Here’s a common question from a 48 Days Radio listener:
Hi Dan! There’s something that subconsciously troubles me about the notion that we should all do work we love. Part of me feels guilty trying to focus on my passions knowing that at the end of the day, we NEED people to work in slaughter houses and be janitors etc. Obviously, janitorial work is very important, but are there really people with a passion for feces? If everybody applied your philosophy how would the “dirty jobs” get done?
Thanks, Dail
Great question! Reason would tell us that no one would want to clean toilets or pick up trash or milk cows at 5:30 AM. And yet I am constantly surprised at the joy some people doing those very things seem to have. If you and I go to a Nashville Predators hockey game there will be a break when a couple people rush out on the court to clean the blood, spit and who knows what else off the glass backboard. Personally I can’t think of too many things more disgusting, and yet I know people who would pay money to have that opportunity.
Recently I was on a radio show out of Chicago. A guy called in who worked for the water company. He spends most of his days fixing frozen water pipes. Can you imagine anything more miserable? This guy loved his job. He was a hero day after day – showing up at houses where they had no water and he had the privilege of taking care of that. You could hear the pride in his voice as he described his daily work.
Here’s the deal: There is no such thing as bad work – only work that doesn’t fit certain people.
Yes, it’s true that nearly 80% of people complain about their work and say they’d change if they could. And most of those people will continue in work they don’t love – because they won’t take the time to look inward, understand themselves and create a clear plan.
Don’t feel guilty for doing work you love. That’s a very individualized experience. I work in a converted barn in a field just outside Franklin, TN. Lots and lots of people would go nuts working in the solitude that I thrive in. I think and write – activities that don’t put me in contact with people for sometimes days on end. Some of you would hate that.
Don’t force yourself to do a job just because you know we need someone to do it. Regardless of what that is – I’m confident someone else will love the opportunity – or be willing to do it just for the paycheck. That’s not you; you’re too smart to settle for less than work that is fulfilling, purposeful, and profitable.
I agree, Dan. I own a Janitorial business, something I actually love to do, both running the business and doing the actual work. I now have 6 employees. I hire employees who love to clean. I help people get off welfare (I’m not sure what you call it in the States), I help students fund their education, I help single mothers fund their life. I can’t think of a better way to help people. The janitorial business is a means to an end that allows me to do something else that is more meaningful and that I love to do. Now I am embarking on my coaching and speaking career. I love your 48 Days book and am using it to help a client go through a burnout period.
Every job has it’s negative points to it. It’s the over all big picture that matters the most. Every job has its challenges and difficult days, doesn’t matter how much you love it, some days are going to be stressful, but it’s all in how we respond and perceive these situations. Are you going to allow the difficult times ruin your love for what you do? Or, maybe it is time to move on to something else. Maybe you are working in something you’ve been doing since your youth and you need a change. That’s what a good coach will help you determine.
What do you think?
Great point Melvyn. If your business was just cleaning and hired anyone, the job would be different. You have a mission that is bigger than money. You might not like cleaning toilets, and after awhile your employees might get sick of it, but you both know that their work is more than just another paycheck to “survive.”
Melvyn – man I love your comments here. That’s such a great example. I like moving rocks and coming up with complicated landscaping plans. Most people just see that as “work.” As I often say, “It’s only work if you’d rather be doing something else.” Thanks for sharing.
I made money as a teenager cleaning my father’s medical office. I worked my way through college doing janitorial work in the dorm. I started my own medical career as a nurse’s aid giving patient’s daily baths and cleaning up after them when they were incontinent. And the crazy thing is I loved all those jobs. Now that I’ve been a provider myself for 30 years, where a nurse or medical assistant has to clean up the messes I leave behind after a procedure, I sometimes miss the simpler days when I didn’t have to be the one making the decisions. All work is worthwhile, no matter how menial, as long as you enjoy it and you can make a difference in someone else’s life. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23,24 NIV.
Rich – ah so true. Work that makes a difference can take a lot of different forms. And yes, this verse gives us a larger perspective on work that may not seem significant today. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, great question, post and replies. Thanks! I found myself recently taking pause at work and thinking, I really enjoyed a specific job function and would benefit from having more of it. The value we assign and the pleasure we derive from what we do is a key. But, we have to slow down long enough to take note of our own internal responses. Making choices based on what is seen as stereotypical “success” can be bad news if we are wired differently. Rich, love your story. As a very young man I worked at a healthcare facility performing simple functions like hauling water to new trees on the grounds… It wasn’t the tasks, it was having a goal, being responsible for getting it done and working with others some but independently the bulk of the time. I sometimes think about how much I would enjoy going back to that time when life seemed simpler. I rose to a senior leadership position, well, let’s say I didn’t prefer the stereotypical success and the boardroom. Dail, one vague I have begun to use is, do what gives you energy not just things that take it from you. When we are in a job we dislike, we may be blocking someone who would love it. There is always someone who will love it regardless of what that job is, as Dan has said. Best of luck!