A few weeks ago I published a post on my Substack about the workplace divide. It’s the fake line that is often drawn in jobs where some people are seen as THINKERS and others as DOERS.
Firstly, this divide is bullshit, as every job requires you to do both tasks. But mostly I find it to be bullshit because there’s a level of elitism and privilege built in. No matter what I personally think of perceptions of seniority, there’s the fact of the matter that if you’re at the bottom of the heap at work you’re expected to be a mindless drone doer. And if you’re magically elevated to a position with some level of seniority, then you can now have IDEAS. Magic. Just like that. Elitism and privilege.
Side note, it’s funny how the bottom of the heap isn’t allowed to have ideas but LinkedIn Thought Leaders (TM) will have amazing ideas such as “listen to ALL staff members” aka steal* an idea from a lower paid worker and profit off it. Elitism and privilege.
*I guess this is double side note, I know that in many working environments, technically anything you do on work time is works intellectual property, which in my book is a disincentive to ever suggest things at work, because why do I want to you have my good ideas without being me paid more? I just don’t suggest things. I don’t think I’ve ever been paid enough to compensate me for a company improving due to my ideas. I keep my ideas for me. Which is another thing that’s acceptable if you’re a CEO, but not a lowly worker bee. Elitism and privilege.
ANYWAY, I guess that’s all the background to this. These feelings have bothered me for a long time, but it’s a bit like back when I realised I was at rock bottom because of discrimination and had nothing to lose by being honest on LinkedIn, I also have few career options (discrimination because I’m housebound for work) so what’s the point in not just speaking my mind on these arbitrary divides which are utterly bullshit.
So the other day / week / whenever, I was scrolling though some social media and someone who is trying to position themselves as a creative genius / expert / consultant posted about being surrounded by the DOERS and how that would be negatively impacting your blue sky thinking (or whatever nauseating buzzwords they used). Which brought me back to that post I’d made on how this is a FAKE FUCKING DIVIDE. This one really annoyed me though because while I’d roll me eyes and just block someone spouting this wank on LinkedIn, this was someone who identifies as part of the creative community. The creative community does not need corporate mind games brought into it anymore than it already has. They also said you needed to be around “true creative thinking partners” which was just so yuck. What does that even mean? Someone as elite as you? Not an icky doer, surely the drones can’t really think!
Ideas are fucking easy. Look at my WIPs and ideas notebook for books, there are more stories in there than I can finish in a lifetime. I touched on this back in 2018 (I guess I’ve been cranky at this for longer than I thought), but if you’re a creative, you need ALL of these skillsets. The ideas and the icky doer. You especially need all of these skillsets if, like many creatives, you work pretty much on your own.
Lets get rid of this ridiculous notion that some people can think and some people can do. And lets further get rid of the fact that who can do which one seems to be determined not by skill level, but by elitism level.
