Youtube Exercise » English Grammar Homework

The way we think about work is broken | Barry Schwartz

TED

586K views 11 years ago

Warm-up Questions

What do you think the phrase “the way we think about work is broken” means?
Why do people work: for money, for meaning, or for both?
What kinds of jobs do you think feel meaningful or “soul deadening”?

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The way we think about work is broken | Barry Schwartz

Why do we work, and why is so much work meaningless? (00:00 – 02:19)

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1. What does the speaker say most people in the room believe is NOT the real answer to “why do we work?”

To avoid boredom
To make a living (money)
To meet new people
To travel and have adventures

2. According to the speaker, how is the work many people on the planet described?

Monotonous, meaningless, and soul deadening
Creative, flexible, and exciting
Easy, relaxing, and well paid
Short, social, and fun

3. What question does the speaker ask about capitalism’s development?

Why it eliminated non-material satisfactions from work
Why it ended poverty everywhere
Why it created more holidays
Why it made education unnecessary

The way we think about work is broken | Barry Schwartz

“Idea technology”: how ideas shape institutions and behavior (02:19 – 05:10)

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1. What does the speaker say is the real “answer” to why work became so unsatisfying?

Globalization
Better education
Technology (but specifically ideas, not gadgets)
Social media

2. What is “idea technology,” according to the speaker?

A new app for productivity
Ways of understanding ourselves created by science
Machines that replace workers
A method for building factories faster

3. Why can false ideas about human beings be hard to get rid of?

Because science never changes its mind
Because laws prevent new ideas
Because if people believe them, they build institutions consistent with them
Because people forget facts quickly

The way we think about work is broken | Barry Schwartz

Institutions create people: redesigning work and “human nature” (05:10 – 08:03)

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1. What does the speaker say about the claim “you just can’t get good help anymore”?

It is true because people are naturally lazy
It becomes true when people are given demeaning and soulless work
It is never true in any workplace
It is true only in factories

2. In Adam Smith’s quote about assembly lines, what is important about the word “become”?

Education has no impact on workers
The institution shapes people over time to fit its demands
People become smarter when they specialize
People are born stupid and cannot change

3. What final question does the speaker ask the audience (leaders) to consider?

How can you replace workers with machines?
What kind of human nature do you want to help design?
What is the best theory about the cosmos?
How can you increase pay as much as possible?

The way we think about work is broken | Barry Schwartz

Transcript will load here…

1. What is the speaker’s main point about motivation at work?

Work is always meaningless under capitalism
People mainly want adventures, not jobs
Many people value non-material satisfactions (meaning, challenge), but systems often remove them
Material rewards are the only reason people work

2. How does the talk connect ideas and real-world workplaces?

Workplaces are determined only by geography
Ideas do not affect how organizations are run
Only new machines change how people work
Ideas about human nature can shape institutions, and institutions then shape people

3. What warning does the speaker give about theories in social science?

They are always false
They are less interesting than natural science
They only matter to scientists, not to society
They can change human nature because people live according to them

Discussion Questions

Discuss the ideas from this video

The way we think about work is broken | Barry Schwartz

Do you agree that “material rewards are a pretty bad reason” for doing work? Why or why not?
Can you think of an example where a belief about people (e.g., “people are lazy”) shaped rules at school or work?
What changes could make a monotonous job more meaningful without changing the pay?
The speaker says leaders help “design Human Nature” by designing institutions. What responsibilities does that create for managers and organizations?