About The Sunday Letters Journal
I’m
Work & Business Psychologist, writer and lecturer in psychology. I am a socialist in the very best sense of the word. That is to say, I am for people and for freedom in life and work… insofar as that is possible within the limits of our culture. My good friend, philosopher and content partner joins me here on this crusade to save the world from shitty, useless, unhealthy, understimulating and underpaying work.I obtained my BA in psychology from Dublin Business School and my MSc in Work & Org Psychology from Dublin City University. I am a graduate member of the Psychological Society of Ireland, a member of The Association for Coaching, and a Registered Psychometric Test User. I provide people with work, career, and business coaching, workshops, and courses on leadership, motivation, and workplace well-being.
Dmitri is an Estonian national and, like me, is a psychology graduate (we studied together). He later completed an MA. in Philosophy at University College Dublin, where he qualified with honours. Both Dmitri and I, you might say, are unemployable. That is, we know too much about corporate workplaces and the hierarchical nature of work to fit into it to any effective degree. So here we are, attempting to eke out a living writing. If you like what we do, take this opportunity to become a supporter with 20% off your subscription.
What Sunday Letters is about
The Sunday Letters Journal is about daily work and the human relationship with it. We pursue answers to how we may work free from the burden of hierarchical political and financial constraints and command our own work. You see, not many of us work free — we work on the say-so of others and perform tasks of their design, not our own. Some of us do well enough to live reasonably comfortably, arguably just enough to pacify us. But most don’t, and vast swathes of people are significantly dissatisfied, bored, underutilised, understimulated, worn out, stressed to the hilt, and burnt out by work. The self-employed are arguably happier and have greater control over their work than directly employed. But even they often find themselves bound to one animate or inanimate master or another. In that sense, we are enslaved by Capitalist systems, a destructive merry-go-round from which few of us escape.
Not only does the assault of the modern workplace impact our personal freedom and well-being, but it is also an assault on the planet. The insatiable pursuit of perpetual growth, profit by the few, and the promise of fulfilling our every desire bleeds the land of all it offers. This desire, it must be said, is fuelled by clever marketing and advertising. Corporations know us better than we know ourselves. And so they distract us with the ease with which to attain aesthetic perfection, sexual gratification, and the satisfaction of our basest desires. Where that is unattainable, we are distracted by the dream of it or that others with a different skin colour, religion, culture or sexuality may steal it from us.
Not all of us experience the profit that accrues from this exploitation of people and the land; in fact, about 90% of the profit goes to only a few per cent of people. The gap between rich and poor is ever-widening, and the planet is under increasing stress levels. We know this very well, yet still, we feed the machine of industry with our time, attention, blood, sweat, tears, emotional labour, and meagre earnings.
Depressing, isn’t it?
Well, we’re looking for a better way—a better way to live both in and out of daily work. Perhaps in the process, we'll find the fulfilment and happiness we seek and live in harmony with the planet and other people rather than being adversaries.
What’s on the table for supporters?
A weekly subscription to The Sunday Letters Journal is free. However, when you become a paid subscriber, you’re actively supporting independent thinking and writing, and for only $5 per month (or less if you grab the discount below), you receive the following;
The Sunday Letters’ weekly essay
Podcasts, audio recordings & clips
Paid subscriber essays & other content
Your name listed as a supporter in new book publications
Free ebooks and paperbacks for paid supporters*
Community features and access to the archive
Invite to join our Sunday Letters Discord Community
Why Become A Supporter?
Well, in truth, you don’t have to. Some of our best material goes to you for free anyway. If you decide to become a supporter, however, you’ll receive member-only content, and you’ll be supporting our work, the hours of research, fact-checking, and the research material, such as courses and books that go into every piece of content. Your subscription helps cover the cost of digital tools, pay bills and all those other things we all have to shell out for every day.
You’ll be supporting independent thinking and writing, which I think is rarely heard above the noise these days. And with the progress of AI language models, unique human voices are even more important.
That’s all we’ve got for now.
Regards,
Larry Maguire & Dmitri Belikov
How do you feel about work?
We’re conducting research for a book we’re working on, and I’d love to get your input. Can you take 3 mins to let me know your feelings about daily work?
* Must be supporting the journal for 12 months or longer.
