WASHINGTON—Saying he fears the number may be in the thousands or possibly even millions, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez announced at a press conference Wednesday that he was horrified to learn some Americans are currently working jobs they do not truly enjoy. “It has recently come to my attention that there are people in this very country who are not intensely passionate about what they do for a living,” said a visibly alarmed Perez, adding that he was both shocked and distressed to learn that there are individuals in nearly every economic sector whose job is not a source of immense satisfaction and who do not feel deeply privileged to have it. “As incredibly unsettling as this sounds, many of these folks will spend years, sometimes their entire career, simply going through the motions, rarely experiencing a sense of profound fulfillment after a day’s work. I cannot imagine earning a paycheck doing something other than what makes me happiest in life, but evidently that is the case for some truly unfortunate people out there.” Perez went on to say he was equally disturbed to discover that many Americans are compensated with wages that do not cover the cost of the lifestyle they always dreamed of.

Advertisement