Creative frustration: Marisa's life in the world of bullshit jobs

Creative frustration: Marisa's life in the world of bullshit jobs

In today's fast-moving world of work, many are wondering whether their job actually has an impact on society or whether they simply have "bullshit jobs". Beatriz Serrano's debut work “goes” picks up this phenomenon and shows how our professional decisions can influence our lives and our mental health. As reports Kleine Zeitung, the main character Marisa works in a creative agency and spends her days to advertise often unnecessary products. Despite her apparent material success, she feels empty and dissatisfied internally.

The novel begins with a line from the song "Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now" by The Smiths, which underlines the dark basic mood of Marisa's life. She consciously decided on the way of the material, but the anxiety that she calls "Berto" - after a former lover - accompany her in everyday life. Their life is shaped by loneliness, and social contacts are mainly limited to occasional meetings with their neighbors, which are not only about wine, but also about physical closeness.

The dark side of bullshit jobs

The topic "Bullshit jobs" was particularly popular by David Graebers' book "Bullshit Jobs: A Theory" from 2018. Graeber describes that over half of the work that people do is considered meaningless and can be psychologically harmful, especially if work is heavily linked to self -esteem. In fact, studies show that a high proportion of employees perceives their activities as not very useful. A YouGov survey finds that 37 percent of the British believes that their job does not contribute to the world, as Wikipedia.

Graeber divides these meaningless activities into different categories, including "Flunkies" that support superiors, and "Box Tickers", which only give the appearance of productive work. This complex division makes it clear how wide the spectrum of professions that are often carried out without real meaning.

mental health in the job

How Psychology today, the feeling of senselessness in professional life has a direct effect on mental health. People who find their work as meaningless often suffer from poorer mental health. At the same time, it is shown that improving working conditions and making social contacts can counteract the negative feelings. Graeber himself demands profound social measures, such as an unconditional basic income, to counteract these grievances.

"goes so" creates a lot of these findings and combines bitter truths with humorous elements. Marisa's preparation for a team building weekend impressively shows how much she suffers from her professional situation. She uses calming pills to make the associated panic attacks more bearable. With 239 pages, the novel is a profound look at the topic and costs 22.50 euros. The readers: Inside there are again in Marisa's experiences and wonder how many of us have had similar experiences.