--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Working lives are for the state to…" description: "\"Working lives are for the state to influence. Unemployment makes people unhappy. So does instability.\" — Polly Toynbee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/polly-toynbee-21635_doe_working-lives-are-for-the-state-to-influ_624890.jpg" --- # Working lives are for the state to influence. Unemployment… ![“Working lives are for the state to influence. Unemployment makes people unhappy. So does instability.” quote by Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/polly-toynbee-21635_doe_working-lives-are-for-the-state-to-influ_624890.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/polly-toynbee-21635_doe_working-lives-are-for-the-state-to-influ_624890.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/polly-toynbee-21635_doe_working-lives-are-for-the-state-to-influ_624890.jpg) > “Working lives are for the state to influence. Unemployment makes people unhappy. So does instability.” [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. State policies shape work conditions; unemployment and job insecurity cause widespread unhappiness. **In simple terms:** Job security depends on state influence; lack of work hurts morale. Key Takeaway Advocate policies that reduce unemployment and instability. Themes employment state policy well‑being economics Mood concerned analytical Type sociopolitical commentary When to use this quote - Government employment programs - career counseling - mental health support - labor law reform Key Concepts Labor market dynamics social safety nets psychological impact Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals mitigate instability despite state policies? - What policies best balance state control and personal freedom? A Different Perspective State influence cannot fully eliminate personal agency or market forces. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Instability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instability/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Unemployment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unemployment/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [I've never believed unemployment numbers because the way that they calculate unemployment makes no sense whatsoever. It's not how many people are unemployed. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/i-ve-never-believed-unemployment-numbers-because-the-way-that-they/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [Assistance granted to the unemployed does not dispose of unemployment. It makes it easier for the unemployed to remain idle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/assistance-granted-to-the-unemployed-does-not-dispose-of-unemployment/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I think, you know, when you're an actor who's had periods of unemployment, it makes you feel really good to have a job -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/i-think-you-know-when-you-re-an-actor-who-s-had-periods-of/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [If you look at people who seek a lot of care in American cities for multiple illnesses, it's usually people with a number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-farmer/if-you-look-at-people-who-seek-a-lot-of-care-in-american-cities-for/) [Paul Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-farmer/) > [Many people will have nothing at the end of their working lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/many-people-will-have-nothing-at-the-end-of-their-working-lives/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Just as we have had great working lives, we have also had good personal lives. For instance, we have made school our number one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kate-olsen/just-as-we-have-had-great-working-lives-we-have-also-had-good/) [Mary-Kate Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kate-olsen/) > [Real life is not always going to be perfect or go our way, but the recurring acknowledgment of what is working in our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/real-life-is-not-always-going-to-be-perfect-or-go-our-way-but-the/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [Most of us will have more than one job in our working lives, which means we will have more than one opportunity to seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/most-of-us-will-have-more-than-one-job-in-our-working-lives-which/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [I look at people's lives and you see what's not working in their lives and it usually comes from an undisciplined mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/i-look-at-people-s-lives-and-you-see-what-s-not-working-in-their/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [When you look at some of the greatest people and players in the world they all stand for something outside their working lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eniola-aluko/when-you-look-at-some-of-the-greatest-people-and-players-in-the-world/) [Eniola Aluko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eniola-aluko/) > [Financial struggle is often the direct result of people working all their lives for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/financial-struggle-is-often-the-direct-result-of-people-working-all/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [We are not a single-issue party that puts abstract policy ahead of the working lives of people. We are not bitter, frightened xenophobes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-albanese/we-are-not-a-single-issue-party-that-puts-abstract-policy-ahead-of/) [Anthony Albanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-albanese/) > [“Our offices are filled with people working their lives out to enrich their boss, government or company.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/our-offices-are-filled-with-people-working-their-lives-out-to-enrich/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [You can't be a great mum and work the whole time necessarily; those two things aren't ideal. We have an awful lot to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/you-can-t-be-a-great-mum-and-work-the-whole-time-necessarily-those/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [When most people are unhappy customers, they get mad; I try to get rich. All of my businesses started the same way: I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-zane-pilzer/when-most-people-are-unhappy-customers-they-get-mad-i-try-to-get-rich/) [Paul Zane Pilzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-zane-pilzer/) ## More by Polly Toynbee > [Most people come to fear not death itself, but the many terrible ways of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/most-people-come-to-fear-not-death-itself-but-the-many-terrible-ways/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Could a government dare to set out with happiness as its goal? Now that there are accepted scientific proofs, it would be easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/could-a-government-dare-to-set-out-with-happiness-as-its-goal-now/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Openness about death has led to greater care about all aspects of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/openness-about-death-has-led-to-greater-care-about-all-aspects-of/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Islam, Christianity and Judaism all define themselves through disgust of women's bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/islam-christianity-and-judaism-all-define-themselves-through-disgust/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Inequality makes everyone unhappy, the poor most of all, and that is well within the remit of the state. 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