Ten years ago if you’d told me I had a bullshit job, I might have been offended. I certainly would have tried to defend my role, my contribution, listing out examples of what my work has led to….

But today, I recognize to some degree, that my job and my function, and, honestly even my team, we’re what corporate calls “a risk mitigation” role.

George Costanza on Seinfeld calls himself a risk mitigator when he finds himself working for George Steinbrenner of The NY Yankees. It’s a laughable job, really. We’re not preventing any risk, we’re just calling out the risks we’re taking, so everyone is aware of them. It’s a f*cking joke, because no one wants to acknowledge that the risk is A.) pretty big – but maybe unmeasurable, or unbelievable (until it’s not!) – and B.) that they’re ignoring it. It’s a recipe for an I Told You So down the line a bit later, but I really do spend a lot of energy tryna not come off that way.

In David Graeber’s 2018 book title of the same name, Bullshit Jobs is a sharp look at how many of us are in these cogs of corporations and yet, precisely, “how things are done” is a major mystery that befuddles us. He contends that over 40% of the worldwide white collar working population consider themselves in a bullshit job; one in which – should they walk off tomorrow- there would be no consequence to the business! He goes further to posit that we, as global consumer culture, should shift from an all important “market value” to instead, a “social value” framework, in how we evaluate ourselves and each other’s contributions to society.

It’s an idea I can get behind, but of course, pretty risky.