The obsession with ‘hard work’ as a route to economic success is a dangerous distraction

The omnipresent slogan at the Conservative party conference, ‘for hardworking people’, reflects the belief that hard work is the proper way of living one’s life and the route to economic success. The rhetoric of George Osborne and his colleagues around hardworking people is not new but it remains regressive in its effects, not least in ignoring the real hardships faced by those who work hard for a living. David Spencer argues that there are other areas of life that matter to our well-being and allowing work to dominate us can only lead to harm.