Do You Need to Love Your Work?
Finding meaning seems to help
I have worked a diverse set of jobs in the past 20 years. Starting with hospitality, moving to retail, pivoting to tech, and now consulting/ freelancing – leveraging all of that experience. Every time I changed jobs it was for something more. That more has been opportunity, money, freedom, and happiness. But what happens when you love your work? Do you stay regardless of the possibility of more? Do you even need to love your work?
This is a letter I have been wanting to write for a while now, but after reading “What is Meaningful Work?”, I knew it was time. Specifically after seeing this quote:
Nearly 3 percent of all American workers quit in August 2021 alone. That was a record that lasted until the next month, when even more quit.
Clearly, that 3% of American workers didn’t love their jobs and it led them to quit. But why?
Since the beginning of the pandemic, more and more companies have embraced remote or hybrid cultures. This has allowed an unprecedented amount of people to see a different side of work. One that is less segmented from life. It has allowed parents more time with their children, spouses more time with their partners, and everyone else to live with more intention. Now that the pandemic is less fatal for the western world and/or businesses just don’t give a shit anymore, some workers are going back to the office. Some are running back, while others are finding loopholes or quitting. That 3% is likely, largely, made up of remote workers being forced back into the office. But even outside of that persona, do we need to love our work? In short, no, but most people require more out of it than what it is at face value.
“I haven’t talked about ‘work-life balance’ in at least a decade when I give presentations,” Michael Steger says. “I always talk about ‘work-life harmony’ as the goal. There isn’t such a thing anymore as work-life balance, because it implies that if you have work over here, and life over here. But it’s so blended.
Post industrial revolution, up until the last 20 years, most people had a single purpose – a siloed job. They worked specific times, under specific working conditions – a factory, warehouse, etc. Now we are working from offices, on the road, in our closets (make-shift Zoom call booths), and we even work from our phones in bed. Work is less of our work-life and more of our LIFE, period. This blending of lines can allow us to live fuller lives while making more. But if that work is BS and unfulfilling, more and more people would rather quit than suffer on, myself included.
All of this really boils down to wanting meaning and reason out of your job. So how do you find meaning?
If money is your guiding force, that can be found by switching companies or moving up in your current one. If you don’t have the skills, carve out some time to learn or refine them before trying to make the jump.
If work-life harmony is the moonshot, true remote work is probably your best shot. Don’t be fooled by jobs that require you to be within driving range. Remote means remote! Anywhere in the country is acceptable, but borders shouldn’t really be a factor either. There are lots of fully remote companies that would love another remote advocate.
If something like ownership is important to you, find a startup or small business. You’ll be closer to the pulse of the business and own a myriad of projects/ tasks. You’ll likely work with and get assignments from exec level leadership allowing for hyper-growth too.
And if you are really seeking meaning out of your job, find a company that is changing the world for the better. It can be a non-profit or even just a company that is contributing to society positively.
For me, 2021 was that year of reconciliation. I quit my day job in June, just like the 3% of American workers. I see this happening every day in my direct social circle too. Since quitting, I have published a docu-series, consulted for multiple companies, freelanced, and currently full-time consult for Optemization. I know my meaning; it isn’t money. It’s working remotely on products and services that I feel good about. It’s creating things that I align with and think others will value.
If you are one of these people, on the edge, searching for more – find your meaning and you will start to love your work.
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