Work has no intrinsic meaning. The statement is either true or false, in which case if it is true then the same activity may be work in one context and not work in another; therefore work would derive its meaning from its social and economic contexts. If work does not have intrinsic meaning then is has extrinsic meaning. This suggests that people in the society construct the meaning or significance of work and that it may mean different things to different people and different things at different times and places. It will be shown that the meaning of work is indeed extrinsic through the meanings society attaches to it as well as the meanings attached to the concept of work. Starting with defining what work is and a brief look at its history, it will be shown that there is no exact definition to "work." After discussion about the definition of "work" it will be established that work does not have a meaning attached to it as it is socially constructed.
             Work is value and structure, activity and ideology, fact and myth (Jenkins and Sherman, 1980). It is a generally accepted principle that "work" is good for people and necessary for any society to live and use its resources efficiently. Recently, work has shaped such imperatives as economic programs, including political platforms, educational and social welfare systems, and even areas such as the correctional system and individual therapy. As good as "work" may be, what exactly is work and where did it derive from? "If work was all that good, the rich would have thought of a way of keeping it all to themselves" (Jenkins and Sherman, 1980).
             In Ancient Greece, anything that disfigured the body was regarded as a humiliating activity in which slaves only undertook (Language and History, 1980). This understanding of work once reflected, as well as reinforced, the position of a leader. There was nothing equivalent to a "wo...