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Part of being an executive coach is hearing the positives and negatives of people’s jobs. It may surprise you to learn that I hear more positives. Maybe that is because those who hire coaches are generally positive. However, how we feel about our jobs can be tricky.
I have a baby boomer friend who got a “good job” out of high school. We will call this Job #1. This person was in a Union and was guaranteed a pension after 25 years. It is what you did in the late 1960’s if you didn’t go to college. It was hard work. This person also had their own business that grew exponentially and we will call that Job #2. For 30 plus years this person worked two full time jobs. This person complained incessantly about Job #1 but survived all of the layoffs of the 1980’s and retired very young from Job #1 and…still had Job #2. What a relief it was to be down to one full-time job, right? Oh no! This person missed and is still missing so many aspects of Job #1. Isn’t that curious?
I read a statistic recently about 1 and 5 retired persons becoming depressed. When you look at the histories of retirement age and how outdated the model of retiring at age 65 is…..the depression aspect is not shocking. We weren’t meant to stop working. There is a love of work that we all share.
We are in such a transforming time around redefining work, retirement, and having jobs we love. We have Millennials demanding work/life balance while their parents and grand-parents are refusing to retire. As a Gen X’er….I feel smack dab in the middle of it all. When I think about my previous life in Corporate America….I loved my jobs. What I didn’t love was the grind. I wanted a flexible schedule and to put people before quarterly earnings. Now companies are understanding that the grind is not going to ensure employee retention for any age group. When you think about this….aren’t each of the generations in this together?
Here is a list of the ‘loves’ I hear all the time. It doesn’t matter if it is a corporate executive, business owner, or volunteer at a non-profit. And, it doesn’t matter what age the person is.
- I love the people I work with.
- I love the industry and the people who are a part of it.
- I love that every day is different.
- I love that my organization makes a difference.
- I love that my organization cares about their people.
- I love the fast pace.
- I love that it’s not a rushed environment.
- I love the freedom I have at work.
- I love that we have good coffee.
- I love that my CEO stops by my desk to say hello once a week.
Do you ponder your love of work enough? What if you paid closer attention to the aspects of your job that you love? I think it’s sad how my Baby Boomer friend didn’t value the ‘loves’ of Job #1 while working there and wasn’t prepared to replace those ‘loves’ at retirement. My friend did eventually take on new hobbies, one was becoming a marathon runner, but the loss of Job #1 has been tough.
So, what about you? This isn’t one of those posts where I have hard and fast rules or tips. I want to hear from others on how much they think about loving their work. Please share your thoughts and love of work in the comments…
*Check out Coach Jen’s latest article LinkedIn on How Being a High Achiever Can Ruin Your Career http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-being-high-achiever-can-ruin-your-career-jennifer-wilson
**For the month of August, Windley Works is offering 30% off ‘The Coaching for Love Series.’ It’s coaching centered around building confidence and changing your perspective on dating. Dating CAN be fun. Contact Coach Jen to learn more. jennifer@windleyworks.com