*This post originally appeared last year in The Asia Pacific Headhunter blog.*
I've been meaning to write about this for a long time - came across
this in Jason Goldberg's blog a while back and I think it's an
interesting perspective on "work" - and extremely relevant to
everyone. It's about loving your work.
If you find yourself identifying more and more with Dilbert, watching the clock, calculating the money you've earned today, or like 40% of employees surveyed in a recent New Zealand Labour Department poll who want more work life balance, you should take stock of how you perceive your work and understand why you're doing it. Now, have a look at How Work Can Be a Source Of Contentment, Not a Chore about poet Donald Hall, author of "Life Work".
I recently worked with a candidate who was looking to leave her job as a high-level IT business consultant/project manager in the public sector. Previously working in the private sector, she had decided to try her hand in the public sector to round out her experience and gain more skills. She enjoyed her work, enjoyed learning new skills and working with people. What she didn't like was the attitude of the people surrounding her at the government department where she was consulting. They saw work as a chore. While they put all their effort into their lives outside of work, they put minimum effort in at work. They showed up to work and put in their hours. What she saw day-in day-out were people who felt it was hopeless to even try to enjoy work, and so they continually complained, did the bare minimum, and worked towards no goals at all. How could she continue enjoying work and gaining any sense of fulfillment when surrounded in that kind of mentality?
I don't want to sound like I'm preaching, but work really should be something that you enjoy doing, in which you gain a sense of happiness and fulfillment. It shouldn't be something that you dread all day Sunday. Tony Robbins pointed out in his TED talk, that life is about growing and developing ... continuously. And so that is the nature of work - it's growing, developing, progressing. If you're not experiencing that right now, you really have to ask yourself how you can get yourself there. Identify your goals. How can you get the most out of work? Get absorbed in what you're doing.
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