1 Hannah Pistorius Prof. Adam Padgett ENGL 1101 Date Title?

In todays society, it seems as though people are generally not passionate about the job they have. They arent waking up every morning at the crack of dawn smiling and eager to go to work. Today, it is rare to find someone who is over the top enthusiastic about their job. Why would workers give a hundred and ten percent instead of the bare minimum that would be necessary to get by if they are not avid about the work that they are required to do? If workers lack devotion and enthusiasm about their job, they are not going to give much effort, thus resulting in the workers being unable to rise above and succeed. However, if someone is passionate and able to find delight in their work, they are more likely to go above and beyond the minimum requirements. The people who are fortunate enough to have a job that is meaningful to them and others are the workers who typically succeed in their job and life. The criterion for a meaningful job varies depending on the person, culture, and whereabouts of the job. The type of work deemed as meaningful in America may not have any significant value in other countries. Gladwell mentions a plethora of professions such as garment work, rice paddy farmers, professional hockey players and musicians; all of which considered meaningful in one way or another. In Outliers, the rice paddy farming examined by Gladwell can be seen not only as meaningful work, but also successful work.

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Comment [AP1]: Was this untrue of yesterdays society? Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman Comment [AP2]: Doesnt over the top imply too much?

Comment [AP3]: I feel like youre getting a little redundant here.

Comment [AP4]: This could make a really interesting thesis, identifying what makes a meaningful job.

Comment [AP5]: Im having difficulty identifying a specific thesis. How are you defining meaningful and successful?

2 The precise principles that lie behind meaningful work may fluctuate; however, the basic structure of meaningful work is universal. Gladwell discusses three ideas that make up the architecture of meaningful work. The first of the three says that when there is a clear relationship between effort and reward, the work is meaningful. Regardless of the profession, the harder you work, the greater the reward. In Outliers, the higher the skill, passion, and effort that a rice farmer delivered determined how much the rice field yielded. For a rice farmer, their job is with out question meaningful to them. Rice farmers continuously put forth copious amounts of effort in order to successfully complete the work and achieve their reward. Rice paddy farming is not only meaningful to the farmers, but also their culture and way of life in China. Gladwell makes a very relevant and important note that and says the work rice farmers take on is ten to twenty times more labor intensive than other jobs. The farmers who work in these wet-rice fields end the year with an estimated three thousand hour workload. Rice farmers work around one thousand more hours a year than someone who works a fulltime job. It is no surprise that throughout history rice farmers have always triumphed over other types of farmers when it comes to hard work. This is because the farmers put forth a noteworthy amount of effort. This is because at the end of the day, when it is all said and done, the reward obtained from the meticulous labor is worth it to rice farmers. This is because the nature of their work is rewarding. Rice farming means something to the workers. There are numerous rewards that may possibly hail from the effort put forth by the rice farmers, and the relationship between the two factors must be clear and consistent in order for the work to be genuinely meaningful. Although the presence of a clear relationship is crucial,

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Comment [AP6]: A statement like this would suggest that you would need to define meaningful . But didnt you in the paragraph before say that meaningful depends on the person and now youre saying it is universal?

Comment [AP7]: How do you know?

Comment [AP8]: How do you know this?

Comment [AP9]: In what way is it rewarding? How do you know these things to be true?

3 the combination of all three claims is essential in determining whether or not the work is meaningful. Not only must the effort put forth be prominent, it is also vital that nature of the work has a level of complexity. A field of work that is complex requires the worker to perform on a higher level. In order for a worker to maximize their chances of being successful while carrying out an intricate job, some degree of prior teaching or training is usually necessary. Although the process of mastering a skill of complexity can be tedious, it is crucial in order to be successful and typically is able to give a higher sense of meaning to the work. In chapter eight of Outliers, Gladwell explains the process of rice cultivation. Not only is the process very complex, it is also methodical and precise. Chinese rice farming is not as simple as the Western way of farming, rather an orderly and painstaking process that uses the same techniques that were used thousands of years ago. Rice agriculture is a skill oriented trade, and if farmers envision a larger crop yield they must make smarter choices, become wiser, and begin to manage their limited type more efficiently instead of buying machinery and increasing their acreage. The rice farmers are essentially raising their paddies as if they are there children. They make crucial choices for the rice paddies very early on in hopes that the result is as close to perfection as possible. The rice farms are basically their life. They work on the farms to live, and live to work on the farms. The complexity and skill level of rice farming is exceptional and helps to give a greater sense of meaning to trade. Rice farming is a greater trade than simply planting and harvesting crops. The deep-rooted practice of rice paddy farming is truly a meaningful type of work, a chief reasons being the intricacy and complexity found with in the skilled trade.

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Comment [AP10]: What is a skill of complexity? This is vague.

Comment [AP11]: You still havent proven to me that this is meaningful.

4 Work that requires intensive skill, effort, and commitment definitely causes the worker to feel a sense of meaning in tasks they perform. Along with those factors, the general whereabouts of the labor also plays a role in whether or not it is meaningful. Different factors can affect the importance and meaningfulness of a type of work. The type of work that a rice farmer is responsible for has no real meaning in a country where rice farming is not a part of their everyday life or culture. However, in China and Japan, rice farming is a crucial part of their society. One of the reasons why it is so commanding those counties is because rice farming is autonomous. Unlike the workers who were in Europe under an oppressive feudal system, China and Japan in a sense free from that type of society. The rice farmers were able to work together without the control of a strict authority figure. An oppressive feudal system would have failed in China and Japan mainly because farming rice is too complex and multifaceted for a system that would require workers to be daunted by authority everyday. If workers are being treated in unpleasantly, it is unlikely that they would want to put all their effort into a job that they are under qualified for. Rice farmers must genuinely care about the rice paddies, and if they do not care, the quality of work will be compensated, resulting in a less successful crop. Even though the intense workload that a rice farmer has, they have definite rewards and are aware that the quality of their harvest dictates their earnings. The rice farmers were given favorable conditions compared to other jobs, which motivated them to perform to the highest level of their ability. Their skilled jobs were strenuous, however, the work they were doing was important to them and the absence of the oppressive feudal system allowed the farmers to do familiar work that wasnt forced upon them. In a sense, the rice farmers were able to enjoy their work because they were able to do work that had

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Comment [AP12]: Odd sentence structure. Comment [AP13]: How do you mean? Be specific about how you are using the word autonomous.

Comment [AP14]: Youre mostly rehashing the discussion in the book, right?

Comment [AP15]: Im not seeing this, you need to prove this to me. Comment [AP16]: This I can understand.

5 real meaning to them under circumstances that were favorable compared to other countries. Rice farming was able to become a meaningful type of work and generated great successes due to the outstanding circumstances in China and Japan. The farmers were passionate about their jobs; therefore, they strived to have their crop as close to perfect as possible. Of course, it is the combination the autonomous work environment and overall situation and the previous two factors that prove why rice paddy farming is deemed meaningful. The intricate and labor bearing rice paddy farming that Gladwell discusses in Outliers is a trade that is not only successful, but more importantly the work is meaningful. Gladwell suggests meaningful work is made up of three parts. The work that the rice paddy farmers did is meaningful because the relationship between effort and reward is clear, the labor is complex in nature, and lastly, because the trade is an autonomy. The wet-rice farming is meaningful work just as Gladwell states. His three claims as to why the rice farming is meaningful are supported within the chapter. The nature of the farming is meaningful not only to the workers, but also to the culture, history, and other villagers. Due to the intense meaning that the rice farming has, the work is successful even with its skill level and intensity. When the topic of rice farming is brought to the table, the initial thought that comes to mind probably isnt that its a meaningful type of work. However, once examined, wet-rice farming proves to be a meaningful type of work. Just like the old saying goes, dont judge a book by its cover, or a job description for that matter. Hannah

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Comment [AP17]: Im still not seeing this. Just stating it doesnt make it true. How are you defining passionate? I dont think road kill cle aners are passionate about those jobs just because they can do it by choice. I think those jobs are just a means to a livelihood. Then again, maybe that is passion, but I need you to be extremely clear about what you mean when you use these terms. How are you defining passion? What makes a jab a passion? Simply not working in indentured servitude? Be clear.

Comment [AP18]: Again, Im not sure what you mean when you use this word. Could mean a few different things.

6 I think you really demonstrate thoughtful reflection on the idea of what meaningful work is. But Im not sure you are making a clear enough case for me. You make a lot of baseless kinds of truisms that Im not sure you have adequately proven. Ive pointed a few of these out in the margins. I think you really need to focus on the clarity of your message. Use clear and concrete language. Also, Im not super sure where your thesis is. It seems to me that you are arguing for what meaningful work is, but Im not sure.

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