Why do I work? The first answer that crosses my mind was that because I need to make money, or normatively speaking, to have a functioning role in society. I think the question on why we labor ourselves (and in some cases, others) goes beyond the need to make money, though, since people (and I am included) don’t seem to feel enough of mere making money from work.
So one should ask with the simplest formula of 5Ws&1H — started from: what is work itself? And then one should dissect why, in human nature specfically, work is done. This is then followed by a number of whos, wheres and whens like: who/where/when can/should/needs (one/to) work? And finally the one question that will sum it all: how one can/should/needs-to work?
If you noticed, I use several auxiliary verbs in questioning work. That because I think one should not limit their perceiving of work as just a necessity (need to), or an idealized activity (should) or an opportunity to do something more (can). This thought also brought me to check on the word ‘work’ itself.
Note that the word work can work (pun intented hehehe) as both noun and verb in english. After a quick google search and looking up various dictionaries there, the very common definiton of work summed up to be duty or responsibility one has to do to get paid. Some other keyword associated with work was effort and produce something. This means work requires the subject to exerts some efforts in order to make something happen or to create something. Expanding the definition can include causes such as “to get paid” or “required to do to make money”. Hope this settles the what and why question on work.
Dissecting on the word can help us think of the further question then:
Who can work? Those who can exert effort and make something happen.
Who should work? Those who has the ability to do so, and those who wants to get paid.
Who needs to work? Those who needs to make money.
Where can one work? In any condition or position where one is able to exert efforts, create something or make something happen.
Where should one work? In a place whose condition is encouraging or optimizing to exert efforts, and allow them to get paid.
Where one needs to work? The answer to this question seem to be equal to the where should one.
When can one work? When they can exert effort.
When should one work? When they need to get paid.
When one needs to work? Same answer.
Sure one can have better and a more elaborative answer. However to concisely answer the thought, I revolve around those words: effort and paid. After all those questions started to feel, i don’t know, rethorical (?).
You see the answer relies on several keyword: effort, make or create, and surprisingly money. I’m not going to lie to think that I might be able to somewhat get rid of the money aspects of work, but it seems like it’s actually an integral part of it, it might as well be the motivational reason behind it. If I want to dismiss the idea of money in work, I think I should dig deeper on the meaning and philosophy of money itself; like what it represents or the definition of it. But the more I think to eliminate money from the work equation, the more naïve I think I’ll become. So money is going to hang there in the equation. In addition to effort, make or create, and money, there are also words like “can”, “want” and “need”. These three might elaborate my thought on work.
Now, after considering the “can”, “want” and “need” aspects of work, ideally — to work fully — I think one should be able to perceive their job as these three I mentioned earlier: a necessity, an idealized activity and an opportunity.
Essentially, the necessity to work lies not merely on the need for money but instead on the need to be independent in a sense that one can stand on their own and not depend on other’s support — as well as the need to be able to support those who needs them.
Work as an idealized activity should provide one their esteem needs, meaning the work they do not only support them to fulfill their need but also gives them that sense of achievement or accomplishment. That one activity that might gives them the sense of prestige.
While work as opportunity should give one that sense of growth and eventually their self-actualization. This might corresponds well to the possibility of seeing an impact of their job on a larger scope.
Ability to work covers not only basic needs but those of deeper ones. I’m not sure if work can ever be a fun thing since it always burdens and requires us to exert efforts. But thinking about work at least helps me to know that I have the option to choose work that will act in service on my fulfillment in life.
This prompt was a product of “Designing your life idea #1: Connect the dots” by Bill Burnett on ideas.ted.com where I was asked to write around a page about why I work.
