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“The concept of work as a curse dates as far back as Greek antiquity, goes all the way to the Industrial Revolution and still impacts how society tends to think and feel about work today. It may have started with Zeus punishing Sisyphus to an eternity of pointless labor, pushing a large boulder up a steep hill just to watch it roll back down. Ancient Greeks viewed work as demeaning, getting in the way of the ideal of a life dedicated to contemplation and the acquisition of knowledge. Romans took a similar view. And the French word for work—travail—comes from a Latin word for a torture device.” — Hubert Joly
The concept of work as a curse dates as far back as Greek antiquity, goes all the way to the Industrial Revolution and still impacts how society tends to think and feel about work today. It may have started with Zeus punishing Sisyphus to an eternity of pointless labor, pushing a large boulder up a steep hill just to watch it roll back down. Ancient Greeks viewed work as demeaning, getting in the way of the ideal of a life dedicated to contemplation and the acquisition of knowledge. Romans took a similar view. And the French word for work—travail—comes from a Latin word for a torture device.