Who’s a workaholic?
‘Marketing guru’ Seth Godin (who, as Andy insightfully points out, is ‘annoying but accurate’) posted today about workaholics. He says:
A new class of jobs (and workers) is creating a different sort of worker, though. This is the person who works out of passion and curiosity, not fear.
Now I might be about to, er, expose myself here (as an odd individual stepping out of the safety of the unspoken social understanding between us all), although I suspect not, but I think I’m one of those people and have one of those jobs. I’m sure my wife would say I am… and actually, you, my colleagues, ‘caught’ me the other day, logging into the School Councils site from home at 10:30pm :s
So what about the rest of yas? Who else will ‘fess up to being quite caught up with all the stuff we do? And will anyone admit to just being here to do a job, take a wage and go home? It’d be interesting to see what the prevailing accepted standard is here, as in most jobs it’s cooler to be the latter…
Well Ben,
I will step up to the plate and admit that too.
But this is a very good point, and perhaps a real insight into the trap of working for the average 9-5 company.
Why would you spend 9 hours of your day, (which, to be honest is 2/3’s of your waking day - and 2/3’s of your life) working without passion, interest and surrounded by people you don’t like?
Suddenly all of those statistics that once amazed you, like - “did you know in an average life time you spend 2 years on the loo?”, are now brushed under the carpet to reveal possibly the most obvious and startling one - “did you know it’s possible to spend your entire life, living and working for something which you couldn’t possibly care about?”
That reminds me of a favorite past time of mine - convincing people to quit their job, and do something which makes them feel that every £1 in their pay cheque, is justified.
Life is fun! (if you work with passion)
17 Jan 2008 at 11:46 am
I absolutely agree. There is no way that I could do a job that I hated, I wouldn’t last a second. An active interest and a passion is integral, and I’m glad that people think that people in general are moving more towards that. It’s sad to imagine somebody working every day, hating it and not wanting to move on and spend each day doing something that makes them happy.
18 Jan 2008 at 3:57 pm
Ben, that is utterly charming that you were checking out School Councils at night!
I couldn’t remain in a job I hated either. I like it here!
25 Jan 2008 at 4:34 pm
It’s not a very smart boss who scares his staff into working hard. Turn your back for 5 seconds and it all falls down around you. But it is amazing how many people will still put up with jobs they hate and how many bosses out there who can’t work out that being a meany is counter-productive in the long run….
30 Jan 2008 at 12:29 am