Form Follows Power p. 187 (Stuart Ewen, 1988)
“The automated workplace has, for many who must march to the digital beat, led to a failing sense of self: '...For many people... their self-esteem is supported by a sense of confidence and pride in their skills and abilities. As these skills and abilities are rendered meaningless by automation, workers may experience increased feelings of inadequacy and alienation.'”
The True Self, p. 43 (Carl Elliott, 2003)
"Sartre famously described this kind of inauthenticity in Being and Nothingness: a man who is so wrapped up in the idea of himself as a waiter, so attentive to each nuance of his performance as a waiter, so invested in being a waiter in every way, that his identity has essentially become that of the waiter. There is no longer any difference between his identity and his performance of a social role."
This episode of The Simpson's serves as a contradiction to Ewen's supported claims about the deficiency felt by those who work through an automated machine. Homer, stereotyped to be perpetually lazy and incompetent, has purposely gained 61lbs to go on disability so that he can work from home. Beyond this, later in the episode it is shown that he does not even want to be the one to press the buttons on his computer: he instead uses a broomstick to do it while he sits on the couch, or finds a drinking bird toy to do his work for him.
Similarly, in the 1999 movie Office Space, the leading character, Peter Gibbons, does not want to go in to work. His job, which also involves computers, bores him and feels unimportant. After being hypnotized, he decides to change things up, including multiple instances of not going in to work. In the end, however, after Peter's place of work has been burned down and his confession of embezzling money burned with it, he finds work with his neighbor's construction company. It is here that Ewen's argument finds its way into the movie. Peter admits to being very happy with his new job, and turns down the offer of his old coworkers to join them at another automated job similar to his old one. Ultimately, Peter finds greater satisfaction and contentment by working via his own strength and hand tools rather than through a technological machine.
Carl Elliott discusses the need to not be defined by one's occupation, and to have an identity separate from what one does at work. To relate this back to Office Space, Peter's job is so demanding as the most important aspect of his life that he simply cannot continue to perform that role at all. He instead slacks off and seeks to develop other areas of interest, or other parts of his identity.
It would seem that in popular culture, laziness and a distaste for the toils involved in work are common themes. Few comedies place typical jobs in high esteem. Both examples here, however, illustrate the importance of life outside of work: whether it is fantasizing about spending the day at home with one's family, as in the case of Homer Simpson, or about pursuing other interests and enjoying more free time, as in the case of Peter Gibbons. Either way, these comical characters serve as arguments against boring, mechanical, repetitive jobs.
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