It's Been a Minute Americans are tired. The grindset is to blame.
Feb 2, 2026
Erik Baker, Harvard lecturer and author of Make Your Own Job, critiques how the entrepreneurial work ethic reshaped American labor. He traces how corporations turned employees into perpetual opportunity-seekers, reframed creativity as labor, and pushed marginalized people to "make their own jobs." The conversation explores why hustle culture persists and how it sidelines collective fixes.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Graduating Into Precarity
- Brittany Luse recounts graduating in 2010 and struggling to find stable work after the 2008 recession.
- She describes carrying multiple side gigs and never feeling fully secure from job loss.
Value Shift From Production To Innovation
- The entrepreneurial work ethic reframes value as constant innovation rather than just producing useful goods or services.
- Employers use this shift to demand perpetual creativity and justify tougher job conditions.
Everyday Workers Told To Be Entrepreneurs
- Brittany Luse shares personal work history across varied jobs and encountering the push to be entrepreneurial in many workplaces.
- She recalls roles from coaching teens to retail and being asked to bring 'entrepreneurial' thinking to routine tasks.
