Work, this four letter word can take on a completely different definition depending on who is being asked, ranging from early adolescent teens on their first day of work to elders on their very last due to retirement. Employers look for people who will represent them in a positive way. This can sometimes mean that a person be asked to do an activity that may seem degrading like standing outside in a busy street advertising fried chicken within a chicken suit. In the workforce one can be struck with misfortune but “there is no ‘shame’ in doing any honest job”(Hooks 285) there is reward in itself when doing any type of job with no remorse and pride in accomplishing to earn money to support a family and/or oneself. Having a good understanding of what “right livelihood” (Hooks 287) means will prepare a person to go further in achieving a good work ethic. “Right livelihood, in both its ancient and its contemporary sense, embodies self-expression, commitment, mindfulness and conscious choice... when we consciously choose to do work we enjoy, not only can we get things done, we can get them done well and be intrinsically rewarded for our effort” (Hooks 287). Trying hard at being successful and happy in the workplace is primarily depended upon the employee’s ability to be productive. Merging both success and happiness together is difficult and acquires experience. “I love my work. The day is full of activities” (Durkin 330) this is how I felt when I started my first paying job at JcPenney, a major retail store, the job was simple and easy. All I really had to do was keep things neat and attend to costumers, however as with any other low level position, the feeling didn’t last long and I soon fell into a routine. I hated working there, e... ... middle of paper ... ...0). Work continues to be a four letter word that impacts my life, yet I know more now thanks to the wise loving care of my parents, and the harsh reality of the real world. Works Cited Drukin, Bennett. “Interview with a Psychiatrist.” Seeking Common Cause: Reading and Writing in Action. Eds. Diane Durkin and Lisa Gerrad New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 330-332. Hooks, Bell. “Work Makes Life Sweet.” Seeking Common Cause: Reading and Writing in Action. Eds. Diane Durkin and Lisa Gerrad New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 285-290. Levine, Daniel. “Take This Job and Love It.” Seeking Common Cause: Reading and Writing in Action. Eds. Diane Durkin and Lisa Gerrad New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 292-295. Sprouse, Martin. “Mural Painter: Harvey.” Seeking Common Cause: Reading and Writing in Action. Eds. Diane Durkin and Lisa Gerrad New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 328-329.
Studs Terkel published a nonfiction Working which consists many interviews among different people’s descriptions of their jobs. Through this book, Terkel demonstrates the meaning of work to different people and how their work experiences shape their attitudes about their lives. Among these interviewers, Maggie Holmes is a domestic while Dave Bender is a factory owner. Although their wages are different, Maggie Holmes and Dave Bender’s attitudes about their works are contradictory. People who love their works are passionate and happy about their lives and express less complain than those people who do not like their jobs.
In today’s society you either have to work hard to live a good life, or just inherit a lump sum of cash, which is probably never going to happen. So instead a person has to work a usual nine to five just to put food on the table for their families, and in many cases that is not even enough. In the article, “Why We Work” by Andrew Curry, Curry examines the complexities of work and touches on the reasons why many workers feel unsatisfied with their jobs. Barbara Ehrenreich writes an essay called, “Serving in Florida” which is about the overlooked life of being a server and the struggles of working off low minimum wages. Curry’s standpoint on jobs is that workers are not satisfied, the job takes control of their whole life, and workers spend
It is safe to say that work comes in many different forms. Whether it be a fast food or a corporate, the people that surround an individual make a great impact on the way he or she may work. Singapore, by Mary Oliver, is about a young woman working as a custodian in an airport who although works alone, enjoys her work and the people she meets. Dorianne Laux’s What I Wouldn’t Do, introduces another young woman reviewing the jobs she has had throughout time and reflects on those that she liked and disliked. Hard Work, by Stephen Dunn, exemplifies a young boy working in a soda factory during his summer break. Searching for happiness in life and work is just what these individuals are doing.
The term, work can have several meanings and interpretations. Some people view work as a necessity and a social norm, others might view it with a negative perspective, giving how people are so dependent on it. Benjamin Franklin, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman all have a similar interpretation of work. Your encounters with society affects your actions, yielding a specific outcome. They all acted accordingly to what they observed around them, and the actions hey took was to yield a result of change.
Work is a word that one hears on a daily basis on multiple different levels; work out, work at school, go to work, work at home, work for change. Society today is made of people that work hard every moment of their day from sunrise to twilight, these workers work for food, housing, family, education, and transportation. Essentially in today’s world if one wants something they must work for it, gone are the days where handouts are common and charity is given freely. The question then arises, who speaks for these voiceless workers that are often working so hard they have no time to voice an opposition? The authors Levine and Baca speak very well for these workers and for society in general, their narrators speak of not only work but of the world
Currently, human beings are thinking more on the line of they need work in order to make a living. For that reason, work has become meaningless, disagreeable, and unnatural. Many view work as a way to obtain money and not a meaningful human activity that one does for themselves. The author states that there are two reactions of the alienated and profoundly unsatisfactory character of the modern industrial work. One being the ideal of complete laziness and the other, hostility towards work. Fromm believes the reason why people have animosity regarding work is due to their unconscious mind. Subconsciously, a person has “a deep-seated, hostility towards work and all that is connected to it” says Fromm. I believe what Fromm is saying to be true, after all I witness it everyday. Millions of people each day goes to a work which they are dissatisfied with and that can negatively impact their attitude
The American work ethic is something our country should be proud of. Since the days of George Washington Americans have worked hard for what they believe in, what they need, and what they want. It is our right as Americans to be able to work for these ideals. Without out a strong work ethic our country would crumble. From businessmen to politicians a strong work ethic is necessary to keep our country financially and politically stable.
People will argue that having a low-paying job and freedom is better than a high-paying job and a 60-hour workweek. However many including myself, don’t share the views of Hal Niedzviecki’s essay’s “Stupid Jobs Are Good to Relax With”. Having a higher paying and longer hours provides much more income and allows for a lot more financial freedom. This freedom can help bring much more happiness into your life compared to the lower paying workweek. Hal Niedzviecki mentions many benefits to the easy jobs with low-paying workweeks in the following statement
For so many Another example with people who work in a bank, or in a big or small company, their work is their life, they live to work and without work they feel lost and at times they lose their identity. When I was in Chile I worked in a big corporation. I used to observe people’s behavior and how attached they became to their job; it was their own little world and they were totally identified with it. In my observation I saw that most of the people I was working with had a limited world, out of their ...
Many Christians believe that good works are not an important aspect in life because the most important thing is whether a person is saved or not However, there are many verses in Scripture that are very clear about the importance of good works in the life of a believer. It is important to stress that before good works are counted unto righteousness, the foundation of a relationship with Christ must be set. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not parish but have everlasting life.” Without Jesus there is no foundation but there is much more to life than getting saved. After a person is born of the Spirit, their life will be examined and their works will be judged.
In the book Outliers, and in the articles, “Meaningful Work”, “Do, Just, Do: A Journey to Meaningful, Satisfying work”, and “ You Wont Find Meaningful work Looking Outside Yourself”, The authors Malcolm Gladwell, Michael F. Steger, Lori Deschene, and Keven wood describe what the joy of meaningful is to them.Life is what you make of it and it’s and up to you to decide what you will get out of it. Some people may work eight hour shifts Monday through Friday miserable, exhausted, depressed, unhappy, and under a lot of pressure and stress from their jobs. Others may do the same, similar, or different jobs being comfortable, happy with life, and pleased with their job position. Your job should be one of the most important things to you because you are there on average forty hours a week and most of your time is spent there. It should be important that you enjoy what you do because it is practically your second home. Meaningful work is a job you enjoy doing, are compassionate about, never tired of, and do for the fulfillment of yourself , it is important to success because if one enjoys what they do opportunities in their career path will only expand.
This theory implicates a logical illustration that if the nature of a job sufficed and met the five core characteristics, the employee would feel a sense of fulfillment that would result in excellent work performance (Armstrong, 2017). The job design prefigures the significant relationship of the five core dimensions as to how a worker perceives the three vital psychological states – meaningfulness of work, responsibility and knowledge of outcomes – that would eventually contribute to a sense of general job satisfaction, personal growth, increased motivation and effectiveness of work (DeVaro, Li, Brookshire, 2007). There is a dynamic suggestion in JCM that acclaims the correlation of positive feelings with an excellent performance, and negative feelings with poor performance (Mukul, Rayhan, Hoque, & Islam,
Transformational leaders want everyone to find their personal meaning in life because it will help each individual to seek a job that is meant for them. According to Ghadi, Fernando, and Caputi (2013), “individuals seek to experience meaningful work that maximizes their sense of motivation… established the interconnection of meaningful work and personal motivation, and found that meaningful work-maximizes the possibility of intrinsic motivation.” Once an employee finds a job that is meaningful to them, it helps t...
There are some people who have different perspectives of working and that is to earn money. People make money to improve their reputation. People want to be liked and respect by earning some money so their community can accept them and respect them. Sometimes working for satisfaction is not enough for daily life, to pay the bills and rent people have to earn enough money to fulfill their basic needs even though if it’s not satisfying. To reach that dreams which make people work for money and they can have their future relaxing and seeing their children’s well-educated and happy. Earning money becomes so much important to survive in this expensive world that least people care about the spiritual satisfaction of work. People should celebrate what they have, and they will feel less irritated when others celebrate and enjoy what they
Exhausted, bitter, and miserable is the way that many people feel when they wake up in the morning to get ready for work. Even the very thought of work puts some people in a bad mood. Others may not mind work but still do not look forward to going. It is a rare occasion to find someone who is completely satisfied with his or her career. However, for one man, work is bliss. In “Quality” by Galsworthy, Gessler, the shoemaker, is shown to be a man of integrity and of complete dedication to his work.