Why Do You Work?
Think back to your very first job. Chances are that you chose to go to work for one reason only: You needed money to buy the things you wanted, and you needed a job to earn the money. Why is this a mistake, when practically everybody does it?
For one thing, it perpetuates the notion that the main purpose of working is to buy stuff. Of course people spend money on things and want to buy stuff, but collecting the most stuff isn’t the purpose of life. (Or at least it shouldn’t be…)
The more stuff you want, the more you need to work (or the deeper in debt you go). Pretty soon you’re left with a lot of stuff but very little time to enjoy it.
Maybe I’m an idealist, but I think that there should be more to working than just earning money to buy stuff. There are skills to be learned, people to be met, a sense of satisfaction in doing a good job, and of course a work-life balance.
Of course, I work at the particular job that I have in order to earn money. But I’ve learned things from it, and gotten to practice my skills in a variety of areas. And I feel good when I do a good job. I’m also not going to stop working when the time comes that I no longer need the money.
I may stop working at a paid job, and I’ll certainly stop working as much but I still want to feel useful and to be able to do things that make a difference.
So why do you work? What do you like or dislike about your job? Would you do something different if you had the chance?
I work to maintain my lifestyle and to obtain medical benefits.
I work not only for the obvious salary and benefits, but also for the camaraderie, and the chance to do something interesting. Plus, I often find good blogging ideas from my job and my coworkers.
I’m lucky–I’ve spent the past 10+ years working in the non-profit sector, helping my community and communities throughout the world. It drives me nuts a great deal of the time, but it’s extremely rewarding. This isn’t to say that I don’t do my part to move up the salary ladder, etc. and I do my best not to tie my identity to what I do for a living. But at the end of the day, I feel good knowing that I have contributed something to the greater good through my 9-5.
I work for the obivoius reason to make money. I also enjoy working. I know I must sound crazy. I do. I need purpose in my life a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Yes, my kids are reason enough but I am not a stay at home kind of mom. I too enjoy adult conversation. I feel even if I didn’t need the money I would still do something. I would volunteer to help those less fortunate. My parents ingrained in me that you must be an intergral part of society.
Nancy, I don’t think that sounds crazy. It’s good to enjoy what you do.