The Case Against Loving Your Job
About this episode
Labor journalist Sarah Jaffe takes aim at the 'do what you love' ethic — the idea that work should be a labor of love. She argues this ideal, rooted in the history of feminized care and domestic work, disciplines workers more effectively than any boss: teachers, nurses, journalists, artists, nonprofit staff, and interns accept low pay, endless hours, and burnout because devotion is supposed to be its own reward. Drawing on 'Work Won't Love You Back,' Jaffe traces how employers and industries exploit passion, using stories like that of Margaret Armstrong, a celebrated book-cover artist who died in poverty. The conversation explores the gendered devaluation of care work, why loving your job can erode solidarity, and what resistance looks like — unions, boundaries between identity and employment, and demanding that even beloved work be compensated fairly.