Bullshit jobs: when is your work useful (or not)?

06 March 2026 Research news item

Do you ever doubt the usefulness of your work? You're not alone, and it doesn't automatically mean you have a bullshit job. Philosopher Christiaan Boonen explains what really gives a job meaning. “Just because someone experiences their work as meaningless doesn't mean it is.”

People who spend their days listlessly sitting behind their computers, living from pay cheque to pay cheque, without their efforts making any difference or seeming to make any difference. American anthropologist David Graeber painted this bleak (and for some painfully familiar) picture in his 2018 book Bullshit Jobs. It made people around the world think about the usefulness of their jobs and, although there are no hard figures to back it up, it will have been the basis for many a career change.

“Graeber really shook things up,” chuckles Christiaan Boonen, assistant professor of philosophical ethics and political philosophy at Radboud University. 'But there is much to be said about Graeber's thesis. Graeber lacks empirical evidence. In the Netherlands, according to a report from 2023, people give their jobs a rating of 7.5 and 70 to 76 per cent consider the work they do to be useful.

Although the figures show that few people experience their work as useless, it is still worthwhile for society to consider (1) what kind of work is necessary and what work may not be. In addition, (2) what are the dangers to the quality of jobs?

Pacifist in a weapons factory

As a political philosopher, Boonen determines what is meaningful and meaningless in a different way than, for example, a business psychologist who researches people's experiences. “In philosophy, we also look for normative standards to determine the degree of meaning in work.”

Five standards recur: individual and collective autonomy, (2) the opportunity to develop your abilities and achieve human flourishing (this is called eudaimonia, to use a difficult word), (3) recognition from colleagues and society, (4) the feeling that your work has a purpose and meets the needs of others, and (5) the alignment of your ideals with the tasks you have to perform. Boonen: “A pacifist in a weapons factory, for example, would be a difficult combination.”

Economic upheaval?

To what extent do organisations have a duty to make work meaningful? 'If philosophers are right and meaningful work is indeed essential for a happy and flourishing life, then you could argue that there is a right to meaningful work and that organisations must contribute to this. But isn't that too demanding? In the current system, many people will say that there should at least be a minimum standard, such as respecting people's autonomy and offering a wage that is commensurate with a dignified life.'

Those who strongly support the right to meaningful work and demand even more responsibility from companies will also be in favour of a different economic system.

“In the current system, there is a tension between the goal of making a profit and offering work that is as meaningful as possible,” explains Boonen. You can adjust the system slightly through measures such as a universal basic income or stronger trade unions. However, to create jobs on a large scale that meet all the criteria, our current economy will have to undergo a major overhaul.

For those who do not have the patience to wait for an economic revolution, Boonen has two pieces of advice. “Talk about it and raise the issue within your organisation. Perhaps there are opportunities to make the work more meaningful.” And for those who have that luxury: “Think about what work you want to do. Consider what is important to you and, above all, do not be guided by how high the salary is.”

Contact information

Organizational unit: Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies
Theme: Economy, Philosophy