What is Work? [Interior Design]

One type of work that Ciulla describes is "work as an attitude." She means that our attitude toward whatever the action we are doing determines whether or not it is work. When we call something "work" it becomes less enjoyable. For example as an interior design major, when a professor assigns us "homework" to come up with a design idea, I usually have no desire to do it. However if I was not assigned "homework" and I was inspired and motivated by something, I would most likely start designing and doing work. At that moment it would not feel like work, because my attitude toward it was willingness. 


Ciulla describes the difference between work and labor in the section titled " The Labor of Our Bodies." She explains that labor is affiliated with more physical tasks than work. Interior Designers do a lot of work but not necessarily a lot of labor. Work takes a lot of time and effort which contributes to the labor that will happen later on. The extend of an interior designers labor is model making. This is not to say that what interior designers do is not difficult in its own way, however it does not require too much physical exertion.


Although interior designers do not use very much physical exertion, they are constantly in contact with people who do. The designers are the creators the thinkers of the project, however they are not trained to build the project. In other words they are not trained to do all the physical labor parts of the project. That part is for the contractors and engineers. In the design field, the interior designers must work side by side with the "laborers." Whom Ciulla describes as the ones who make a product. Interior designers design the product and the contractors make it.


Ciullas part of the chapter called "It's Only a Job" can refer to every and any field of work. According to Ciulla it can refer to any field as long as the person is getting paid for what they are doing. In interior design an unpaid internship, which is very common in order to get your foot in the door, would be considered work. Unpaid internships are considered work because the person is doing many tasks and nott being paid for it. After the internship phase the person can be hired to work for a company. Once they are hired to work this is considered a job, because they are getting rewarded for their work with money.