New Work New Culture

It’s an ambitious goal:

“to aim at the creation of a society and culture in which everyone would have the chance to work significant portions of their time at a task that excited them, in which they believed, that raised them up to being more alive.” 

The quote is taken from New Work New Culture, by Frithjof Bergmann, who coined the term “New Work” and founded the first “Center for New Work” in Flint, Michigan in 1984.

Bergmann proposes a fundamental rethinking of work: jobs, pay, markets. All of it, he proposes, needs to be reimagined and fashioned from scratch. It is a provocative and unsettling vision, and I agree with much of what he writes. But the progress, if any, has been painfully slow. After all, what has changed in the last 37 years? Even the home of New Work, Flint, Michigan, is worse off than ever.

My intent is not to criticize. We very much need the Frithjof Bergmanns of the world to expand our imagination and our horizons. All I suggest is that, while we shoot for the moon, we also take small steps here on earth, where people have jobs, and families, and need help now. 

Last week, for example I participated in the closing ceremony of WOL Frauenstärken, where thousands of women joined in WOL Circles and celebrated, supported, and emboldened each other. Comments like this one told of the contributing vitality they experienced—and that the overwhelming majority said they want to experience again. 

“Working out loud has changed my life, my view of networking and my self-esteem.”

Just today, a woman who works in a large appliance company wrote about the Circle she’s in with colleagues.

We encouraged and supported each other. 

We talked about relationships, contributions, leadership, digital media, innovation and much more. 

We broadened our network. 

We shared our experiences and learnings. 

We inspired each other. 

Surely, this is the kind feeling Bergmann has in mind when he writes of “being more alive.” It may not be New Work, but it is a new approach to developing yourself and others in the workplace. It helps us make the most of all we have to offer, here and now, while preparing us for a new and better kind of work in the future.