THE PATHOLOGY OF SUCCESS

Abstract

Management Decision

Work and Individualism The culture of Westernised society is work centred and individualistic. Work is basic to all societies in the sense that men must work to live. In Westernised society however work has acquired much more than a purely instrumental significance. A person's occupation largely determines his income, his social status, the kind of locality and house he lives in, and it will exert considerable influence over his social and political attitudes. Many professional people attempt to express their own individuality and superiority through occupational achievement. The duality of work and ambition finds a natural fusion in the concept of a career. A career conscious person ceases to regard his work instrumentally. Work becomes an end in itself. Failure to meet career expectations often strikes at the roots of an individual's self‐esteem because his image of himself is to such a large extent forged out of his occupational experience.

Citation

Jones, R. (1971), "THE PATHOLOGY OF SUCCESS", Management Decision, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 224-232. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb000972