The email jobs/bullshit jobs thing seems to elide the difference between jobs adding value in an economic sense (i.e. a functioning company sees reason to hire and retain this person in this position), a human-needs one (jobs like EMT versus most other work) and a more spiritual/subjective one. And then in the latter category as well there’s a divide between meaninglessness as experienced by the person doing the job (which is existential and could happen in any job, however objectively necessary), and by outside onlookers who may simply be biased against the thing (lobbyists, activists, gender-studies professors).

And while I well believe a job could be unnecessary in an economic sense, and that if you’re running a company you would be thinking along these lines (as are we all, as individuals, when we decide if we will for example get the latte out or not), I’m less persuaded that there is this thing, meaningless work, in the more abstract sense. If it’s meaningful to someone, if it gets you out of bed in the morning, you know?