If there is one thing that is certain to make my blood boil, it's someone in a privileged position saying "But I worked hard to get where I am". Not that I doubt that that may well be the case; every self-made business person has undoubtedly put in long, hard hours to achieve success. The problem I have with this point of view is the implication that hard work is all it takes to be financially successful. Hard work is an essential component in achieving success but there are other factors that are equally relevant.
Success, in whichever field, is always a combination of talent, hard work, education, opportunity and that elusive, unquantifiable factor that I'll call luck. If hard work were all it took there would be far, far more people sending their children to "Eton, or even Westminster", to paraphrase David Laws. Try telling teachers, nurses, fire fighters, or doctors that they'd be better off if only they worked a bit harder. Even more pertinent, try telling some of the lowest paid people in this country that the only reason they don't holiday in San Moritz and the Seychelles is that they are just not hard working enough
Some of the lowest paid jobs are also the ones that demand that employees work the hardest. Cleaners, waiters and waitresses, shop assistants, factory workers, childcare workers, care home workers, teaching assistants and many, many more jobs are extremely hard work but no matter how many extra hours you can squeeze into your working week, none of these will make you rich. And whilst you are busy working hard, not to get rich but just to keep a roof over your head and food in your family's mouths, you don't have the time or the energy to look around for that elusive opportunity that could, possibly, given enough hard work, talent and luck, make your fortune.
And what of those that cannot work for one reason or another? Are they supposed to be impressed by the fact that someone has achieved success by not having the same barriers to work that they do? Thousands of people would love to have even a minimum wage job but are unable to find employment whether that be due to illness, disability, caring responsibilities, lack of education or the geographical area they live in.
Of course I applaud people that can make their own fortune and I respect the fact that they've had the drive and determination to get where they are. However, I will never be impressed by their assertion that they've "worked hard" to get there. My father worked hard every single day of his working life. It took its toll on his health and his loyalty to his employers was rewarded by being made redundant late in his career. He went on to find another job and continued to work hard way past retirement age, paying his taxes in full along the way. My father was a man anyone would have been proud to know and was, in every way, the best of men. I would choose a person like my father as a role model over any self-promoting, rich person carping about paying their fair share of tax because they "worked hard to get where they are".
