![]() Hunter-gatherer societies vary their "work" intensity according to seasonal availability of plants and the periodic migration of prey animals. ![]() Humans have varied their work habits and attitudes to work over the course of time. However, an alternative view is that labeling any activity as work is somewhat subjective, such as Mark Twain expressed in the "whitewashed fence" scene of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In some cases, the distinction between work and other activities is simply a matter of common sense within a community. While a later gift, trade, or payment may retroactively affirm an activity as productive, this can exclude work like volunteering or activity within a family setting, like parenting or housekeeping. Self-care and basic habits like personal grooming are also not typically considered work either. An element of advance planning or expectation is also common, such as when a paramedic provides medical care while on-duty and fully equipped, rather than performing first aid off-duty as a bystander in an emergency. For example, a sport is a job for a professional athlete who earns their livelihood from it, but a hobby to someone playing for fun in their community. Specialization is one common feature that distinguishes work from other activities. Work can take many different forms, as various as the environments, tools, skills, goals, and institutions around a worker.īecause sustained effort is a necessary part of many human activities, what qualifies as work is often a matter of context. īal maidens with traditional tools and protective clothing spalling ore, 1858 For example Paul Lafaruge in his book The Right to Be Lazy. Some people have also engaged in critique of work and expressed a wish to abolish it. Accordingly, the division of labor is a prominent topic across the social sciences, as both an abstract concept and a characteristic of individual cultures. Throughout history, work has been intimately connected with other aspects of society and politics, such as power, class, tradition, rights, and privileges. ![]() Outside of any specific process or industry, humanity has developed a variety of institutions for situating work in society.īesides objective differences, one culture may organize or attach social status to work roles differently from another. Cultures and individuals across history have expressed a wide range of attitudes towards work. All but the simplest tasks also require specific skills, equipment or tools, and other resources (such as material for manufacturing goods). Work is fundamental to all societies, but can vary widely within and between them, from gathering in natural resources by hand, to operating complex technologies that substitute for physical or even mental effort by many human beings. ![]() Alternatively, work can be viewed as the human activity that contributes (along with other factors of production) towards the goods and services within an economy. Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the needs and wants of a wider community. Piano tuner is an example of an unusual profession.
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