Is it that important to be productive?

Question

Some people are soooooo intense about it. What's the big deal? It seams logic ( getting a job, being on time, fitting in) but
not worth getting mad for.
When you truly think about it, morality is invented by us. We choose, we decide....

Answer 1

This is a lie that we are taught that is intended to make us feel bad about ourselves if we don't conform to the expectations of others.

Ignore it.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 2

Let me give you my opinion on this.

No matter where you go in life or what kind of job you have, two of the "measurements" you will deal with (in terms of evaluations and wage raises) are "quality and quantity." One without the other is pointless.

Any employee that consistenty does work of high quality and does it in a timely manner will (or should) be appropriately rewarded.

This has been absolutely true in my life, and I have held several well-paying jobs over a 33 yr. period.

I have never, ever felt that my boss ripped me off regarding job evaluations. I've always basically done my best and been rewarded accordingly.

Now, that said, I've also never been one of those intensely driven people that just works balls-to-the-wall all day and seeks as much overtime as he can get. No way I'm like that.

I'm just telling you that "productivity" is a fact of life.

Get used to that.

But it's not like you have to be #1 or the salesman of the year.

When I worked in a "piecework production" manufacturing situation, I was always satisfied with maintaining about a 125% productivity rate with pretty consistent quality, and my boss thought I was A-OK.

Answer 3

"Productive" can be defined in many ways.
The measure of it's importance: what is the result of this so-called productivity.. or lack of it?
If others suffer because of non-productivity, then I can understand why people would be upset or intense about it.
If a school bus driver showed up for work 20 minutes late most days, this would impact quite a few people. If a farmer fails to be productive: no food for those who depend on him and no money for their family.

On the other hand, if productivity is defined as the need for perfection for it's own sake, then it's creating unnecessary stress. I think "fitting-in" has nothing to do with being productive.

So, by my view, it's all about balance... that's what the key to happiness is. There's a difference between "down-time" and "wasted time". People do need fun, art, beauty, and rest... but they also need others to depend on, and a sense of worth that they are needed by others.

Answer 4

Our sense of morality is a major development in human mind, for this is what distinguishes us from animals - but this should not be taken as an evidence that we are superior to animals as morality is the code that we need to apply in order to cope with the mind we have, where animal do not have any such thing to deal with. I think instead of saying that we ‘invent morality’ we should say we extract our moral sense from our world that is also our mind in a wider sense. If on the other hand we say that we have formulated the moral laws for our world than we can also say that this world is in fact an absolute formulation of the entirety of our own mind. If so then we have fullest responsibility to all that we know as the world in terms of our world.

To be productive is to be in this world at all, and this is the fact. There is nothing in the world that does not consume, and hence there is nothing in the world that would survive without producing what others may use. The matter, I think, of your question is that of the balance – is right for us to turn over backwards, or even to kill ourselves in our efforts to be highly productive? In this sense we can then ask - is productively a moral virtue?

I think it is, to produce is a highly moral virtue, and perhaps the prerequisite to all other types of virtues. We need to feed ourselves to start with, then there is a range of other needs along the hierarchy of our needs that are to be constantly fulfilled. The case for productivity as a moral virtue is in co-existence of all things and organism in the universe, and in indispensable need for mutual cooperation and collaboration between all agents. To consume is a need, but to produce is not only a need, necessitated by other organisms for example, but also a virtue. It is virtue because more we produce the more beneficial we become for our environment, but this is not the principle, we need to consider where is the balance. And this is what makes productivity also a moral issue, or dilemma in certain cases.

The matters, however, are not that simple when we bring complexity of human nature into the equation. We can choose not to produce at all, and then we can choose to produce very little, and on the other end of the scale we can end up over producing. When we produce less and consume more we cause harm to the natural balance of demand and supply among agents, but the balance can also be disrupted when we start over producing. This I believe is what is happening in the world today.

Answer 5

Productivity is how a business gets its profit and/or an edge against its competition. When profit is lost, the business manager/owner gets upset. The function of the employee in that business is to make money for the boss.
It's business - not morality.
Morality becomes involved when the employee is not productive and is viewed as stealing from the business because of their laziness. (Collecting the pay of a productive worker but not producing profit.)

Answer 6

Well I think it is important to be productive but not in the way that you mean. Being a workaholic who neglects family just to make a buck, achieving financial success, being a so-called "productive" member of society seems to be the ideal in North America. I don't think it matters how much money you make or what you do, as long as you're happy & you have love in your life.

I think we need to be productive though, in the sense that you have to be engaged in something, create something. Without passion & purpose in your life you start to stagnate & lose your motivation to do anything. When you are doing things that you enjoy, when you are occupied in positive activities then you are productive. What would the opposite be? Unproductive or destructive. There's nothing wrong with being intense as long as it's something that makes your heart sing. It's important to be passionate. Find something that matters to you & throw yourself into it.

You don't have to fit in. You can stand out. It's more fun that way.

Answer 7

well i think it is unimportant to be unproductive, but being productive can sometimes mean making the tiniest contribution that sparks a chain of events that change the world forever. Who would have thought back then that the nailing a jesus to a cross would b the symbol of the faith...perhaps he knew, but i doubt if most people back then had any idea. Point is, doing wat society deems productive doesn't mean that everything else is not.

Answer 8

Important to whom, or for what?

Before you find that out, you need to work out what precisely you are living for. THAT will determine how important your productivity is.

And I would recommend just living for yourself, as that gives you all the choices to make yourself.

Answer 9

some people live to work , some work to live

Answer 10

"What's the big deal?"

Well to you it *is* a big deal...you posted a complaint about it.

Why was it so important for you to take the time to find this out...oh no!...were you trying to be PRODUCTIVE?!?!?!?

You were...just like everyone else...they get life is fleeting and they want to get what they want.