A few years back I read a book called “Designing Your Life“.  Chapter 2 in this book, which is filled with activities, encourages the reader to contemplate the Why? question of work.  Why Work?  This small activity turned into my own personal manifesto of work (I committed to the project :-)).  I examined the logical reasons for working, paying the bills and I examined the philosophical reasons such as a sense of accomplishment, contributing to economy and everything in between.

It is really quite an impressive document, if I could say so, because it was a deep dive into what motivates me to get up every day as I have for the last 22 years, and report for duty at the Princeton Skills Centre/WorkBC Employment Centre.  

I am acutely interested in the study of worker Motivation.  Why can one person engage wholly in their activities, where another person struggles to be engaged in even the easiest of things.  Time and time again, I hear people indicate that they get “bored” with jobs easily and then tend to leave that job once the “spark” is gone.  What a tremendous loss to a company, who loses a worker once they become competent!

Daniel Pink is his book “Drive” indicated a third drive of motivation (1 & 2 are Survival & Reward) and that 3rd drive was the performance of the task alone.  Workers can find motivation and gratification because the joy of the task was its own reward.  Designing jobs and workplace culture for interest are a challenge for Employers, Being Curious about Work to sustain interest is the challenge for workers.  

For the last few weeks in the WorkBC resource centre, we have been astounded by the sheer volume of jobs that are available in Princeton, RIGHT NOW.  Princeton Job Market is very hot, Employers are needing workers, and workers have OPTIONS.  I have contemplated the impact on an employer who can not find workers to sustain their business and believe this is a serious issue.  Herein, I believe lies an important part of the answer to the WHY WORK question.  Because the economy needs you to.

A part of economic growth, and right now, economic recovery, is ensuring that all those who can participate in the labour market, DO PARTICIPATE IN THE LABOUR MARKET.  If you can work, you should.  Business needs you.