Work & Money

12 questions

Work & Money5 May 2026

Why is it so much easier to spend money on a card than with cash?

The payment method changes the experience of paying. And the experience of paying directly affects how much you spend and how much you value what you buy.

Work & Money5 May 2026

Has working from home changed us, or just revealed us?

The great experiment of 2020 told us something about work. It's less clear whether it changed anything.

Work & Money5 May 2026

Is the idea of a "self-made" person a useful fiction or a harmful one?

Every self-made person had a great deal of help. The question is whether the story they tell about themselves matters.

Work & Money5 May 2026

Why do we tip in restaurants but not in supermarkets?

It seems obvious until you think about it, at which point it stops making any sense at all.

Work & Money5 May 2026

What if every country adopted a universal basic income tomorrow?

UBI is either the most humane economic idea of the century or a guaranteed route to inflation and dependency. The answer depends on what you think work is actually for.

Work & Money5 May 2026

Should politicians be required to pass a competency test before standing for election?

We test everyone else who holds power over lives. The one exception is revealing.

Work & Money5 May 2026

Is meritocracy a myth, a goal, or a justification for inequality?

Meritocracy is one of those ideas that almost everyone claims to believe in and almost no one agrees on. That is not a coincidence.

Work & Money5 May 2026

What if money disappeared overnight?

Not hyperinflation. Not cryptocurrency collapse. Just gone. The thought experiment cuts through every assumption we have about value, work, and what we actually owe each other.

Work & Money23 Apr 2026

Did you know the 40-hour work week was invented by Henry Ford?

The standard working week wasn't handed down from nature or decided by workers. It was invented by a car manufacturer in 1926 for reasons that had nothing to do with your wellbeing.

Why is it so much easier to spend money on a card than with cash?

Why does a pay rise only make you happy for about three months?

Why does work always expand to fill the time available?

Did you know the word "salary" comes from salt?

Has working from home changed us, or just revealed us?

Is the idea of a "self-made" person a useful fiction or a harmful one?

Why do we tip in restaurants but not in supermarkets?

What if every country adopted a universal basic income tomorrow?

Should politicians be required to pass a competency test before standing for election?

Is meritocracy a myth, a goal, or a justification for inequality?

What if money disappeared overnight?

Did you know the 40-hour work week was invented by Henry Ford?