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Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: AudiobookHub Recommendation
Chapter 2: Today’s society revolves around work, and in the end, that really benefits no one.
Chapter 3: After centuries alienated from the joys of work, today’s employees must act as though work is truly enjoyable.
Chapter 4: Work has, in effect, colonized the most meaningful parts of life.
Chapter 5: Today, paid employment is seen as sole moral path. Yet there’s a robust tradition of resisting work.
Chapter 6: Those who resist work aim to do more, not less — yet all still face harsh judgment.
Chapter 7: To create meaningful change, we must prioritize collective redistribution, not individual work-life balance alone.
Description
The Refusal of Work (2015) is a critical look at the way our society is structured around work. Given the fact that 40 hours of work per week makes many of us exhausted, irritable, and actually ill, it doesn’t seem right that it’s the only way we can access necessities like income, social acceptance, and a sense of belonging. Author David Frayne engages with the theory and practice of resisting the way we are expected to work, invoking critical thinkers and interviews with people who have reduced their hours, or given up working altogether.
Who Should Listen
- People who spend their days at work fantasizing about starting a business or changing careers
- Those who miss the freedom they had at university to organize their own time
- Workers for whom the Sunday Scaries are starting to feel like a terminal illness