Is it important to actually have an interest in your work?

Legacy_user

I was always brought up to think "You are lucky to have a job let alone have a choice" or one of my fathers favs "Ask any c*nt out on that street if he has an interest in his job, I guarantee he doesn't"

So is this true? I know myself I have no more interest in my work that I do of flying to the moon, I do it for the money, I wonder how many others are like this?

The downside of this is motivation is really hard to come by, having pride in your work is hard to come by when you have no interest in it.

Brian_The_Lion

I think it all depends on what you do for a living. If you love buses and work as a bus driver then I think that might deem to be something satisfying.

But if your in a trade or something like that I really think you need to love DIY to say you love your job...

System

Brian_The_Lion wrote: »

I think it all depends on what you do for a living. If you love buses and work as a bus driver then I think that might deem to be something satisfying.

But if your in a trade or something like that I really think you need to love DIY to say you love your job...[/QUOTE]

Yeah I kind of know what you mean.

Rockporkchop

I pretty much hate every second of every working day, and have done for at least 13 years now. The only good thing about my job is that it is fairly well paid so I just put up with it for the time I am there, knowing that the money will go to good use for my family.

Sometimes I do wish I could do something more fulfilling but I don't let it get me down.

globalds

I think you have maybe been taught something that was neither true or very useful for you.

Work isn't much different form any other part of your life.
Your frame of mind will have a great deal of effect on the what you get out of it.

I have done loads of jobs some great ,some not so great .
The first job I had would be a great job by many peoples veiw and yet I moaned more in that job than any other ...I changed my mind after a few years ...Not about the job ..but about the way I would react to stuff ..

All I know now that I didn't know then is how short things go on before they change ..Even staying in the same job for a while has seen me do massively different things in different places.
My present job either has a chance to see new projects at their conception and get involved with the process .
Or it involves early mornings ,paperwork that is monitored by everyone involved and clients who want to do everything in a day.

Just depends who is doing the looking.

My advice ..Learn how to change your mind ...then change it ..Nothing may change ...but at least you will feel better about things

Oldernotwiser

I was always brought up to think that there's something of interest in any job, you only have to find it. I think that's better advice to give a young person.

Bogof_Babe

I think a job is only interesting if you have some degree of autonomy in doing it.

hothothot_3

define work. You only mention paid labour. I have worked hard at university and have two degrees, it was much more work on my part than other jobs ive had.

I had great interest in the subject as it was something I could see a result of my labour - it has allowed me to work in a field that I still have little interest in yet receive a higher rate of pay which allows me to enjoy buying things that provides comfort for myself and family. My work on the other hand is well paid yet I feel totally alienated from the result of my labour, someone else had bought it after all and can use it for themselves.

There was a psychological study where they placed an ad in the paper and hired several randomly selected unemployed workers and agreed to pay them twice the going rate per hour. (Sorry I do not remember what that was.)

Each man was given a new shovel and told to dig a hole six foot long, six foot wide, and six foot deep, with squared corners. When they finished they were told, “Now fill it in. Then dig it out again.” Within two weeks every one of those men quit their job.

A Happy life needs real purpose.

safesound

You dont have to have an interest in your job, but it does help.
Like most people I have days when I hate my job, and days when I love it, but most days its just work. You go in, you make a difference while you are there, you come home. If the days where you hate it start to outweigh the days its just work then you need to start looking elsewhere.

Emily1990_2

Yep, I worked in the construction sector for a while and it bored the hell out of me. So I have now pursued a career in law, something I am much more interested in.

misanthrope

"In reality, there is only one purpose served by paid employment: getting paid. That is the only real link between work and money. The other “purposes” of paid employment are other types of rewards, certainly desirable, but not directly related to getting paid. They are all equally available in unpaid activities….Redefining “work” as simply any productive or purposeful activity, with paid employment being just one activity among many, frees us from the false assumption that what we do to put food on the table and a roof over our heads should also provide us with our sense of meaning, purpose and fulfillment. Breaking the link between work and money allows us to reclaim balance and sanity.”

“Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez