well-being and job satisfaction.
– The rise of technology and automation has also been discussed in relation to bullshit jobs.
– Bullshit jobs have implications for productivity, efficiency, and the overall economy.
Further Reading and References
– ‘Bullshit Jobs’ by David Graeber provides an in-depth exploration of the phenomenon.
– ‘Pseudowork: How we ended up being busy doing nothing’ by Anders Fogh Jensen and Dennis Nørmark discusses the concept of pseudowork.
– ‘The Mind-Body Politic’ by Michelle Maiese and Robert Hanna explores the intersection of work and politics.
– ‘The Future of Academic Freedom’ by Henry Reichman delves into the challenges faced by academia.
– ‘Review of Social Economy’ and ‘The Chronicle of Higher Education’ are sources that discuss the topic of bullshit jobs in higher education.
Bullshit Jobs in Various Sectors
– Bullshitization is a phenomenon observed in various sectors.
– The expansion of managerial roles and administrative work in academia is an example.
– Corporatization, marketization, and managerialism contribute to the creation of bullshit jobs.
– Neoliberal educational reforms also play a role in the prevalence of bullshit jobs.
– The gig economy and the neoliberal university are additional examples of sectors affected by bullshit jobs. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_job
A bullshit job or pseudowork is meaningless or unnecessary wage labour which the worker is obliged to pretend to have a purpose. Polling in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands indicates that around 40% of workers consider their job to fit this description.
The concept was coined by anthropologist David Graeber in a 2013 essay in Strike Magazine, On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs, and elaborated upon in his 2018 book Bullshit Jobs.
Graeber also formulated the concept of bullshitization, where previously meaningful work turns into a bullshit job through corporatization, marketization or managerialism. This has been applied to academia, which Graeber and others contend has been bullshitized by the expansion of managerial roles and administrative work caused by neoliberal educational reforms, contributing to the erosion of academic freedom.
