Logo - Feel The Words

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.

I've played a lot of bad guys, 'cause that was the only work I could get. People saw my face and went 'oooh'.

Quotes by Laurence Fishburne

I'm not dyeing my hair and trying to pretend I'm 40. That's not going to work for me.

Quotes by Laurence Fishburne

I think we should be able to work until we want to stop, which is what I'm going to have to do.

Quotes by Laurence Fox

Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence.

Quotes by Laurence J. Peter

Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to be appointed to do the work.

Quotes by Laurence J. Peter

Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise.

Quotes by Laurence J. Peter

A man's prime interest in life must be his work.

Quotes by Laurence Olivier

I don't know what is better than the work that is given to the actor - to teach the human heart the knowledge of itself.

Quotes by Laurence Olivier

I have a hard time watching myself! Usually I do the work, and then I leave it. So I pretend like I'm not on TV every week.

Quotes by Lauren London

I speak a little bit of French and German, but apparently, I'm really bad at Dutch. The pronunciations are quite hard. I tried to say 'hello' in Dutch, and it did not work. People were just like, 'What?'

Quotes by Lauren Mayberry

I've spoken in front of members of the U.S. Congress about a new dream of living in communities where everybody is welcome and everyone can live and go to school and work without facing the fear of bullies.

Quotes by Lauren Potter

It's kind of hard to retain the feminine. I have so much respect for the feminine, but it's actually something I have to work for.

Quotes by Lauren Southern

When you do multiple things you love, it doesn't feel like work.

Quotes by Lauren Conrad

I go into meetings, and people have this preconceived notion of me that I didn't work hard to get where I am.

Quotes by Lauren Conrad

It is funny, the things you miss about a more conventional lifestyle. I miss seemingly mundane tasks, like cleaning the kitchen, moving my furniture around to achieve just the right look, and checking the mailbox. I miss making my bed...

Quotes by Lauren Gibbs

Sometimes I can't sleep at night because I'm so excited to work on sprinting the next day, because I'm such a bad sprinter.

Quotes by Lauren Gibbs

When I graduated from college, I was told I could do great things and be great, but I didn't know what that meant and what it would feel like and the work that it would take.

Quotes by Lauren Gibbs

I think the biggest thing to being an elite-level bobsledder is grit. You have to really want it. It's a very blue-collar sport. We do a lot of the work ourselves; we sand the runners, we wash the sled, we...

Quotes by Lauren Gibbs

I had a corporate job and wore a suit to work every day, and I just kind of felt like I wasn't living my authentic self or doing what I was passionate about.

Quotes by Lauren Gibbs

I've often used the extremes in my work to comment on the mainstream. I think that sometimes a subject that I'm working on, like popular culture, is so present all around us that they're hard to see. It's like: How...

Quotes by Lauren Greenfield

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.