Spectator '? Conference for Personal Problems

Work and Profession

The SPECTATOR Conference offers to readers a service of advice on personal problems on which they would like impartial help. The Editor has appointed a Committee composed of _two medical psychologists (one man and one woman), the chief pathologist of a London hospital, the head mistress of a large elementary school, and a priest of the Church of England. All questions are referred to them in common. Readers' inquiries, which are dealt with in strict confidence, should be addressed to the Conference on Per-. tonal Problems, c " The Spectator," 13 York Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 2.

PERHAPS a third of the letters we receive raise the problem of work. Almost every man at one time or another is dissatisfied with his trade or profession, feels as if he Were merely struggling and overwhelmed, and longs for something to give him a wider scope for fulfilling all his powers: The same problem comes in a different form to those who have not yet taken up a professional career : the whole world seems open and it is hard to decide where effort can be best applied. It is extremely rare to find a man who has chosen his own direction for himself in early life ; keeps to it ; and feels that his work rewards him. Many people wish to remain irresolute. They repudiate the work they have chosen and try to preserve the feeling that they are still free to choose.

If worry about the value of work is very prominent, a psycho- logist will immediately think : ' " The trouble lies elsewhere. Let us see what is wrong with his relations to his parents, to his family, to his friends, to the other sex. Is his marriage happy ? Is his health good ? Does he feel insecure, as if he could not possibly succeed at anything ? Why does he wish to use this avenue only to solve all the problems he encounters?" Only if a man feels as if he were " lost" and is dissatisfied with the whole direction of his life does the problem of his professional work and his livelihood become acute. It is just where- we are not working with any end in view that our labours seem to be pure and unremunerative toil. Coleridge expressed the whole interior torment of those who do not yet know. where they stand in life, when he wrote :—

" Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve; And hope without an object cannot live."

Wherever a man has found for himself a single and unified purpose, not only in his profession but also in the whole con- tribution he can make to the life of his fellows, the question is solved and he can work unremittingly and without tension. Only too often there is no such vision : our aims are not clear and we have no way of gauging our'capacities. It is in these cases that dissatisfaction and a feeling of wasted effort chiefly rise.

There are people who have made a false start and would benefit by changing their" work. Circumstances are not improved by making two false starts. It is far better to continue working at anything we have taken in hand, and make the utmost success we can -of it. By doing this we will at once achieve something definite and equip ourselves for achieving the .utmost we can when the way becomes clear before us. Our -Own civilization . makes the problem par- ticularly hard. Often we are engaged on work of which we cannot see the issue and even are not sure of the need. We must work to keep ourselves alive and to support those who arc dependent on :us:. -There seems to be no - happiness or reward in the work itself. -. -- In our craving Tor. perfection we should never neglect to see the debt of gratitiple we owe to those who are doing the common. toil of civilization : the work which keeps us all alive. This common toil has no special brilliance or attractive- ness. We should all prefer to have something entirely our own to do, entirely unique, something in which we felt our-. selves: indispensable and unrivalled. There is, however, no muter bounty than to fulfil our part -a this common toil ; andlt should be made the basis for all further strivings.

Let: megive one or two typical problems. None of the .Tabofprint. on thit-page.f.is taken litemfly. .fro)n a

1etteiaii74116„.Conferenee;; 3Vhe lave _received several

letters on the same problem, we combine the details and give a general answer. Each separate letter is answered privately.

" .1 should always have liked to do pioneering work in Canada or Australia ; but I have a widowed mother to support ; and although I was originally doing well in a firm with a large overseas trade, and enjoyed the varied and romantic work, my relatives persuaded me to take a safer post in a bank. I have been there now for eight years. I dislike the impersonal nature of the work and the whole miserable tribe of white-faced and self-satisfied bank clerks. it is impossible for me to keep going like a machine. Figure-W;ork'is not realty in my line, and in order to get my books right I have to stay behind every day rend spend all my spare time in struggling to finish my work. 'I ant afraid 1 have made a bad impression on my sufieriors, who think me rather a humbug and too supercilious. ought I to throw up my present job, and find something which would fulfil the dreams of my youth ? I am not physically very fit ittpresent, and my work exhausts my energies so much that I have no inclination to build up my strength."

If you gave up your job you could not avoid feeling that you had failed at one kind of work. It seems, indeed, that though you imply " I am too big for the work I am doing," you really fear " the work is too big for me." Afterwards you recover yourself by despising your work. Would it be useful to start on a larger and more romantic venture with a consciousness of failure already behind you ?

By staying behind and doing your work out of hours, you make yourself tired. Next day you start discouraged and find that you must put in still more overtime. The same thing often happens with childien : they spend hours over their home work beca- use they wish to make it perfect. Next day they are fatigued at school, and still more fatigued when they come to do their home work again. In the same way yon involve yourself in a vicious circle. It would be better to try your best, make blunders, be found out, and get dismissed rather than spend your time and energy proving that the work is too much for you.

If you have better work to do, give up your present job by all means ; but don't give it up merely because it is too much for you. Realize, too, that your fellow-workers haVe all their own dreams of success and are facing the problem of uncongenial work with courage. No man is entirely .conditioned by the profession he is in. It is not quite fair to look on your fellows as " bank clerks " and yourself as an immortal soul.

There is no need for you to fear the bad impression you have made. If only you can pluck up confidence and bear to be thought ill of until you alter the bad impression, you will be showing the greatest possible independence and strength of character.

" I am twenty-six, and I want to give my life to humanity, helping in some little way to benefit the world. I have had one job in London, but my health would not stand the noise and the town atmosphere. I had a nervous breakdown. 11 ow I would like to do something really worth while ; but I seem to be utterly without bearings. W hat is the best thing for me to do ?"

The greatest gift a man can offer to his fellows is his character ; not his intentions but his actual personality in

all his activities. Whatever you do you can find scope for the creation of a true personality. Without knowing more of your capacities we cannot say anything very pointed. Consult your friends and discuss with them what they think you are suited for. When you take a position remember that in all your contacts you can prove your worth. Friend- ship and understanding are as important an achievement as any other form of personal success ; they need, to?, as much experience and practice. It is your own qualities you must rely on as the foundation of your contribution to

the world. ALAN PORTER [Next_ week. the Conference will deal with the subject _of Sex Instruction for Children.]