Bullshit Jobs

Bullshit Jobs: A Theory is a 2018 book by anthropologist David Graeber. In the book, he argues that many modern jobs are pointless and do more harm than good. He says that over half of all jobs in society don’t really need to exist, and that doing meaningless work can hurt people emotionally—especially when people are taught to believe that their value comes from working hard. Graeber describes five types of "bullshit jobs" where people pretend their work matters, even though they know deep down it doesn’t:

• Flunkies: People hired to make others look important, like receptionists or greeters.
• Goons: People hired to deceive or pressure others, like lobbyists or telemarketers.
• Duct tapers: Workers who fix problems temporarily instead of solving them for good, like staff handling bad software or airline complaints.
• Box tickers: People who make it look like something useful is happening, like filling out reports no one reads.
• Taskmasters: Managers who give work to others that doesn’t really need to be done.

Graeber believes that the idea of work being “good” or “virtuous” is actually quite new in history. In the past, rich people avoided work and looked down on it. Over time, though, people started to believe that suffering through hard work is a sign of being a good person. Graeber says that today, people often stay in pointless jobs just to feel valuable or avoid being judged. He suggests that giving everyone a universal basic income would help people do more meaningful or creative work instead of wasting time in jobs that don’t matter.

In the book, Graeber points out that even though technology has made work easier, we haven’t ended up with shorter workweeks. Instead, society has created more "bullshit jobs"—jobs that even the workers themselves admit are useless. These jobs often pay well and offer free time, but the lack of purpose can hurt people mentally and emotionally.

Graeber identifies five main kinds of these pointless jobs (as listed above), and notes that most are found in the private sector. He believes this happens because of something he calls "managerial feudalism," where bosses want to look important by having people work under them. He also says that modern society ties work to self-worth, so people feel the need to stay busy—even if their job doesn’t help anyone.

Graeber explains that the idea of work as a moral duty comes from old religious beliefs, especially Puritanism. Over time, society came to see pointless work as a fair trade for the right to enjoy consumer goods. He also argues that keeping people busy with meaningless jobs helps political leaders avoid rebellion, since people are too tired or distracted to protest.

His proposed solution is universal basic income, which would give people a guaranteed amount of money to live on. That way, they could focus on meaningful work when it’s actually needed—like how farmers or artists work when inspiration or necessity strikes.

Graeber first wrote about this topic in a 2013 essay called On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs, published in the magazine Strike!. It became very popular and was translated into 12 languages. A YouGov poll showed that 37% of British workers felt their jobs didn’t really contribute to the world. Graeber collected hundreds of stories from people about their pointless jobs and expanded the essay into this book. By the end of 2018, it had been translated into several major languages.

Reviews of the book were mixed. A reviewer in The Times praised the book’s smart arguments and humor but thought Graeber exaggerated some points. For example, not everyone hates their job, and the average workweek has gotten shorter over time. The reviewer also said that some pointless jobs exist because of complex systems, not just because of bad management.

Philosophy Now pointed out that the word "bullshit" had already been used in philosophy. Harry Frankfurt defined it as speech that isn’t completely false, but doesn’t care about the truth either. Graeber’s book builds on this idea by showing how many workplaces create a fake sense of achievement.

A 2021 study looked at Graeber’s claims using data from the European Working Conditions Survey. It found that only a small and shrinking number of workers said their jobs were "rarely" or "never" useful. Some people in jobs Graeber called bullshit—like lobbyists—felt proud of their work, while some workers in clearly helpful roles—like garbage collectors—felt useless. The study suggested that how people feel about their jobs is influenced more by bad management and feeling unappreciated than by whether the job is actually useful.

A 2023 study based on American data found that 19% of people believed their jobs weren’t useful to society. It also found that the kinds of jobs Graeber talked about were more likely to be seen as pointless—but the actual number of such jobs was much lower than Graeber’s claim of over 50%. The study also noted that just because people feel their job is useless doesn’t mean it is useless.

• Official website
• "On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant", Graeber's original essay (2013)
• Graeber interviewed on Book TV