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Work Quotes

Quotes on the meaning of work.

Several quotes here describe work as a solitary process, one that takes real effort to protect from distraction, while others connect a person's politics directly to the character of their work. Related reading includes Growth Quotes.

My off-the-field heroes, the people who gave me the values to live by and who inspired me with their hard work and unselfish dedication to their family, were my mom, Catherine, and my dad, William.

Quotes by Allan Ray

I've spent some time working with a non-Italian designer; I've been helping him organize fashion shows, the advertising, also helping with the creative part. But the great part about this work is that I am no one!

Quotes by Allegra Versace

There's a lot of bitterness, there's a lot of anger out there. We all have to work hard to heal those wounds.

Quotes by Allen Boyd

There are schoolteachers around the country that work second jobs after their teaching duties are done: one woman in North Dakota I spoke to was heading off to clean houses after the final bell in order to pay her rent.

Quotes by Alissa Quart

There's a motherhood penalty because we've been long taught things that are stigmatized about motherhood. As workers, we don't want to talk about our kids at work. We're afraid to, or that when we leave at 5:30 to relieve the...

Quotes by Alissa Quart

Part of why daycare is so poorly paid is because the sense that they're prisoners of love, that daycare workers love their work so much that they don't need to be paid fairly. It's this sense of, 'Oh well, labor...

Quotes by Alissa Quart

I think there's a contempt for care work and caregiving in this country that seeps into how we think about mothers, professional workers who are mothers.

Quotes by Alissa Quart

In an economy where women now make up half the work force, we're going to have to address the treatment of pregnant employees more systemically. The passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would better protect against the discrimination pregnant...

Quotes by Alissa Quart

When you ride fast and then rest for a bit, it causes a spike in your heart rate and helps your body deal with lactic acid. But you don't need to make it too complicated. Yorkshire is perfect because the...

Quotes by Alistair Brownlee

A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn't feel like it.

Quotes by Alistair Cooke

Though not the longest battle in history - that was Verdun - Stalingrad was certainly the most pitiless, an adjective that reappears regularly in Mr. Beevor's classic work.

Quotes by Alistair Horne

Without Kissinger's work in the Middle East, with Sadat especially, I doubt if the Camp David Agreements five years later would have happened. His achievements over detente, the seeds of trust he sowed in a very distrustful and hostile Moscow,...

Quotes by Alistair Horne

I just have this sort of entrepreneurial spirit and I work really hard at promoting myself.

Quotes by Alison Bechdel

I've always loved film and wanted to work in film. I just love working and creating new characters, and trying different genres and different things.

Quotes by Alison Brie

I like to have my breakfast in bed, and I use that time to watch the recorded shows on my TiVo. I seldom watch shows in real time - I'm always at work.

Quotes by Alison Brie

I've always loved film and wanted to work in film. I just love working and creating new characters, and trying different genres and different things. For me, I just love to work and I love movies.

Quotes by Alison Brie

I try to be very much in control when it comes to work. I have a strong work ethic.

Quotes by Alison Brie

I try not to take myself too seriously, but I do take my work seriously.

Quotes by Alison Doody

I don't want to work just for the sake of working. Generally, if a good script comes in, I read it, and if it appeals to me, it appeals to me. And it doesn't have to be anything - it...

Quotes by Alison Doody

I think it's a bit of a myth that if you can read music you can write music. It doesn't work like that.

Quotes by Alison Goldfrapp

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of quotes are on the "Work" page?
These lean toward the thoughtful side of work — the idea that "intellectual work is essentially a lonely process," the belief that one's politics and "the character of his particular work are inseparable," and an image of people unwinding after work all over the world talking about life's bigger questions.
Is there a spiritual angle to any of these?
While these particular quotes are secular, if you're looking for a spiritual perspective on work, see Prayers for that theme.
Do these quotes connect work to personal identity?
Yes, one of the strongest lines here argues that your politics and "the character of his particular work are inseparable" — the idea that what you do reflects who you are. If that resonates, Growth quotes explore a similar idea of work shaping the person.
Is there anything here about effort or persistence?
These specific quotes focus more on the nature and meaning of work than on effort itself, but Effort quotes cover that ground directly.
What about setting goals through work?
For that angle, Goal quotes is the better fit — the "Work" page here is more about the character and process of working itself.

There's also a lighter side - people unwinding after work to talk through life's bigger questions over drinks. See Effort Quotes and Goal Quotes for more on getting things done.