Purpose in non-work

Jack Ma says his grandfather worked 16 hours a day, he and his father work 8 hours and he foresees his children and their offspring working 3 hours a day.

Yes,with technology and AI jobs will be displaced and people will be freed of unproductive processes. People of the future will have much more time for leisure, creativity and family/social engagement.

Numerous questions pop up in my mind:

1. Is that necessarily true? As it appears now, with internet and faster connectivity people 's private life seems to have merged with their working life resulting in longer working hours.

2.  On the other hand if it is true, how do people spend their non working hours? Work provides structure , will people be at a loss with less work? Will more people indulge in addictive habits like online gaming?

3. Will the identity linked to work be redefined? For many, work has always been the purpose of living. With so little time spent on work do people now need to find new attachments of self identity?

This is quite an interesting topic for me. As a retiree I too occasionally have this sense of loss. This subject also ties in with my discussion in a previous blog dated 8 Dec on David Loy's concept of "Sense of Lack".

Many have romanticized a life with more leisure time where people engaged in creative, social and community activities. For retirees like me we can already live out their dreams . We can indulge in art and writing, volunteer in the community, continue learning, travel and try new things, indulge in our hobbies like gardening, play with our pets or simply engage in anything that makes us come alive.

Only when we feel alive, there is less need for the search of identity and purpose; and the sense of lack probably less felt.