To work is human
If we use a broad definition of work, humans have been working since our beginning.
Early on, we had to hunt and gather enough food to survive.
Then, division of labor happened and we got jobs.
Now we do our jobs to make enough money to pay for food to survive.
We’re still working to survive, but the environmental and social conditions of the work have changed.
Instead of running through the plains with a spear, we’re typing on computers in an office.
The point is that we’ve been working for a long time, in some form or another. We’re used to it. In some ways, we’re built for it.
So, as we think about how to design our post-work lives, it’s unlikely that humans will just stop working altogether. The end of work doesn’t mean the beginning of doing nothing.
We’ll still work, but the work will change.
Just as work changed when we transitioned from hunting-gathering to jobs, it will change again to be different than how we currently work to make money.
This change will be caused by increasing wealth per capita globally as more and more people realize they have enough money to quit their jobs and still survive.