Finding our Work
Throughout December and January, I held space for a number of folks who were looking to make a change in their life. I invited them to consider what they experienced and learned in past 12 months and what they wanted to change or what new thing they wanted to bring to fruition in the coming 12 months. In many of these conversations we talked about changes to their work life in some form or another. What they do for their job, how they do their job, what they do for their families and friends, what they do in the world and in their communities. It got me thinking about work in all its senses – jobs, duties, chores, purposes.
I sometimes wonder what early human societies did when they weren’t “working”. Was there differentiation between work and life. Life was working… to feed and clothe, to hunt and gather, to protect and stay alive. What I was wonder is did they how did they value rest, art, worship, fun, beauty, joy? The things outside of staying alive.
Modern human life has changed what work is and what work means. Humans now work to prove our contribution and our value. To ourselves, to our parents, to the businesses we work for, to our governments. If I could hop in a time machine, I would be so curious to go back and in time and find out which way of life was more happy, satisfying and enjoyable.
What about the people who don’t work, through choice or not? Our society looks at some people who don’t work as lazy or purposeless or not adding value. Others who don’t collect a paycheck have to prove they have value to society by working tirelessly and selflessly for their home, family, and community and we still consider these “homemakers” second class citizens. The harder we modern humans work, the more value we have and if we don’t work, we either accept we have no value or we work even harder to prove that we do.
I’ve been considering my own work journey. When I was young, my parents gave me chores and this was my job, my contribution to the work of keep our family running. I was a teenager when I got my first “real” jobs. I was working to gain independence from my parents… to be able to buy myself the things I wanted and the experiences I wanted to have. During college I didn’t know what I wanted to study or do, and a job was a welcome distraction. It gave me purpose and something to do with my time that resulted in building my own resources. My job felt easier than school during the times I wasn’t enjoying my classes. Jobs gave me real life experience. They gave me validation. I brought value to my employer, which got me paid, which brought value to my partner and housemates and society. As I grew into a young adult I worked because I needed to support myself and whatever family I might create.
In college I studied Human Resources, thinking I wanted to “help employees”. I believed, and still believe, that people are any business’ most valuable asset and the better you treat them and take care of them the harder and better they’ll work for your business. The reality when I got my first job after college was a slap in the face. The HR team works to protect the company from its own people. What I’ve come to believe is that no human being should be considered an “asset”.
My next job after that has been supporting the creatives at a large, global company for going on 22 years. I’ve had ups and downs, great years and horrible years, bosses who built me up and bosses who tore me down. After years of being treated like an “asset” and never quite as a full human being, striving to get better, never being quite good enough for the promotion or raise that I’ve been hoping someone would give me, I now see that there is a difference between a job and Work. A job is a job – it pays bills, provides benefits, sometimes even gives status and achievement. But Work… Work is purpose, impact, the reason you are here on this planet, at this time, in this body. With different seasons of life, we have different needs. At one point you need a paycheck to build your life, or you are gaining the experience and learning to be able to do the Work you know you’re meant for. At another point you need to be living out your purpose in order to even feel alive. Maybe it’s all ok, whatever Work you’re doing right now, whatever job you’re at right now. Maybe if you’re really lucky you’ve found a way to accomplish your Work as part of your job. And maybe it’s enough to be in awareness of the difference between our Work and our jobs and to accept why we are where we are at any given time.
What I know for sure is that we all eventually ask the question… “why am I here?” Our Work is the answer and finding our Work is the journey.