Before I read the book, I seldom give it a thought about the question why I work? But if I have to think about that question, the answer mostly goes to the paycheck. I work because I need money. I work so that I can satisfy my material needs.
Just as the author states in the introduction, most people work for money. That’s the direct answer towards the question. But, is that the real and only motive? I also ask myself whether I am the same with others.
Within a year after my graduation, I have changed two jobs, switching from one to another. I quit not because the paycheck didn’t meet my needs, but the working environment or the company culture did not conform to my criteria. Last time i quit my job for complicated reasons. I didn’t obtain self fulfillment even i am occupied with loads of lessons.
“Satisfied people do their work because they feel that they are in charge. Their work day offers them a measure of autonomy and discretion. And they use the autonomy and discretion to achieve a level of mastery of expertise. They learned new things, developing both as workers and as people”.
There are numerous workers, but what about the satisfied workers? We doubt that. Last week, one of my friend told me about her last job. She said that she has to work over 50 hours a week; in addition, she has to keep her cellphone open round-the-clock, in case some of her clients need to consult. Sometimes because of the time lag ( my friend works in a travel agency), some of her clients across the pacific ocean might give her a call at the midnight, asking about the travel routes, or the hotels.“It drives me crazy. I feel like that I have to work 24 hours day, worrying that some of my clients might call me at any time in a day.”My friend said.“What’s worse, once I had a phone call from a customer, who has really a bad temper. He kept complaining about the travel routes and gradually he was criticizing me for nearly an hour. That’s really incredible”. Isn’t that sounds familiar to those who deals with customers?
In fact, we could bear the heavy work loads in most cases. But what we couldn’t endure is the misunderstanding, complaining, and chaos of the work. Last year, I have spent half of the year under chaos. My leader had packed me with endless workloads, without giving me any practical support. I was acting like a machine that had to finish two-men assignments. During that time, I slept for average less than 5 hours a day. My leader didn’t give me any encouragement or incentives. It seems that he just took me as a machine. If you are in such a situation, would you choose to persist or pack up your bags and leave? Apparently, most of us will never be willing to be regarded as a machine that enjoys less than normal relaxing time. Besides, if this job gives him or her no sense of fulfillment, he is unlikely to stay in that position.
When seeking a job, what we cares most is of course about the compensation which is our basis necessity. But second to that, other requirements for job like self-fulfillment and satisfaction should never be neglected too.
