Redefining Success in the Era of ‘Workism’
For many, work has become the cornerstone of one’s identity. But this belief that work by itself can provide a fulfilling life neglects the vital role of other long-standing human needs. By embracing a balanced approach to life, we can pave the way to a deeper, more enriching life.
There is a scene towards the end of the excellent sports documentary, Arsène Wenger: Invincible, that captures a moment familiar to many. Regret. Wenger, a scholarly Frenchman who moved to England in 1996 to manage the Premier League club, Arsenal, became one of the most successful managers in British football history, building intelligent, technical, title-winning teams.
They once went an entire season undefeated—a remarkable feat no team has achieved before or since. Hence the title. But there is an overwhelming sense Wenger stayed too long at Arsenal, damaging his legacy. Yet, this isn’t the regret I saw. Wenger, a self-confessed workaholic who spent every day watching and thinking about football, talks at the end of the film about not spending enough time with his daughter. It’s a brief moment, but it hits hard. It’s only now, in his seventies, that he’s trying to make up for lost time.
We live in an era where, for many people, work has become the cornerstone of their identity, compelling individuals to cherish the cult of career achievement above all else. But this belief that career success is the only definition of a fulfilling life can lead to discontentment and regret. Instead, embracing a balanced approach to life paves the way to more meaning and fulfillment. This is where the five pillars of Community, Craft, Constitution, Contemplation, and Celebration can serve as a powerful framework and practical, guiding light.
How we got here
The writer Derek Thompson summarises the history of work in six words: from jobs to careers to callings. Initially, people had jobs out of necessity, focused on putting food on the table rather than chasing status or meaning. Then came the managerial revolution as the rise of railroads and telegraphs created new complex businesses that needed mid-level managers to run them. This created the modern concept of the career and a sense that one could progress through the ranks. Finally, careers evolved into callings. A job can’t just be a job or a career, it must be a calling. Settling for anything less isn’t good enough. This is where we are today.
Thompson has a word for our era—‘workism’. He defines it as a complex phenomenon “rooted in the belief that work can provide everything we have historically expected from organised religion: community, meaning, self-actualisation.” With declining trust in national governments and public institutions, people are increasingly relying on their workplace as the last remaining community stand. This shift is one reason companies have become more involved in political debates and cultural issues that a decade or two ago they would have avoided.
In the era of workism, work is the default setting of how we operate. Busyness is a status symbol. Having free time in our calendars makes us feel lazy or a failure. We go after the things we can count and track. This is the way our brains are wired. Work provides the most concrete evidence we are moving forward. We can close a sale, publish a paper, create a marketing strategy, win a case, get paid, get promoted, receive an award. Work provides immediate returns and tangible proof of progress. Other areas of our life require a much longer-term investment without a key performance indicator in sight.
There’s nothing wrong with someone who loves their job and finds meaning in it. That’s a great place to be, and I’ve been fortunate to have been in this position many times during my career. But if we hold that work and career come above all else, that failing to find your “vocational soulmate”, as Thompson puts it, amounts to a wasted life, then we are going to see consequences. Important ones, such as less time dedicated to your family and friends, your health, and your personal passions and hobbies.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle believed a good life orbits around the idea that human beings are naturally inclined towards flourishing in both mind and body. He believed people should strive to live well—physically, mentally, and spiritually—with a person’s character being the most critical aspect of their life.
We need a broader understanding of success
We need a broader understanding of success and fulfilment beyond professional achievement. There is a multitude of research on the importance of a balanced approach to life. In 2020, an international team of scholars came up with 68 ways that people are commonly counseled to raise their own happiness, then asked 18 of the most distinguished and prolific academic experts on the science of happiness to rate them in terms of effectiveness and feasibility. These were the top three:
Invest in family & friends
Join a club
Be active both mentally and physically
Other activities in the top ten included act nicely; be generous; and experience nature.
These pursuits are more in line with Aristotle’s belief of a good life.
On ineffective ways, the 18 experts weren’t fans of creating a “pride shrine”—an area of your home devoted to your successes and accomplishments. Reminding yourself of your own past greatness can often lower your current satisfaction.
Your career is not your life
If you have a career, it’s important. It’s too big a thing not to take seriously, but too small a thing to take too seriously. The website 80,000 Hours estimates a typical career to be 80,000 hours long. However, with the typical person being alive for 4,000 weeks, and awake and conscious for the equivalent of 3,000 weeks, work makes up only one-sixth of our waking existence. So, while work is significant, it need not be the sole focus of our lives, as our careers don't define our entire existence.
In his book, How Will You Measure Your Life, Clayton Christensen talks about the need to dedicate our resources carefully. Our resources are things like time, energy, and talent, but they are limited and at the whim of many competing needs. He argues that unless we manage our resources mindfully, our personal resource allocation process will decide investments for us according to the default criteria wired into our brains: those activities that yield the most immediate, tangible accomplishments. This is often in our careers, as I highlighted earlier. It’s much easier to measure a pay cheque than to invest in a long-term relationship.
As Christensen says, “With every moment of your time, every decision about how you spend your energy and your money, you are making a statement about what really matters to you.”
The five pillars: A powerful framework for a deep life
What really matters to me is trying to live a life of meaning and fulfilment. This is where I’ve used author Cal Newport’s ‘five pillars’ or ‘5Cs’ from his book Deep Work. The key is to maintain a balance across each of them, cultivating healthy habits that support each pillar. This helps one live a life of purpose.
Here's a quick overview of each pillar:
Community: Growing and maintaining strong relationships with important people and groups in your life, such as family, partner, and friends. It also includes volunteer work and service to others. An example habit to cultivate: Talking to a friend every day.
Craft: Building skills, expertise, and mastery related to your career and/or high-quality leisure activities. An example habit to cultivate: Being intentional with your time so you can focus without distraction on hard things that produce value.
Constitution: Maximising your physical, mental, and financial health & wellbeing. An example habit to cultivate: Daily walks.
Contemplation: Let’s call these ‘matters of the soul.’ A commitment to lifelong learning, reflection, and personal growth. It can also include faith/spirituality. An example habit to cultivate: Dedicating 20-30 minutes to read every day, perhaps first thing in the morning.
Celebration: Doing the activities you love to do simply because you love to do them with gratitude and appreciation. An example habit to cultivate: Enjoying a hobby such as cooking or going to the cinema.
This simple yet powerful framework covers the essence of what it means to be a human being and how we can live our lives with more intention, balance, and cultivation, creating a deep life by living well physically, mentally, and spiritually, continually developing our character and integrity.
Your career, within the Craft pillar, is still important, but it’s only one of five pillars. It’s much more equally weighted, reflecting its status as less than 20% of our waking existence.
Sometimes, life events like getting a new job or starting a new fitness regime mean we need to put more focus on one specific pillar. This is okay for a short time, but it's important to get back to the balance of all five pillars.
By creating healthy habits in each pillar, it signals you take this part of your life seriously and that you care about these parts of your life. You make that statement about what really matters to you. It says you’re the type of person who does regular activities in pursuit of something good. You’ll also develop a more nuanced version of yourself, leading to more knowledge and self-awareness. A more stable foundation for your life. One that can help your career flourish too because of the better balance.
Envisioning the future of work
Some commentators believe we’re on the cusp of a fourth revolution in work. If we evolve from jobs to careers to callings, it poses an intriguing question of what might come next. My suggestion is cultivation: jobs to careers to callings, to cultivation. By this I mean a recognition that work can play a meaningful role in one’s life, but to cultivate all pillars of life, including work, is just as important, enriching one’s overall life. The word also plays to the theme of focusing on building those rare and valuable skills that can create a difference. Because I don’t want to lose sight of the significant impact a career can play in a meaningful life.
Success in your career does not have to come at a cost. The framework of the five pillars shows us there is a more balanced way. A way that helps us flourish across all those areas important to us as human beings.
Arsène Wenger recognised the importance of repairing the relationship with his daughter at the end of the film about his life. He was lucky. Many don’t realise until it’s too late.