a question about how you see your work

[HokeyReligions]

You apply, interview and accept a job. Does the company/job exist for you to make a living -- or are you working to keep the company successful?

 

 

I'm just curious about responses. I'm not judging. If you are comfortable saying - also how long have you been working?

[Comfortably Numb]

I work to not only keep the company successful but to enable myself the investment of continued knowledge and insight. I am a baker, I don't make a ton of money. But I enjoy the **** out of my job, in fact so much so that I don't even look at it as work so much most of the time. It is enjoyable. And one day I would like to have my own bakery. So learning everything I can while afforded the opportunity to do so is great!

[anne1707]

I am totally committed to the objectives of the organisation I work for. I believe that what we do provides real value to others and I love it.

 

When I was younger, it was more about the living but now that I have been working more years than many on this site have been living, it's nowhere near as simple as that.

[carhill]

Been working for about 40 years. Hate my boss but sleep with him every night

 

The focus of my work is challenges to be met and problems to be solved, mainly through creativity and engineering. Money is generally secondary. There's enough money around.

[HokeyReligions]

Been working for about 40 years. Hate my boss but sleep with him every night.

 

 

Lol:D

 

Hubby and I tried working together. - it just didn't work for us good for you both.

[anne1707]

Lol:D

 

Hubby and I tried working together. - it just didn't work for us good for you both.

 

I think you will find Carhill talks to himself

[Star Gazer]

I am totally committed to the objectives of the organisation I work for. I believe that what we do provides real value to others and I love it.

 

When I was younger, it was more about the living...

 

Same here.

 

I could earn 200% more than I do now if my focus was on my paycheck rather than the cause I work for. I feel good going to work every day; what I do matters.

[carhill]

I think you will find Carhill talks to himself

Yep, pretty much, except when I was married, and then sometimes too.

 

OP, I've been my own boss for nearly 30 years so how I see my work will likely differ from that of an employee, though for the short time I was an employee early in my work career, I saw it pretty much the same way, and worked myself out of the employee job description because I felt better suited running a business than working for one.

 

I recall, a few years ago, telling my best friend, also a business owner, that my goal was to get to a place where I can do what I love to do for free, just for the fun of it. He and I will often do such projects together to help others out. No charge. No strings. We love the work.

[todreaminblue]

You apply, interview and accept a job. Does the company/job exist for you to make a living -- or are you working to keep the company successful?

 

 

I'm just curious about responses. I'm not judging. If you are comfortable saying - also how long have you been working?

 

 

i hav enever been rejected for work when i try for a job i get it........because i always explain why i will eb good for the company when i have written cover letters fro friends i explain why they would eb a benefit to the company make it not abotu the pay check or what i expect or they expect but why i believe in theri company...sounds liek a kiss ass.......but ......i guess that is what has made me stand out from the crowd..i research the company i want to work for find out their goals and aims.....i offer myself to work for free for one week...try before you buy...i have never had to work unpaid when i have used this....in the interview i am never lost for words.....i know facts and figures.....my ex got short listed and achieved employment through a cover letter i had written ......listing all his qualities that would benefit the company...the cover letter was noted....and appreciated in the interview......my grammar might have been off...but i can sell people including myself because i always know their good qualities and relate it to the employment they seek to procure...........you have to make an employer see......the company would benefit from your input.....even if its to be a plumber...you have to show your passion for wanting to work there....automatically puts you in good stead.....research and know what you want and why you want it adn why they need to only look at you for the job........never say i dotn know in an interview always say i will find out....give me a chance too...profile your new job.....and watch for cues from the employer......they will emphasise what they find important by voice inflection.........deb

[TaraMaiden]

The company I work for existed long before I came along, and it will be there for some time after I've gone.

Therefore, as far as I'm concerned, I work because I need the money.

I need to make a living.

 

But I do my job well, and I put my heart and soul into it - for the people I'm there for, which are the customers.

 

Trust me, the company expects input and loyalty from me, but wouldn't bat an eyelid, if they needed to make me redundant.

I am dispensable, and they wouldn't give making me jobless, a second thought.

[Queenie42]

I'm not yet in my dream profession, for now I'm a checkout chick at a big chain supermarket while finishing university.

 

I get a lot of customers saying things like, "Bet you couldn't do this forever!" or "Wow, nine hour shift, I bet that sucks." For one thing, that sort of attitude is a bit disrespectful to those who've made a great career for themselves in retail. Well, sure it's not my dream profession, but that doesn't mean I don't love my job. I earn money for myself so I can save up and not have to rely on handouts from family or government. And I genuinely enjoy the work, if I didn't I'd just get a job somewhere else. But at the end of the day, if I get an offer from my dream job you know I'll be out of there like a tall dark streak of light.

[HokeyReligions]

Thanks all. I'll share my views. I was raised that a company exists to make a profit. Not to employee people for the sake of having employees but to have people to make the company more successful. It doesn't matter if the position is revenue generating or support.

 

I did not have an attitude that the company owed me anything or owed me a job.

 

My husband and I own a small business. He does the work for two reasons - mainly I don't like working from home and I got really burned out and lost my creativity after our daughter died. Now I just do the books. Because of his health and our rather quiet lifestyle we don't work a lot at the home business.

 

I am a supervisor at my current job and the main breadwinner.

 

It seems lately that many young adults entering the workforce from college have an attitude that jobs exist for them and how dare a company tell them what to do or warn them when their behaviour is less than professional. As a supervisor my job is to see the work is done right and on time also to help mentor and teach new hires so they have the total skill set needed to grow professionally and advance. Meaning become a more valued asset to the com pany.

 

I've hired and sadly fired a lot of people in the last year. I'm not saying all are likt that. I have several who have really worked hard and learned and I see great tbings for them. But some of these others have such a high opionion of themselves ....... they come in making demands and seem shocked when they don't get what they want.

 

It just makes wonder about how colleges are prepping the new workforce. What are todays graduates being told to expect? I may be 'old school' but I still have a lot to offer and I work very hard. I won't tolerate disrespect.

Edited May 12, 2013 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
corrected error

[sweetjasmine]

The company I work for existed long before I came along, and it will be there for some time after I've gone.

Therefore, as far as I'm concerned, I work because I need the money.

I need to make a living.

 

But I do my job well, and I put my heart and soul into it - for the people I'm there for, which are the customers.

 

Trust me, the company expects input and loyalty from me, but wouldn't bat an eyelid, if they needed to make me redundant.

I am dispensable, and they wouldn't give making me jobless, a second thought.

 

Ah, same here.

 

My loyalty is to our patients and clients, and I bust my butt to do the job well. I believe in the company's mission of providing high quality care. I'm the type who is loyal to companies that treat employees well, but this particular place likes to play games and treat employees like garbage. I only tolerate it for my own personal reasons, and when the time is right, I'll leave for another place in the same field without batting an eyelid. And they'll likely tell me to not let the door hit me on the way out. My company treats even those who are extremely difficult to replace as useless and dispensable, and it's hard to have respect for management that doesn't respect anyone at all.

 

We just had an important person give a one month notice that she was going somewhere else. Management told her not to bother with all that and that it was her last day. Get out. Bye bye. That decision to fire her has led to upheaval and a complete re-structuring of services and at least 30 people's schedules, but they don't care. They were making a point, even if it involved shooting themselves in the foot.

 

It just makes wonder about how colleges are prepping the new workforce. What are todays graduates being told to expect? I may be 'old school' but I still have a lot to offer and I work very hard. I won't tolerate disrespect.

 

Colleges don't tell students what to expect in the workforce. We learn it from observation and personal experience.

 

And, honestly? My personal experience and the personal experience of all my peers is that these days, there is no such thing as company loyalty because the instant someone can save a dollar in their quarterly reports by throwing you out on the street, they will not hesitate to do it and they will make anyone they keep do twice the work without compensating them for it. The days of staying with the same company for 25 years in an unspoken agreement of loyalty are long gone. You say you won't tolerate disrespect. Well, my coworkers and I swallow a daily dose of disrespect and are expected to work even harder in return, while any fruits of that extra hard work never manage to make their way into our pockets. So why would we care about increasing profits for such a company?

 

When you're being taken advantage of, the last thing you think is, "How can I help this person bleed more out of me?".

Edited May 12, 2013 by sweetjasmine

[Sarabi]

You apply, interview and accept a job. Does the company/job exist for you to make a living -- or are you working to keep the company successful?

 

 

I'm just curious about responses. I'm not judging. If you are comfortable saying - also how long have you been working?

 

I work to keep this company successful...

...by serving its continuous stream of vile, rude and quite frankly hideous customers every day

I have worked for them for...20 months?

Due to the nature of the pay and the hours worked I do not work to make a living. No living is to be had when you work this kind of rubbish...

 

 

I hope for better for myself and I pray to God it comes soon.

Watch me do something I find more mentally stimulating and satisfying which corresponds to my necessity and I will write something different

[Taramere]

You apply, interview and accept a job. Does the company/job exist for you to make a living -- or are you working to keep the company successful?

 

 

I'm just curious about responses. I'm not judging. If you are comfortable saying - also how long have you been working?

 

I'm self employed within a company. Objectively, of course the company doesn't exist specifically for me to make a living. It was set up with the purpose of bringing in an income for the owner. It has expanded into a useful vehicle for others to also make money for themselves and also for the company.

 

I think all of us like the set up. It's a friendly environment and we want to see eachother do well - but ultimately people are focused on making money for themselves. If you were to ask the owner what she thought of that, I think she would say "that's how they should be looking at it. I'm happy so long as they're paying the company its usual commission from what they make and not abusing office resources."

 

She's not so dewy eyed and idealistic that she thinks we're in there out of some weird altruism and loving loyalty for a profit making vehicle rather than to make money for ourselves. Not that we don't like her and promote the company positively whenever we can...but it's just a business. The company is interested in what it can get out of us, we're interested in what we can get out of the company and everybody has to strike a balance to ensure that their individual needs and also the interests of the company are met.

 

So as a simple example, even though I'm not directly paying for stationery, supplies and the telephone bill I will use these resources sparingly. Partly out of consideration and respect for the owner, and also because if the company is run economically then it won't need to tap me for a higher commission in order to stay afloat. We'll all tend to buy treats, bring in tea and coffee etc...there's no expectation that the owner will cater to us in that respect, although she often does.

 

I think when people have misty eyed loyalty for/a self sacrificing approach towards a company it's sweet but a bit silly. Companies don't fall in love with people, and they don't have loyalty for people. At best, you have a fair and honest quid pro quo relationship with the company you work for/get work from, a sense of gratitude for the opportunities it affords you and positive relationships with the other individuals involved in the operation of that company.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Taramere

[USMCHokie]

For me, without a doubt, it's about taking care of those young guys under my charge.

 

I do what I do because of the people.