Work

One of my Facebook friends posted a provocative post the other day — does your job define who you are?

Like most people, what I do for employment is the center part of my weekday. I get up, have breakfast, shower, take a bus downtown, then work, then I take another bus home, have dinner, and enjoy the remaining 3-4 hours left in my day before bed. Weekends I often have free, but I sometimes work then too.  Over all, if you do the math, work is about 35-50% of my waking hours — depending on the week.

Ultimately though, I’m not a volunteer for work. I work for the money, both to provide for my contemporary needs, but more importantly for a better tomorrow. Statistically, less then 1 in 3 people enjoy their jobs, most people do it primarily for their paycheck. That’s certainly my thing — I do enjoy seeing the result of job well done, but I’m mostly there for the paycheck. I don’t romantic ideas about my job, but I try to do quality work, that reflects well on my employer, provides a good service and provides me with good compensation in return.

The old generation used to ask, where are you from? The new generation often asks, what do you do for a living? I really don’t like that new question, because I don’t think it’s an accurate way to frame who I am or what I believe. I get occupation is in part a reflection of the quality of your work, but I don’t think it should overally define who you are — much of our lives is lived outside of work.