The Angst of the "Knowledge Worker"

PS. This is an article and quote posted by Bill @ Faith Commons
Peter Drucker, who coined the term "knowledge worker," describes what might be the intellectual version of impoverished affluence in which the highly skilled knowledge worker (this was originally written circa 1969) finds her/himself, after striving years to climb the mountain of educational attainment, to be the king or queen of only one out of many, many mountains. It takes all you can give to be merely a cog in the machine.

This hidden conflict between the knowledge worker's view of himself as a “professional” and the social reality in which he is the upgraded and well-paid successor to the skilled worker of yesterday, underlies the disenchantment of so many highly educated young people with the jobs available to them. It explains why they protest so loudly against the “stupidity” of business, of government, of the armed services, and of the universities. They expect to be “intellectuals.” And they find that they are just “staff.” Because this holds true for organizations altogether and not just for this or that organization, there is no place to flee. If they turn their backs on business and go to the university, they soon find out that this , too, is a “machine.” If they turn from the university to government service, they find the same situation there. continue reading