"But in the United States—and particularly in tech hubs like New York and the Bay Area—how we make money is shorthand for who we are. Our livelihoods have become our lives."

"Over the past few decades, work has eclipsed faith and friends as a source of meaning for Americans."

"When analysts from the Pew Research Center asked Americans what gives their life meaning, respondents were nearly two times more likely to name their career than to name their spouse."

"And yet the fetishization of work is not unique to the United States. In an increasingly globalized world, busyness knows no borders. American work culture and management systems are cultural exports as much as Big Macs and Levi’s jeans."

"For white-collar professionals, jobs have become akin to a religious identity: In addition to a paycheck, they provide meaning, community, and a sense of purpose."

"Journalist Derek Thompson dubbed this new phenomenon “workism.”"

"A workist seeks meaning from their work similar to how a religious person seeks meaning from their faith."

"Her identity was straightforward. First, she was a woman of faith. Then a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a fresh-pasta maker. She enjoyed her work at the coffee shop—loved it, even—but it did not define her."

"“I see my work as a type of philanthropy,” he told me of his psychology practice. “My work is my way of giving back.”"

"My dad wants to work for as long as he can still remember his patients’ names. Even during pandemic lockdowns, he returned to the office whenever he could."

"You aren’t what you do. But understanding that platitude at an intellectual level is different from internalizing its message."

"The desire to search for self-actualizing work makes some sense. After all, we work more than we do just about anything else."

"But to conflate your identity with your job is risky, as many have learned in the past few years."

"The primary issue is that your job might not always be there. If your job is your identity, and you lose your job, what’s left?"

"When you conflate who you are with what you do, you can miss out on other meaningful aspects of life."

"The research shows that when we develop multiple passions, interests, and identities, we don’t just become more well-rounded humans but—ironically—we get better at work too."

"People with greater self-complexity are more resilient in the face of adversity, and more creative problem solvers."

"To tether your self-worth to a job is to put your fate in the hands of an entity that won’t always be able to love you back."