How we became rich but lost the ability to appreciate it.

It is through feelings (that is to say the way our consciousness experiences a change in its being) that we perceive our life. The pursuit of well being necessarily therefore, requires a person to become aware of their feelings, since without these feelings the experience if life becomes cloudy and meaningless at best. Consequently, in order to feel a high state of well being more of the time, we should look to our feelings.

Modern life, however, often encourages us to loose touch with the very feelings we seek dwell in most of the time. Jobs are often painful and discourage the sensation of pleasantness. Instead feelings of resentment, disempowerment, hopelessness and the like become people’s daily fare. Since one’s employment usually takes between 30-40 hours of the week and consequently it is the activity we (as adults) spend our time doing. In order to get large amounts of money, we often accept jobs that require us to do things that feel painful. This means that the effects of work can be felt not just whilst in the building but for many hours, days and even years after the event. Some of us say they will do anything for enough money…

Yet, once they have that money, then what? Many employees for example, spend hours ‘recovering from work’. This recovery is often facilitated with the help of drugs like alcohol. Alcohol of course, relieves the bad feelings which built up probably from work, but perhaps from other causes.

Once they have large amounts of money many people spend money on anti-depressants such as Prosaic in order to improve their feelings; they seek to blot out the memories of all the bad things they have had to do to get that money. They have so much baggage from the difficult tasks they have had to perform that it will take all their money to get over what they have been through; leaving them with a net gain of very little. The bills for the NHS for depression, for counselling through lost days at work must be enormous.

So what is the solution? I would suggest that modern work is completely overhauled with a new emphasis placed on feeling good in the work place and on making other people feel good. Improved well being would result. By improved well being I do not mean a hedonic ‘party now’ attitude, though I would not rule this out. Instead I wish to emphasise something deeper – the inner sensation that allows people to routinely feel ‘this is a job that I feel personally is worth doing and I am getting paid for doing it.’

The single biggest improvement that can be made to the current work patterns is for people to start paying for what they value. If employers value ethical and considerate behaviour to employees then there should be a bonus for treating others with respect. Conversely, those people who routine bully other people, especially in business should have their large amounts taken down. I value enterprise and initiative. I am convinced people with a good business plan should be encouraged to do all that they can.

What I wish to argue is simply that we should start paying people for the behaviours we value, not discouraging them from having a good sense of well being through paying them more to do things that will cause long term damage. Imagine what a better place the world would be with this paradigm informing the world of work.