Reflecting On Our Collective Labor

It is Labor Day Weekend. Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894.

Today is a good day to reflect on a whole host of questions:

1. What is considered labor?
2. What labor do we monetary compensate for?
3. Why do we value some labor over others?
4. How can someone work and still not afford basic needs?
5. What is meaningful labor?
6. How does passion connect to labor?
7. How can we make all our workplaces more assessable?
8. How can we cultivating mental health at work? 
9. How can we cultivate or neurodiversity at work?
10. What is the relationship between our work, our labor, and our lives?

Recently there has been an interesting conversation around what some call "quietly quitting":

 

This is a reminder that what we "should" do with our labor and time and energy is still in flux. Different parties have a different view of how much we each should should go above and beyond in our work, in our communities, in our lives. 

For many us whenever we take a moment to pause and focus on our own mental health etc. it feels like we are quiet quitting our lives but if we do not take a moment to pause we will be unable to continue on and be our best and boldest selves. 

Today is a day to celebrate the end of summer, a day to celebrate labor in all its forms, and a day to reflect on the meaning of labor and work and imagine systems that allow us all to thrive instead of feeling overwhelmed and stuck.