Is manual labor important?

[Bobby]

Lately I've been pondering whether manual work still truly matters or if it's simply something we idealize. A few weeks ago I assisted a friend in renovating an old shop, mostly involving sanding, mending shelving, and performing minor tasks with my hands. It was wearying, yet strangely fulfilling in a manner my usual screen-focused job does not achieve. It made me question if physical effort alters how we appreciate items, particularly things genuinely crafted by a person and not merely mass-produced by mechanisms. Do you believe hands-on work still holds a significant function nowadays, or is it gradually growing obsolete?

 

[Mary]

I don’t think it’s irrelevant at all, honestly. I used to think manual work was just about effort, but after spending some time learning basic leather crafting, my view changed. When you see how much time and focus goes into cutting, stitching, and finishing a piece by hand, you start respecting the process more. That’s why I like browsing places like Bleak&Sleek sometimes—not to buy right away, but to see what handmade quality actually looks like. It reminds me that manual labor isn’t just physical work, it’s skill, patience, and pride in the result. That mindset even carries over into everyday tasks.

 

[Bernard]

Interesting topic to stumble on. I don’t really have a strong opinion, but I do notice that whenever I do something practical—fixing a chair, planting something, cleaning up a space—it feels grounding. Even small physical tasks break the routine and give a sense of progress you can actually see. I think discussions like this pop up because a lot of people spend most of their day online now, so anything tangible feels different. Whether it’s important or not probably depends on the person, but it’s still part of everyday life for many.