Over time we have transformed from a society of people who made things, to a society that did work, and now to one that delivers services. We have changed from making, to doing, to serving, with not so happy consequences.

A fictional story will help explain what I mean. Imagine the career of a man who is now about 250 years old. At the beginning of his career he was a craftsman who made cutlery in his workroom. He felt well rewarded, if not always monetarily, then at least by his craftsmanship and its product—a pleasing knife or a spoon that fit comfortably in the hand.

As the making of cutlery became more and more mechanized, and he could no longer compete in the marketplace, he moved from his agricultural village to a city or factory town, and toiled in a cutlery factory owned by someone else. He became part of a new class of workers whose wages were low, days were long, and working conditions were often repellent and hazardous. When he made this change he also forfeited his artistry. He surrendered the joy he sought and sometimes felt in the process of his work. He surrendered the pride he felt as a consequence of his craftsmanship. In return for this surrender he later received a sense of security, symbolized by medical benefits, and a pension plan.

In time this security proved to be an illusion.

He moved once again. This time his destination was a place in which problems with cutlery items were solved for those who bought them from an increasingly mechanized factory. People now call him for advice, to resolve problems, or to complain. He is now a “customer service representative.”

Robbed of the joy he felt in his work process, the pride he attached to his product, and the security he was promised, he must now find reward in the work of helping others.

He feels he has been diminished by his loss; that something precious—dignity—has been taken from him. His attitude is often angry and frustrated, and he is at pains to explain why, even to himself. His frustration and anger often color his interactions with those he is supposed to help, making him ineffective at best, uncooperative or even surly at worst.

None of us is 250 years old. But some of our beliefs about work and about service are. We are often like someone who has been through the same experience as our fictional cutlery maker. This is not our fault at all. These beliefs have been carried across the generations that occupied those 250 years, and have been handed to us.

The tale above, written several years ago, was recently brought to mind by a series of posts about intrinsic motivation by Lisa Haneberg at Management Craft, and by comments to a post by Don Blohowiak at Leadership Now. It is an excerpt from my e-doc, 7 Beliefs to Inspire Great Service, and was based on research for Artful Work.

— Dick Richards