Bullshit Jobs
2018
- bureaucracy
- job satisfaction
- psychological aspects
- social aspects
- work
- organizational effectiveness
- social structure
- labor
- satisfaction au travail
- aspect social
The story
*Bullshit Jobs: A Theory* is a 2018 book by anthropologist David Graeber that argues the existence and societal harm of meaningless jobs. He contends that over half of societal work is pointless, which becomes psychologically destructive when paired with a work ethic that associates work with self-worth. Graeber describes five types of bullshit jobs, in which workers pretend their role isn't as pointless or harmful as they know it to be: flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers, and taskmasters. He argues that the association of labor with virtuous suffering is recent in human history, and proposes universal basic income as a potential solution.
What it’s like
Sharp, wry, and insistently conversational, this is a book to read in short bursts with a coffee and a grin, the voice of a sharp friend leaning across the table to explain why the office is haunted. The prose is brisk and argumentative, full of pointed asides, dry anecdotes and sudden flashes of anger, with long chapters that build a case and then pivot to a fresh example from a cubicle, a corporate meeting or a survey. Its sensory world is the fluorescent-lit office, the corridor of forms, the phone that never rings, rendered through small absurd details rather than lush description. The mood is cheerfully indignant, a mix of gallows humour and moral urgency, with the emotional undertow of workers quietly pretending their days mean something. Intensity is nil: no violence, no sex, no graphic content, only mild profanity and a sustained sense of exasperation. It suits a lunch break, a long commute, or a sleepless Sunday when work already feels like a weight. Its readers are people who want their frustration with bureaucracy and busywork given a vocabulary, and those curious about whether the economy could be built differently.
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