Odd Job
Like super odd job. So the title of the article is “The Job That Will Let You Do Whatever You Want in a Swedish Train Station, Forever.”
Did I click? Of course, I clicked.
It’s one part art installation, one part social experiment. Anyone in the world can apply. An explanation:
Each morning, the chosen employee will punch a clock in Korsvägen train station, currently under construction in Gothenburg, Sweden, which will turn on a bank of bright fluorescent lights. Other than that, “the position holds no duties or responsibilities besides the fact that the work should be carried out at Korsvägen. Whatever the employee chooses to do constitutes the work,” reads the job description. The employee can also choose how publicly visible or anonymous they would like to be while on the clock.
So you could become a full-time, paid writer. Or a full-time, paid thinker / sleeper / daydreamer. Or a full-time, paid pom-pom-animal-creator / Cheerio-necklace-maker / Barbie-hair-cutter. Or, I guess, you could take your current job if it’s portable and collect a double salary doing your position in a train station.
It’s really brilliant, and I love this quote: “As Gothenburg’s working class finds itself marginalized, Goldin and Senneby see a job that gives total control to the worker as an act of economic imagination.” In other words, there is a problem, so let’s see how people solve it. How do they create work for themselves? And does this work benefit society as a whole? Just the individual?
What would you do if you got the position?
6 comments
I’d probably wander around and people watch. And eavesdrop. And maybe interrupt the odd conversation, if I had anything to add. Pick up trash or harass people who put it in the wrong place. Then I’d read. Sounds like a delightful retirement gig…
I like a’s plan!
Very interesting concept. I’d love to get paid for being curious.
What an interesting experiment! The idea that we can get paid to do whatever we imagine is an attractive one, but one concern that immediately comes to mind is how would growth be measured? How would someone determine if they are able to expand vs doing the same thing without meeting their desired goals? One could argue it doesn’t matter, but for someone like me, where I have a tendency to go down one rabbit hole, missing opportunities I never would have considered otherwise, this feedback matters.
Then again, the security of not having to please someone else is extremely attractive, potentially allowing for this growth. So…
I kind of love this idea. There are so many jobs that could be like this where you could let the employee flex their creative muscle during downtime. Other than flipping the switch, there is no feedback or performance review for the job itself, right? Then it’s up to the employee to make up the rest, whatever that looks like…
This sounds so oddly satisfying, as a retirement job of sorts, or a sabbatical type thing. I think I would be a bench-reader. And a people-complimenter. I would look for people who looked sad and smile at them. Maybe hand out free books or flowers. Train stations really are a great place to observe humanity, what a perfect location for this job!
I think I’d read. But I can’t read in busy places, so I’d also probably listen. I like Jess’ idea about handing out free flowers. Maybe I’d draw, when I was bored reading. Or tapdance. Or learn to play an instrument, but have a basket of instruments so anyone else could join in. 🙂