Recent events in my life have caused me to ponder the question, "what is employment?"
On a basic level, it's a contract for labour between the 'employee' and the 'employer.' In exchange for labour, the employee receives payment, which usually goes toward personal sustainability - food, shelter, etc.
In other words, in exchange for my labour, I receive payment, which I then use to pay rent, buy food, pay bills, purchase goods and entertainment. I'm told I should also be saving some of this payment, but that's a whole other conversation.
In my case, payment not only includes my wages, it also includes healthcare benefits, pension contributions and a variety of other perks.
However, should it be something else? Should this exchange provide more?
Should my employment, i.e., my job, offer any sort of satisfaction beyond sustainability? Is it merely an exchange of labour for money?
What does job satisfaction entail? I imagine this question can only be measured on a personal basis. So, what is job satisfaction for me?
Now, I'd like to think I'm not naive enough to think there is a perfect job out there somewhere. However, I think a great job entails a creative, dynamic environment, where ideas are shared, discussed - sometimes argued - and decided upon.
Work should be a forward motion - dealing with itself in the context of the world. The world is constantly evolving, so why shouldn't work? Unfortunately, people and organizations often get comfortable and settle into a pattern of complacency.
When you hear a phrase like, "This is the way we've always done it," you can be assured that the organization you're in is pretty much stagnant. However, this statement can also be used for good.
If taken as a warning signal, the statement can be used to draw our attention to our complacency - forcing us to ask, "What needs to be different?" Instead, it is used to block out new, and possibly regenerative, ideas that threaten the status quo.
The world of the job thus becomes entangled within itself because it is viewed from within a vacuum. It is lost and cut-off from its relevance to the world within which it lives.
It's not easy or always comfortable, but acting when the sign appears will keep an organization - and the people it employs - fresh and relevant.
This is the sort of place where I want to work.
