The contemporary work paradigm is deeply flawed, as evidenced by mounting wealth inequality, precarious work conditions, and the climate and environmental crises. Herbert Marcuse’s writings offer insights for those seeking societal change. Marcuse, like post-work thinkers, critiques how society reduces humans to labour instruments, perpetuating a cycle of ‘surplus repression’ and undermining cooperation. He argues that the modern work ethic falsely equates human fulfilment with the attainment of material wealth, shaping our aspirations to fit the demands of the productive apparatus. Marcuse can be seen as an inspiration for post-work thought in his advocacy for freedom beyond work’s confines and his exposure to the problematic articulation of democracy and economy in liberal orders. Drawing on Marcuse, the chapter reveals how capitalism’s diversion of the human search for happiness today functions to strengthen its control of individuals and perpetuate work precarity. Emancipation requires reevaluating the work’s purpose and creating an autonomous public space beyond market values. Marcuse’s ideas urge a reimagining of societal structures, in which productivity-driven imperatives are subjected to the demands of human and planetary flourishing, aligning with contemporary critiques of work and advocating for a more equitable and fulfilling future.