Jobs & Careers
Why do we work?
Work is something most of us engage in at some point - in fact, it's estimated that we spend around one third of our lives at work, so it also tends to be a big part of our identity. But why do we work? Even if it's a necessity, it's still a conscious choice we make. Let's take a look at some of the reasons why we work - they might help you figure out what you want your future career to look like.
The main reason we work
The main reason most people get up and go to work every day is pretty simple: they do it to earn money. In today’s world, we need money for:
- Paying for the home we live in
- Getting around (fuel for the car, public transport, a bike, etc.)
- Buying food, clothes, and other things we need
- Paying bills, like water, phone, internet, and electricity
- Going on holidays and doing fun stuff
- Buying luxuries and things we don't need but want
- Saving so you can enjoy your retirement when you eventually stop working
- To spend on our loved ones
Just remember that not everyone is lucky enough to be able to work; and if you can’t work for some reason, that’s OK too. Not working doesn't de-value you as a person, and it doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to have a good quality of life.
There are lots of other reasons we work
We get it, the thought of forcing yourself to work every day just so you can make some money doesn't sound particularly enticing. But while money is important, it's definitely not the only reason we work. There are lots of other influences behind why we work, such as:
- We enjoy it
- It makes us feel important
- We can challenge ourselves and learn new things
- We can help our community
- It gives us something to do each day
- We are part of a team
- It can help us to grow
Let’s look at each of these in more detail.
Some people love what they do
People who love what they do will often find their career very rewarding, regardless of whether the money is good. It doesn’t matter what the job is; it could be teaching kids, looking after people, writing novels, coding apps, growing food, building things...anything at all! And people are passionate about all kinds of jobs, even if they might seem strange or boring to others.
It can make you feel important
Like we mentioned above, because work is such a big part of our lives, it's often closely tied to our identity (or how we think about ourselves). When we receive positive feedback at work or feel like the things we do make a difference, that increases our self-esteem and can make us feel valued.
You can learn lots of new things
Learning can make life fun and exciting - and it doesn't stop after you leave school or university. At work, you might learn about new apps and technology, meet new people, or learn how to use different equipment and machines. It won't always be fun (sometimes you have to do tasks that are boring or hard), but either way you'll still be gaining valuable new skills and experiences.
You can give back to your community
When you earn money, you pay taxes, which doesn’t sound like much fun. But taxes help to pay for all kinds of important things, like roads, parks, hospitals, and emergency services. Your taxes also help to support other people who are less fortunate and aren’t able to work, so that they can have a good quality of life.
So no matter what your job is, when you go to work you’re helping your community become a better place to live - and that can really make you feel good.
It stops you getting bored
Years and years ago people didn’t have structured work. Their "job" each day was to hunt and gather food, make clothes, move to new areas, build shelters, and look after their children. But now we have houses built for us, we buy our food from the supermarket, we don’t move about as much, and our children go to school - so without work, what would we do all day?
Of course, there are other, more fun ways to spend the day, like going to the movies, but these things usually cost money - so you couldn’t afford to do them if you didn’t work anyway.
You become part of a team
You probably have lots of people at school that you like and enjoy being around, or you might feel proud if your sports team wins a tournament. When you work, you essentially join another kind of team, and it can feel really good to help them do bigger and better things. People also tend to make friends at work, and are more productive and happy when they work with other people.
Work helps you to keep growing
When you keep learning, when you feel happy, and when you're part of a team, that changes you in a good way. These might not be not huge changes (unless you’re lucky enough to really love your job and it makes you super happy all the time), but lots of little things can add up to help you become more patient, more confident, and more fulfilled.
Work is about more than money
Sure, it’s nice to have your own money and support yourself, but work can (and should) be about much more than just earning money. Your job should be fun, interesting, exciting, and challenging too. So think about the reasons why you might like to work, and try to choose a career that makes you both financially stable and fulfilled.
If you’d like to learn more about work, we have lots of other blogs on our website here.