Absence of hygiene factors.

In this scene from the movie, Angels & Demons, Tom Hanks and his friend are stuck in a room in the Vatican where the oxygen supply is cut-off. In the absence of sufficient oxygen, we can see that the only thing in front of them is survival. Neither the characters, nor us, the viewers, are expecting them to be at their creative best, or think about meaning or impact or innovation.

Hygiene factors have a hierarchy and a time frame. Oxygen may be on the top of the list, followed by water, food and sleep. Movement, physical intimacy, social connection, nature can bring up the rear.

When there is an absence of hygiene factors, our body and mind go into survival mode and generate stress and anxiety to nudge us to change things. But, if we start getting used to the absence, then this turns chronic.

The industrial era ethos mainly focussed on hygiene factors. And the creatives who want to break out from that are resistant to give attention to them. They tend to keep working on projects or tasks without ensuring sufficient income which can help them breathe. Just like the last scene of the clip.

The key word with hygiene factors is "sufficient". That's where the capitalist and industrialist system lose the sanity. They go for maximising hygiene factors. Maximising your income rarely creates the conditions for a healthy, creative life.

Being at either end of this spectrum, only trying to maximise income while not doing anything that matters to you, or only doing things that matter to you while not earning sufficient income are detrimental to us.

Instead, we can start by creating the conditions of generating sufficient income (without worrying about the work that matters) so that we can continue to do the work that matters in the long run.