- October 13, 2010 • 4:30 pm PDT
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People talk about what they do, what they don’t do, and how they feel about it.
“So, what do you do?”
There’s a reason that question is the most common icebreaker between strangers. We work. We work at an office. We work from home. We talk about work. We joke about work. Not all people are defined by their work (but the people who say that are often quick to complain about theirs). Work is an opening to a bigger conversation. It can be meaningless, rewarding, important. It means different things to different people—especially now. The unemployment rate is close to 10 percent, which should make it all about the paycheck, right? Except that’s not the case. It’s a little more complicated than that.
We took inspiration from Studs Terkel and spoke with 10 people—five with full-time jobs and five without—about what work means to them in 2010. How does it feel to be employed? How does it feel to cash an unemployment check? How does it feel to make medallions of ostrich while working at a family restaurant in St. Petersburg, Florida?
Click "Next" to read on.
Every three months, GOOD releases our quarterly magazine, which examines a given theme through our unique lens. Recent editions have covered topics like the impending global water crisis, the future of transportation, and the amazing rebuilding of New Orleans. This quarter's issue is about work, and we'll be rolling out a variety of stories all month.
Illustrations by Will Etling.
