The central question is always whether it is possible to find work through roles validated within the employ-ment structure. We cannot even ask such a question if we do not distinguish these two concepts. What is often referred to as alienation from work is seldom that. It is rather, alienation from the job structure of modern society. Such alienation is often the expression of discontent with the pos-sibilities of finding a work to do through the constructed avenues of remunerative employment.
Work is basically the way that people seek to redeem their lives from futility.
With this perspective on the distinction between work and jobs, we can address the kinds of competence and personal characteristics required for success in work. There is a large body of research which identifies the skills, abilities and other characteristics required for effective work. George Klemp and his associates have made major contributions. Certainly many occupations require a minimum level of knowledge on the part of the individual for the satisfactory discharge of work-related duties, but even more occupations require only that the individual be willing and able to learn new things . . . The cognitive skills constitute' the first factor of occupational success.