Have you ever just stopped and asked yourself, “What purpose does my work or career serve?” I think everyone should considering we spend a significant amount of our time in our job or career. It can significantly reveal your inner thinking about your motives and values.
What is Your Path?
Some people know early in their lives what they want to do for a career or what they feel they are “called” to do — doctors, lawyers, ministers and clergy, teachers, athletes, and more. I know several people who fall into this category.
Others sort of “fall into the family business” — farmers, lawyers, teachers, carpenters and construction workers, and the like. And, the remaining people follow whatever path or opportunities that they encounter. None of these categories is better or worse than the other. They just “are”. It’s how we’ve chosen, explicitly or implicitly, to live our lives — by a clear plan, following those who came before us, or taking the path in front of us. And, sometimes, our path changes according to the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Job or Career?
Before beginning to answer the “What Purpose…” question, I think we need to answer another question, “What’s the difference between a job and a career?” There are plenty of valid answers but I prefer a very simple one. A job is something you have to do and a career is something you get to do.
Do you know why you do what you do for a job or career? Most people would include as part of their answer, “Because they pay me!” And that makes sense, but you could do a lot of different jobs just to get paid. Let’s just stipulate getting paid as a universal response to the question, what next?
- To provide for your family.
- You like the work, it’s interesting, entertaining, fun.
- You like the people you work with.
- The work you do matters to someone else — you help or provide services or value to people.
- You impact society, your family, your community, and neighbors, or you influence and improve lives.
Societal Impacts
Now we’re getting somewhere! All of the previous responses (and so many more) to the “Why” question, are fine, noble, consequential answers but this last one, in my estimation, is the answer that gives existential meaning to the work of our job or career.
I contend that the vast majority of people would have this as a part of their answer, even if they’ve never done much introspection, and they’re not miserable in their jobs! We can all find some redeeming, external value in what we do day-to-day. I also contend that most people short-shrift themselves about the value and impact of the work they do. Since they may not have given much thought to their work, they may not even realize the value they provide daily. Many sometimes do their work and live day to day without thinking about their purpose, but doing so can be very empowering and motivating.
Too many times, we are tempted to think, “Sure, if I discovered a cure for cancer or solved world hunger or led to world wide peace, then my work would impact society or improve the world.” But that’s not where we live our lives every day. We live them in the small, simple, sometimes boring, and yet profound moments of regular interactions with family members, co-workers, customers, our neighbors, people at the store, and everyone else we come in contact with.
Providing for Your Family
Therefore, does your work provide a living for you and your family? That’s a societal impact! You should feel a sense of pride for taking care of your and your family’s needs. If you have children or other dependents and your livelihood provides for their needs, too, that is not only a direct societal impact but also an indirect one as you can serve as a positive role model and example for your children or dependents of selfless behavior and giving. All of us likely know many people who have worked day in and day out to provide not only for the physical needs of their family and others, but also for the future opportunities. Many mothers and fathers have sacrificed, without hesitation, so that their children could have a better life than they did.
Serving the Needs of Others
Does your job or career involve serving the needs of the customers or your neighbors? According to the 2019 Small Business Profile from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy, there are 30.7 million small businesses, defined as a company with less than 500 employees. This represents 99.9% of total number of U.S. businesses. These small businesses provide 59.9 million jobs, or 47.3% of all U.S. employees. All of this demonstrates that nearly half of the people employed in the U.S. work for small businesses that provide goods and services most likely in and for their local customers and communities. Imagine what these local customers and communities would endure without them! So, yes, your job or career likely impacts your society and community on a daily basis.
A Sense of Pride
Now, does your job or career have any kind of positive impact on you? I think it absolutely must. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the head of a company or work in the proverbial mailroom (for non-baby boomers, this is a euphemism for an entry-level job), if you’ve had a good day, helped someone, provided a service or assistance to someone with a need, helped the business remain successful, aided your co-worker, assembled a piece of furniture in a shop, delivered a package to someone, or one of a million other things, you should feel good that you’re adding value, making you and your community (however you define that) better, providing for your and your family needs.
My late mother, one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known, once told me, “Never be ashamed of the job you have. There is always honor in hard work.” Her father, my maternal grandfather told me, “Boy, you should always give an honest day’s work for your pay.” These have served to guide me on the path I’ve taken in my jobs and career. And, yes, I’ve had some jobs that I had to do but even then, there was reason for honor, pride, and satisfaction in honest days’ work.
My Answer
So, how do I answer the question, “What purpose does my work or career serve?” Over the past 40 years, my answer has evolved. To fully answer that, I have to admit that I didn’t have a well-thought out plan for my job or career, nor did I follow in the family business. My path was one of seeking and seizing opportunities, doing what I had to do to get by, clarification of my goals, going back to school, honing in on the path to where I am today. For more explanation, you can read my previous blog posts (What I Wanted to Be When I Grew Up, Who Am I and Why Should You Listen to Me?, and How Did I End Up in the Career I’ve Spent 30+ Years In?
Well, today, I own a small business with my wife and two (2) adult sons. We take tremendous pride in providing good jobs for good people in our community. We currently have eighteen (18) full-time team members on our payroll. With their help, we’ve been able to grow and strengthen our business while providing outstanding service and value to our customers.
How do I know I’m on the right path for me? Because I haven’t used an alarm clock to get up in the morning in over 10 years! I wake up every morning because I look forward to going to work, working with great people, serving the best customers, helping provide for the needs of not just my family, but those of our team members, AND making a difference every day in some way.
I hope you experience this, too.
P.S. I’d love to hear about your path. Leave a comment below to share.
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