Name: Does working hard really make you a good person?
Uploaded: 2023-05-11T14:58:34Z
Duration: 12 min 27 s
Description: Around the world, people who work hard are often seen as morally good -- even if they produce little to no results. Social psychologist Azim Shariff analyzes the roots of this belief and suggests a shift towards a more meaningful way to think about effort, rather than admiring work for work's sake.

Around the world, people who work hard are often seen as morally good -- even if they produce little to no results. Social psychologist Azim Shariff analyzes the roots of this belief and suggests a shift towards a more meaningful way to think about effort, rather than admiring work for work's sake.

Azim Shariff: Does working hard really make you a good person?

Does working hard really make you a good person?

Admiring hard work for its moral value can lead to a culture valuing effort over meaningful outcomes, impacting societal progress.

Global consensus views hard work as morally good, even when it adds no extra value, hinting at a deep-seated cultural bias towards effort.

Workism, valuing jobs as identity and self-actualization, traps us in effort arms races, prioritizing labor over life's meaningful aspects.