David Graeber: On the Phenomenon of BS Jobs

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https://web.archive.org/web/20180807024 ... shit-jobs/

In the first chapter of his book, "BS Jobs: A Theory" (Simon & Schuster, May 7, 2019), David Graeber defined a "BS Job" as:

Final Working Definition: A BS job is a form of paid employment that is so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence even though, as part of the conditions of employment, the employee feels obliged to pretend that this is not the case.

Throughout the book, Graeber seems to make point after point to support his theory, even citing Douglas Adams as a source.

Scary.

On one of my earlier jobs, I was given the position of "Technical Writer".  In addition to the usual owner's manuals, spec sheets, and marketing flyers, I was tasked to proof-read and edit reports by higher-ups.

Along with correcting errors in punctuation, spelling, syntax, and verb tense, I was told to expand all contractions to increase the word count.  No problem; after about a week, I had written a BASIC utility to handle the task for me (but did not tell anyone).  This was about when the first spell-check features were being included in document apps.

(This was also about when the first 3-1/2-inch 'floppy' discs were becoming popular.)

What used to take a full day to go over word-by-word then took just a few minutes to complete.  The rest of my time was spent studying, repairing personal property (mine and others'), and generally looking busy.

Most of my jobs were like that.  Enough real work to justify my employment, and enough BS work to make it fun.  Knowing the difference, and when to do which, kept me employed for most of my adult life.

Graeber defined B.S. jobs as essentially mid-managerial positions that have no practical value. Programming might reduce work work, but has contributions to the real economy; I've never been able understand why legal professionals and managers comprise more and more of the workforce in organizations. When I was young I heard stories about managers and lawyers playing Solataire on their work computers all day, I don't know what they do these days, since they don't even have to show up to work much anymore.

Thank you for this.

Because more and more of the "real" work has been either automated or outsourced.

As technology has developed, the world has gotten more and more economically interdependent. As this interdependence has grown, companies have needed to spend more and more money on just manipulating society's interdependence to the company's own advantage. Hence more and more need for sales, marketing, lobbyists, and lawyers.


Probably not every day, but perhaps just on the occasional slow day? Obviously, if they are doing nothing but playing Solitaire every day, the company really doesn't need them anymore.

Funny story, but how did you do that in only a few minutes? Did you have a document scanner or did you type it word for word? Wouldn't you have to proofread an extra time to make sure you copied it by hand the same? Anyway, this doesn't prove Capatalism is good, you just happened to find an exploit of Capatalists that you didn't tell them about, and the Capatalists in charge of you would have not been pleased by this. Same thing as how modern programmers have to hide their automation from their bosses instead of getting rewarded for it, and it wont be sustainable for long because bosses will put invasive spyware on every pc.

“Work Smarter, Not Harder.”

Make the System work for you -- THAT is a cornerstone of Capitalism.

Most jobs include some aspects of BS. The trick is to find those aspects and exploit them for your benefit -- another cornerstone.

The deepest cornerstone is to provide a unique skill set to your employer and make them become dependent upon it.

Lots of BS jobs are filled with ‘wingnuts’ -- people with the same generic skill sets -- who are easily removed whenever Management wants to show a profit on the books, and who can just as easily be replaced when there is work to be done. I survived layoffs because Management could not release me without losing my skills and risking those skills going to a competitor.

I also knew where all the bones were buried.