Finding Meaning at Work and in Your Job

We all have to work, but some of us are able to play at work by finding and then committing to our dream job where we’re motivated, inspired, respected and well paid. Unfortunately, many individuals settle for something that falls a bit short of the ideal. Maybe they began with their dream job and loved it for awhile, but ended up viewing it as troublesome and boring.

Lack of job satisfaction is a huge source of stress. Reasons why you may not be completely satisfied with your job include:

• Conflict between co-workers
• Conflict with your supervisor
• Not having the necessary equipment or resources to be successful
• Not being paid well for what you do
• Lack of opportunities for promotion
• Not having a say in decisions that affect you
• Fear of losing your job because of downsizing

The bottom line is that every job has elements that are great and elements that are awful. It is worth taking some time to think about what motivates and inspires you and then sort through some strategies to get you through your workday.

Understanding Your Approach To Work
People tend to approach work from three perspectives. They view work as a job, a career or a calling. Usually all three perspectives are important, but one or the other is the priority. In recognizing your approach to work, it is important to understand that one approach isn’t better than the others. This reflection will help you get back your initial passion and excitement of why you initially took the job.

• Job. If you approach work as a job, you focus primarily on the financial rewards. In fact, the nature of the work may hold little interest for you. What’s important is the wage. If a job with more pay comes your way, you’ll likely move on.

• Career. If you approach work as a career, you’re interested in advancement. You want to climb the corporate ladder as far as possible or be the most highly regarded professional in your field. You’re motivated by the status, prestige and power that come with the job.

• Calling. If you approach work as a calling, you focus on the work itself. You work not for financial gain or career advancement, but instead for the fulfillment the work brings you.
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Finding Virtue During The Job Search

Normative Ethics includes three different approaches: Virtue Ethics, Deontology & Consequentialsm. Virtue Ethics emphasizes moral character, Deontology emphasizes moral rules or duties, and Consequentialsm deals with the outcome of one’s actions. It is worth asking which approach creates the most value as a point-of-departure during the job search. Should we emphasize getting the most out of our actions (Consequentialsm), following the best moral rules (Deontology) or being benevolent (Virtue Ethics). As a Career Consultant and Personal Development Coach, it is my job to help my clients get the most out of their actions while challenging them to embody the highest level of honesty for themselves and others during that process. This is the first step to helping them find their dream careers because it propels them into stating what they want versus what someone else wants for them. Any other point-of-departure results in a gap between them and what they really want to do professionally. I help my clients eliminate this gap by making sure that each action they take is rooted in benevolence and is virtuous. In order to accomplish this, I help my clients make some very simple distinctions regarding their level of moral character by challenging them to be brutally honest regarding who they choose to be professionally and to take full ownership of what develops for them, good or bad, regarding those decisions.

Virtue ethics finds its roots in ancient Greek Philosophy, which attached three concepts to it that are worth reviewing: arete, phronesis, and eudaimonia.
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Five Categories of Transferable Skills

1. Communication: the skillful expression, transmission and interpretation of knowledge and ideas.

2. Research and Planning: the search for specific knowledge and the ability to conceptualize future needs and to devise solutions for meeting those needs.

3. Human Relations: the use of interpersonal skills for resolving conflict, helping and relating to people.

4. Organization, Management and Leadership: the ability to supervise, direct and guide individuals and groups in the completion of tasks and fulfillment of goals.

5. Work Survival: the day-to-day skills that assist in promoting effective production and work satisfaction.