What is the meaning of work? For many people it’s just a source of money, for others, a distraction, or it could even be a hobby for some. Some people are lucky enough to make a living doing what they love, others are not lucky enough and still, they have to work because, how else will they bring food to the table? But the truth is that work is a reflection of the person performing it, it can improve whoever is doing the work, knowing our personality is very important in order to be effective in the workplace and regardless of what it is, work is honorable.
Work Is Your Reflection
Work is a reflection of who we are, a reflection of what we have inside of us, and also how we value ourselves, for example, if we don’t like our jobs, or the person managing us in the job and we do it as best as we can, that says a lot about our values, it is important to always try our best. According to the book ‘My work, My Self’ by Al Gini, work is not just about making a living, it's not just about receiving money in exchange for a service. For Gini, work is one of the most important factors of inner life and evolution, that we “create ourselves in our work”. Also, Gini thinks that because working keeps our lives occupied, as the central focus of our time, it not only gives us an income, it also names and identify us and others. In his book, Al Gini talks about Everett C. Hughes’s article, from which the author understands that even when we are not happy with the work that we do, our choice of occupation labels us, and we cannot understand people unless we understand the work that they do and how they deal with it. To back up his claim, Al Gini cites the theologian Gregory Baum, who stated that “Labor is the axis of human Self-making”. Gini also claims that we establish and recognize ourselves in our work. That work allows us to know what we can do and what we can’t do, it also chapes how we are seen by others and how we see ourselves. He states that in work, we discover our boundaries and limits as well as our capacity for success.
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Work Improves Us
Working is one of the ways that we can improve. Working, we learn new skills, meet new people, and if we perform good in the workplace, we become valuable to people. According to an article, working, whether paid or unpaid is good for our health and wellbeing. It affects or happiness, helps us boost our confidence, and it compensates us financially. According to an article, working and returning to work have a good impact on our health, for example, our physical and mental health is improved through work. Also, we recover from sickness quicker and are at a lower risk of long-term sickness and insufficiency. Because of these benefits, sick and disabled people are encouraged to start working or remain in work if their health condition allows it.
On the other hand, not working can bring a negative impact to our lives, according to the same article, people who are unemployed have a higher rate of physical and mental health problems. Those that are unemployed usually take more medication and use medical services more often, and have a lower life expectancy. Also, this article tells us that returning to work after an unemployment period results in important mental and physical health improvement, overturning the negative health effects of unemployment. To show evidence, the Department for Work and Pensions released an article that reviews the evidence supporting the relationship between work and effects in health, and tell us that “there are economic, social and moral arguments that work is the most effective way to improve the well-being of individuals, their families and their community”.
Personality Is Important to Be Effective
Work also reflects our personality, knowing ourselves can help us in the workplace. According to the author David Little, “Being aware of an individual's personality confines them with a rigid box that limit development and growth”. But in fact, knowing our personality allows us to find our strengths and weaknesses, and that also lets us know how we interact with one another and how we care for ourselves. For example, Little’s idea of ‘restorative niches’ tells us that in order to understand when we need time away from a group as an introvert, or knowing when it is okay to be in the group and be effective as an extrovert, we need to first know what our personality type is. Without knowing what traits push us, we cannot understand how to be out of our comfort zones.
Moreover, personality not only affects the normal employees, it also affects the leaders in the workplace. Communication and flexibility are important aspects of being a leader, understanding the personality of the followers can help the leader improve both. In the workplace, leaders have to adapt to different situations, that will allow the leader to succeed, but only if his/her personality is strong enough to adapt to different problems. Understanding our personality as a leader, our co-workers’ personalities and our employee personalities is an important part of being a good manager, teammate, and a good human being. It will also help us reduce stressors in our environments, develop a healthy lifestyle, and work environment.
Working Is Honorable
There is always a way to make work honorable, the simple act of working, and giving your best is honorable. According to an article from strictdirectory.com, “Any job is an honorable job”. If we see our jobs as honorable, this would add meaning and harmony to our lives. Also, if we see our job as sacred and honorable, we feel good about who we are becoming, and this transfers to your family, and all of those who you interact with daily. It is important to state that all work is honorable, but sometimes not every job offers honor, honor survives in doing the job, what might not be honorable is what the job is, for example, jobs that imply crimes will never be honorable, neither is being unethical in the workplace.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the meaning of work is more than a source of money. It has many meanings. Work, is a reflection of the person performing it, like Al Gini said, “We create ourselves in our work”, that is why it is important to choose our profession wisely. Also, work can improve us, it helps us both in the health and economic factors, if we work, our physical and mental health is improved, and we have the benefit of being financially rewarded. Moreover, to be effective and efficient in the workplace we need to know and understand the personality of ourselves, and those around us. For example, we need to know our personality type in order to know how effective we can be out of our comfort zone, and when to come out of it. Finally, all work is honorable, if we see that what we do is honorable, we increase our self-esteem, and bring harmony in our lives. But we can’t forget that even though working is honorable, the way of doing not always is.
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