We’re currently in the process of looking for speakers for our next event on the theme of Work/Money. One of the sub-themes we want to explore within the theme is the interplay of Work, Money, and Power.
There’s an obvious power dynamic involved with work and money in our world. They exist as omnipresent institutions in our thoughts and daily endeavors. It’s nearly impossible to go more than a couple minutes without thinking about work or money, generally as points of stress in our lives.
Money ascribes value to a task, regardless of what the overall social benefit might be. Some of us enjoy our jobs and find great value in the work we do, while others of us feel that our jobs are devoid of meaning, go against our values, and put inordinate pressures on our lives. Money can compel us to do things we wouldn’t otherwise consider and our access to money can dictate our standing in society, the opportunities we’re afforded, and the types of services that are available to our communities.
Although many of us have learned to leverage work and money for a greater good in some respects, many other people in the world continue to struggle under the yolk work and money create. Those with money can use it to work less and leverage more influence. Those without money can have their lives devalued, be subject to emotional stress, physical harm, and even death.
How does power with regard to work and money affect how we live our lives and the opportunities that are available for some of us? How does this affect what is valued in our world, our relationships with our source of income, and the power in how we spend money? What would it look like to push back on these power dynamics? What do we risk and what do we gain?
For this sub theme we’re looking for stories of people that have challenged the power dynamics of Work/Money in our world, been severely affected by the institutional power of Work/Money, or perhaps found their own power that they didn’t know was there before. What happened? What were the ramifications? What have they learned from the experience that they are willing to share?
If you think you have a story for this theme, we’d love to hear from you. The link to the speaker submission form is below. Please share this with anybody else who you feel would be a good speaker too.