WHY DO PEOPLE WORK?

Try to imagine how you would fill in 24 hours a day, every day, if you didn’t have to work?

There you go.. Off to the beach in summer! Catch movies in winter. Watch T.V. on rainy days. Go skating. Horse riding. Read a lot of books or magazines. Sleep. Do whatever you wanted to do whenever…

It would be terrific wouldn’t it?

But would it?

A couple of thoughts immediately come to mind!

1. You’re going to get bored quickly… And end up spending most of all your “free” time sitting on your couch in front of the tele… playing on your phone, spending hours on social media.

and

2. You’re going to run out of money fast! LOL

Where would the money come from to pay your bus fares, to get into the movies, to buy your T.V. or to pay for the electricity, or buy your skates and books?

Let’s say that money grew on trees, and that no-one had to worry about that “small” problem. Now you can do all those things… right?

Probably not, because if no-one had to worry about earning money, then WHO would bother driving your bus to the beach – for that matter, who would bother building your bus, or making your movies, skates, books, etc.?

Why would they have to?

Ooopsies!

What you’d probably end up doing would be spending most of your time out in the back yard. Growing your own food. Looking after your cows for milk and meat, your sheep for clothing. Growing bamboo for the walls of your humpy.

And YOU would need to do this, because no-one else would need to! Because money grew on trees – right??? 😉

Well obviously, money in that sort of society doesn’t really exist. It’s of no value to the people.

So, in our society, it would seem that MONEY is the NUMBER ONE reason for working !!! ???

Now a lot of people might agree with this statement! But is money the main reason why so many people spend so much of their time working?

Surely work gives us other things as well?

Go back to your farm for a second…

Think of all the things you would have to do yourself. What would happen if you weren’t able to repair your hand-plough if it broke down?

Maybe another farmer probably discovered that they were particularly good at repairing broken down ploughs! When everyone else found out, they asked him to fix theirs. And soon a thriving business had been set up! Ploughs were fixed in exchange for corn, milk, rugs, or other things the repairer needed.

Soon other people began specialising in all sorts of things. They didn’t have to worry about doing everything for themselves! They were now able to trade their special skills for the things they wanted.

So, one of the reasons why “work” exists today is because we cannot possibly do everything for ourselves!

We get other people to do things for us and pay them for their work.

And in order to do that, we must also do things for other people so that we can earn money.

Think of everything you do. All of it costs money $$$$

Electricity isn’t free! Nor is water, food, housing, clothing, etc.

So, we appear to be back at the point again where money is still the MAIN REASON for working. Except now, not probably in the original way you were thinking.

We have also uncovered a few more reasons why people work:

• because you are good at doing something special
• other people need your skills, and you need theirs
• to satisfy your needs for shelter and food
• to provide “luxuries” to make your lifestyle more enjoyable.

You can get a lot out of working! It doesn’t just have to be something “you gotta do!”.

In fact, although money might appear to be the main reason for working, it isn’t always the main “thing” people get from their job.

Many people stay in low paid jobs because they get a lot of personal satisfaction from other aspects of their job.

REWARDS FROM WORK

Look at this short list of “rewards” that people might get from work, and see whether you think that money is still number one:

WORK:

• lets me use my special abilities, skills and knowledge
  
• makes me feel that I’m doing something useful
  
• keeps me busy and helps fill in time
  
• lets me be creative
  
• involves doing a variety of tasks
  
• allows me to meet a lot of people
  
• lets me experience new things and learn more
  
• lets me see something for my efforts
  
• allows me to be responsible
  
• gives me power/influence over others
  
• provides opportunities to make friends
  
• lets me help people
  
• provides money
  
• allows me to be with others
  
• provides physical activity for me
  
• allows me to contribute to the community
  
• lets me control my own time
  
• allows me to satisfy my other needs
  
• offers me chances for improvement and/or promotion
  
• allows me to be known and liked by many people

Are there any other rewards that work might offer? If you can think of any add them to the list.

Then… pick out and number in ORDER of IMPORTANCE, your TOP FIVE rewards YOU want from work.

Keep these reasons in mind when looking at job/s. Ask whether those jobs can provide you with those rewards 🙂

Now, Let’s Get Serious!!!

For a second or two… (which is why the guy below has a suit on… LOL)

The “Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA)” proposes that job satisfaction is directly related to the degree to which a person’s values and corresponding needs are satisfied by his or her work environment.

It identified six “global” work values that are important to a person’s satisfaction in the job. They are:

Achievement (A) — These jobs are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities. That gives them a feeling of accomplishment. Matching needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Independence (I) — These jobs allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Recognition (Rc) — These jobs offer advancement, potential for leadership. Such jobs are often considered prestigious. Matching needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Relationships (R) — These jobs allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Matching needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Support (S) — These jobs offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Matching needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Working Conditions (W) — These jobs offer job security and good working conditions. Matching needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.

Some of the job lists/groups you might look at (shortly) are based on these work value groups.

Which of the six appeal to you right now?

Which ones don’t?

OK! Are You Game Enough???

Find out what the genie has in store for you!!!

BACK to Choosing a Career index.