Labour Day is a paradoxical holiday. We pause from work in order to commemorate it. The last weekend of summer is meant for barbecues, celebration, and a moment of rest. But underneath the leisure lies a recognition that work is not just what we do to make a living. It is one of the primary ways we define who we are, and how we contribute to the world around us.

Think about the question we most often ask someone new: “What do you do?” Our answers almost always are tied to our jobs. Work has become shorthand for identity. And if our employment isn’t meaningful, we feel a sense of being hollowed out, unappreciated, disconnected from value. That’s because work locates us in a larger story, showing us how our daily efforts fit into the vast network that sustains our common life.

And yet, man

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