“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.”
The statistics concerning work in America tell an interesting story. On one hand, we hate work. On the other hand, we can’t seem to get enough of it.
For the most part, Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs:
- 70% of employed Americans are disengaged from their work.
- 18% of workers are actively disengaged—meaning they aren’t just unhappy; they are busy acting out their unhappiness.
- 74% of employed workers would consider a new job opportunity if one was presented.
- The 4-Hour Workweek has spent 7 years on The New York Times bestseller list.
- Americans count down the years to retirement at age 65 and CNN defines early retirement as the ultimate “American Dream.”
Americans are not happy with their work and do not enjoy it. But we refuse to slow down and take any break from it:
- Compared with other industrialized nations, U.S. workers rank 1st in hours worked (1,800 hours annually).
- The typical American middle-income family works an average of 11 more hours a week in 2006 than it did in 1979.
- 53% of adults check work messages at least once a day over the weekend.
- Americans leave a half billion vacation days unused each year.
- We struggle to find even one day of rest each week.
These statistics paint an interesting picture of our love/hate relationship with work: We don’t like our jobs; but refuse to spend less time at them. Why is this the case?
Most likely there are a number of reasons. Sometimes, our legitimate financial needs require us to work long hours. Sometimes, our jobs require us to be on-call and available at a moment’s notice. Other times, our employers simply do not provide us that type of flexibility.
But I think there is something deeper going on here. After all, all of this is happening in one of the most productive and wealthiest nations in the history of the world. Why then, given our vast supply of opportunity, do we work such long hours in jobs we hate?
If we could discover the deeper reason for this discontent, we could find relief in both areas: both a greater appreciation for our work and more space for rest.
The real reason we have such a love/hate relationship with work in our society is because our motivation for it is all wrong. We do our work for the wrong reward.
Typically, we do our jobs simply for the purpose of earning a paycheck at the end of the day. Work is that thing we do through which we make money so we can do all the other things we really want to do.
But money as a means to fulfillment will always fall short. It will never fully satisfy the longings of our heart—in their own right, power and reputation and fame never satisfy either.
When money is the reward, we can never earn enough. We are always left desiring just a little bit more.
This is a problem with our modern understanding of work. If we are only doing it for the sake of the paycheck every two weeks, it will never be enough. We will always be left searching for more—putting in just a few more hours, skipping another day of vacation, heading back to the office on another Saturday morning.
Do we work because we love our jobs and find fulfillment in them? No. We do it because we believe the paycheck makes it all worthwhile—or at least, a little bit bigger paycheck will make it all worthwhile.
But it never does.
We were designed to work for something greater than money and possessions and property. (tweet that)
Instead, view work as contribution to others—this is the reward. Our work contributes to the good of society. It moves us forward. It makes us better as people. It enriches our lives.
Whether we are bagging groceries, delivering mail, sweeping streets, or managing others, we can view our hard work as an act of love to the people we serve.
And when we change our motivation, we discover work is not something to be avoided—it is meaningful.
Please don’t view your work as something to be endured or avoided. Don’t view it merely as a means to a paycheck. Change your focus. Develop a deeper appreciation for the contribution you are making (or find a job that will).
This will always result in a new love/love relationship.
maximyou.com says
I hear you about there being many reasons behind people’s love-hate relationship with work, yet still wonder. All reasons taken together, aren’t they “just” differing reflections of the basic relationship we have with happiness and unhappiness respectively?
Unhappiness requires zero effort. Happiness takes guts.
Hardship cases excluded, I feel to have guts or not to have guts is the question, i.e. at the root of life decisions that lead to doing work you hate, or conversely to creating satisfaction for yourself and for other people.
Of course, unhappy people are every bit as courageous as happy people are – when what’s preventing it is eliminated. When asked to point at themselves, even people who hate work point to their heart, but when guts are demanded and the universe rewards speed – then they switch to their minds instead. Even though the switch is simple, it’s damn hard to get across.
Best done by leading by example – so hats off to your doing just that with your post and your blog and elsewhere probably, too.
Judy says
I agree, Joshua and before I leave for work I ask God to let me be a blessing in someone’s life each day. It’s not my “ideal” job…but for now (due to other obligations) it is what it is. I do have a love/hate relationship with my job, for sure. Come fall, I will get those other obligations in check and actively seek new employment. I need fair compensation. I do work hard…but for very little pay. Good thing I’m a minimalist…I’d never make it if I weren’t! :)
Love your inspiring posts. Thank you.
JR Riel says
I’ve been following your blog for some time now, even on FB, and haven’t commented much. I just wanted to say thanks a lot for always giving me something fresh and something provoking to meditate on. I am constantly in a cycle of trying to stick to my values of simplicity and minimalism, but find myself surrounded by pressures of what this world says is the “right way” to live your life. Anyhow, your words and photos are always inspirational and motivational. Mahao nui loa!
Gladys (The Pinay Mom) says
There are people who really love their job and a lot of us don’t because of few factors: money,passion or just simply no choice. Like me, I wanted to use the skills I have but it would mean taking our kids to daycare which costs a lot. I have to find job where we live (only three minutes away,actually),it’s not the best job in the world but the reward I get is priceless and that is to watch our little girls at home rather than take them to a babysitter/daycare.
Yanic A. says
Wonderful post : We, my husband and I, are at this very moment trying to make it so I don’t have to go back to work after my maternity leave. We have decided it would be better if I stayed home until the kids are in school and then, I would find work again. We know that when we make the final decision and announce our choice, reactions will be varied and most likely negatively received. Some of the people I’ve already shared our idea with have literally tried to talk me out of it : How will I define myself, how will we live, will I be happy doing “nothing”… like raising a family isn’t a job worth doing.
This was just the article I needed to read tonight to remind me of the importance of my choices.
Thank you!
Rachael says
There is no greater job than raising your own child. I suspect those that say you be doing “nothing” either have no children or paid others to raise theirs in daycare. I am/was an engineer and have not worked outside of our home for 13 years. My boys, my husband and I have all benefitted greatly from this. I love my job as a homemaker and mother.
Ed says
Great article Joshua! Work should start with the idea of service.
Unfortunately, we live in a society that has taught us to value money and possessions over more important things. And we seem to be spreading that idea to other cultures. Fortunately it seems like at least some people are starting to wake up and understand that money and possessions can’t lead to happiness, nor a full life. But wholesale transformation will take a while.
April says
Joshua, thank you for a beautiful post that really resonated with me. Do you know Skidelsky’s book ‘How Much Is Enough?’ It describes the same idea (at much greater length!), that of working just enough to pursue ‘The Good Life’ rather than perpetuating the endless cycle of earning as much as possible in order to keep up with everyone else’s levels of consumption. I can’t recommend this highly enough.
Maybe all of us here are the start of the revolution – could the minimalist way break the cycle and become the new normal?
Livesimplecolorado says
I spent most of my life trying to fill myself up with my job. My job had to be my passion (I am a designer, illustrator) but after several years my jobs always ended up being just a means to an end (funny how that happens). I still look at work as a means to an end (how much does it pay, what are the benefits). It is not that I hate my job, I actually work at a very cool place (art school) and work a nice flexible gig with very awesome co-workers. But the bottom line is, it is still a “job” and sometimes I feel very uninspired despite the fact that technically I really am positively impacting others (creating classes for our online environment). I guess the problem is that now I am pushing 50 and work is still… work. How nice to be able to treat work as optional, that is what i spend a lot of time day dreaming about. So I have been saving more, downsizing and really beginning to look at other options as I get older. Ideally, I would love to spend my time volunteering and running trails, maybe one day :) Thank you for the post!
Linda says
Hello fellow trail runner…this is one of the very things I hope to have more time for. Oh how beautiful it would be to work as needed, while traveling to and fro to check out a new trail?! As we hack away at our debt and decrease our “cost of living”, I hope to do just that!
Jim says
I agree with this post. I began working strictly for the job I wanted. An upper management person told me one day. We sell ourselves to the highest bidder in our working career. I dwelt on that for a while, my job offerd perks for my hard work. Then our company was sold. The new boss had his own goals and ideas about what the company should be. We sometimes wonder if the employees that came with the company was a part of it at all anymore. Never the less, we all began to do things the new way. Today we all have a different perspective about the company. There aren’t as many of us as there use to be, and the boss isn’t replacing any of us as we go. I keep trying to find ways to make myself happy and stay, but the truth is I think I’m suppose to go!
Kraig says
Joshua,
Can’t agree enough. When you said we are designed to work for something greater than money and possessions and property, you hit the nail on the head.
Sure, Americans dislike their jobs. I believe it’s mostly because they are dependent on them and naturally, we don’t like to be dependent on things for our livelyhood. Throw in the fact that we “have” to be there and the negativity there and you’ve got yourself a problem.
I believe we can all put ourselves in a position where we can choose to work on what makes us happy by both living on less and always taking action and making progress towards our goals.
I’m doing this and watching many, many others take action as well. I think things are changing and they’re changing fast.
Great post and keep up the great words of wisdom.