67.        The speaker claims that our jobs greatly influence our personal interests,
recreational activities and even appearance. While I agree that the personal lives of
some people are largely determined by their work, in my view it would be a mistake to
draw this conclusion generally. In my observation, the extent to which occupation
influences personal life depends on (1) the nature of the work, and (2) how central the
work is to one's sense of self.
      On the one hand, consider my friends Steve and William. Steve works as a
gardener, but after work he creates oil paintings of quality and poignancy. His leisure
time is spent alternately at the sea, in the wilderness, and in dark cafes. William paints
houses for a living, but on his own time he collects fine art and books in first edition, as
well as reading voraciously in the area of American history. Their outside activities and
appearance speak little about what Steve or William do for a living, because these men
view their jobs as little more than a means of subsidizing me activities that manifest
their true selves. At the same time, they have chosen jobs that need not spill over into
their personal lives, so the nature of their jobs permits them to maintain a distinctive
identity apart from their work.
      On the other hand, consider my friend Shana—a business executive who lives and
breathes her work. After work hours you can invariably find her at a restaurant or bar
with colleagues, discussing work. Shana's wardrobe is primarily red—right off the
dress-for-success page of a woman's magazine. For Shana, her job is clearly an
expression of her self-concept. Also, by its nature it demands Shana's attention and time
away from the workplace.
      What has determined the influence of work on personal lives in these cases is the
extent to which each person sees himself or herself in terms of work. Clearly, work is at
the center of Shana's life, but not of either Steve's or William's. My sample is small;
still, common sense and intuition tell me that the influence of work on one's personal
life depends both on the nature of the work and on the extent to which the work serves
as a manifestation of one's self-concept.