The Problem of Work

Explain Heelas’s argument that management has ‘turned to life’ in order to solve ‘the problem of work’

The turn to life refers to bringing the soul and the subjective back to work, and the problem of work refers to people treating work and their life in a separate way that they think works become the character of fake reality and identity. In this essay, what is turned to life and the problem of work will be explained and explain how turned to life will solve the problem of work.

In the last century, the relationship between the subjective (the self) of the workers and the work are viewed negatively that the human element of humanity, emotion, commitment are considered to be threat to the business system. And this form the problem of work that the workers have separated their lives into the private and the public sphere, they viewed the work as fake identity and reality. And the private place become the expression of who really is. And so they do not put their heart into their work, they do not have identity at work, so they treat work as a machine and playing a role, so they do not work as well as they could. The problem of work lies with private self, personal and familial that people undermine their commitment to the public workplace because people has put their concern and true identity in private sphere. And the characteristics of traditional norm of discipline and hard work for their own sake, self sacrifice, and moral asceticism has also contributed to the problem of the meaning of work. Also, people also treat work as merely the mean to earn income to satisfy their ultimate end, which is self interest and gratification, and in work, they do not being valued as a person, so work is problematized that people do not really engage in it.

Life stands for the totality of the soul, turn to life means that the self whose soul and life will be embraced in the workplace. This can solve the problem of work by developing meaning, value and motivation. Kellner...