Over the past year, work has followed us home in a whole new way. After a long day toiling, we are now unwinding on the sofa with TV shows such as Severance or snuggling up in bed to read about people who hate their jobs in bestsellers like Butter by Asako Yuzuki or Madeleine Gray’s Green Dot. This new version of worktainment isn’t like the career-focused shows of yesteryear where everything was dramatically exaggerated – be it the stressful and messy (think Industry, Succession or even Rivals), glamorous (SATC), over-played (The Apprentice) or ridiculous (The Office). Over the past six months, the forms of work emerging in our entertainment have been bland, a bit pointless and a huge distraction that stops us from being the person we want to be. Work is the subplot, not the main event.
So, is art imitating life here? I’m inclined to think so. Although sociologists observe that we turn to softer comforts, cosy crime and nostalgia in times of true stress, I don’t think what we’re seeing is a response to a work climate that is so stressful that we need our TV versions of it not to be. Instead, I think this is the first time storytellers are reflecting the true nature of contemporary work back at us – and a lot of it is, well, a bit pointless and dull, really. The majority of us are not saving lives or feeding communities. Often, it’s random work. Or boring work. Or both.
Like everyone, there are bits of my working day that are exactly that. I’m never going to look at the 927 unread emails and feel anything other than the desire to hide under my desk and hope they go away. But this current artistic gaze makes me feel incredibly grateful too, because work really is more than just a place I go to pay my bills or pass the time. It’s also a chance to share ideas with people I respect or flex parts of my brain I wouldn’t have a use for elsewhere. For want of a better expression, when it comes to work, I lean in.
It’s amazing how powerful entertainment can be as a tool for understanding how we feel about something, especially a part of our lives – like work – that we rarely stop to examine. So read the books, watch the shows and challenge yourself to notice how you feel. I doubt you’ll be first in line for a severance procedure, but you might just discover exactly what it is about your own work that does (and doesn’t) work for you.
