Do you ‘live to work’ or ‘work to live’? Teresa explores our often-fraught relationship with our careers and suggests how we might better find satisfaction and meaning in our work.

Most of us spend the majority of our time either working or sleeping. In the United Kingdom, people spend an average of 235 minutes per day in their paid work, amounting to 25% of their waking time. In Italy the average time spent in work was 16%, rising to 27% in the United States, and 35% in China. Although differences in demographics, education, economic prosperity, and culture play a role in the average minutes per day that people spend their time in these activities across different countries, the overall trend remains the same.

Given we spend such a huge proportion of our waking time at work, many researchers have studied the psychological effects of our jobs on life satisfaction and quality. In particular, researchers have been curious to understand: what is the most healthy relationship we can have with our work?  

In one study that looked at this topic, Amy Wrxesniewski and colleagues found that the majority of people understand their relationship with their work as one of three categories: “Jobs, Careers, and Callings”. People who treat their work as ‘jobs’ are only interested in the financial benefits they can gain. They tend to focus on earning money to support their lives outside of their job, such as paying their bills and enjoying lifestyle activities, instead of seeking rewards within their work lives. People who treat employment as ‘careers’ deeply invest themselves in their work and envision their achievements through monetary gains and skill progressions. Finally, people who treat their jobs as ‘callings’ work for neither financial benefits nor career advancement; they work for the meaningful and socially valuable things that they believe in. In the same study, after controlling for income, education, and occupation, Wrxesniewski and her colleagues found that people who treat their work as ‘callings’ have the highest life and work satisfaction compared to people in ‘jobs’ and ‘careers’ groups.

For people who have job-style work relations, is there any way for them to transform their work into careers or callings? In another study, Wrxesniewski and her colleagues argued that workers can actively shape and redefine their work by ‘job crafting’. ‘Job crafting’ means to actively change the cognitive and relational boundaries of employment, in turn transforming both the meaning of the work and the work identity of the job crafter.  A job crafter takes intentional and proactive control of their job, re-designing their work to become more relatable and impactful to themselves, other people, and organisations. The nursing profession is provided as an example in the study. The authors explained that nurses can act as job crafters by redirecting their work to centre around patient advocacy. By paying attention to a patient’s world, the job crafters could deliver high-quality healthcare that addressed the specific health needs of the patient. In brief, Wrxesniewski and colleagues believe that job crafters can re-shape the meaning of work and their work identities in a way that better aligns with their personal values and beliefs.

Others have similarly stressed the importance of taking a more personal approach to work. Steve Jobs, for example, believed in the merit of establishing work relations that are similar to relationships with loved ones. In the 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, Steve Jobs confessed that the only thing that kept him moving forward was his love for his work. He stated that:      

Steve Jobs compares a person’s relationship with their work to a relationship with their lover. Identifying the work that one loves is a matter of the heart. Just like any great relationship, one will know that they love this work naturally once they have found it. 

In other conversations, Jobs argued that passion for work is the most important factor in success. This is because there are many difficult situations people encounter in their jobs; overcoming them requires further hard work, anxiety, and trial and error. Jobs argued that any rational person would give up in these difficult situations to avoid failure in things that they neither enjoy nor find meaning in the first place. For this reason, people who do not love their job may be more likely to give up and quit. Only the people who love their work have the perseverance and determination to try out different approaches and solutions over a sustained period of time. 

However, while Wrxesniewski and Jobs generally recommend people establish a deeper and meaningful relationship with their work, others have argued that this view may be financially risky and harmful in certain circumstances. One of these critiques is from Professor Erin A. Cech, an associate sociology and mechanical-engineering professor at the University of Michigan. Cech uses the term “passion principle” to describe when people prioritise a fulfilling or passion-led career over job security and a decent salary. She found that around 75% of college-educated workers believe that passion is an important factor in career planning, and 67% of them prioritise passion over factors such as stability, high wages, and a work-life balance. 

These people believe that work that allows them to follow their passion is the key to a good life. However, according to Cech, this principle ignores the fact that many people have structural obstacles to overcome before they can pursue passion careers. For instance, many working-class career seekers may not have access to the financial safety nets and the social networks that upper-middle-class career seekers do. As a consequence, working-class career seekers are more likely to end up doing low-paid work that they may not be passionate about. Furthermore, many people have financial needs or caring responsibilities that they have to prioritise when finding the right job role. For these people, fulfilling these priorities may be more important than doing jobs that they enjoy. As not all workers see passion careers as the most important factor in life, Cech advocates collective solutions and national policies that ensure all workers have a positive experience in their work and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Cech also argues that people should not base their personal identity on one social institution within the labour market. Job vacancies, employee layoffs, and other employment issues are dependent on the needs and changes of the financial market. These needs and changes should not reflect how people come to see themselves in their personal lives. In capitalist societies, the fear of being disposable or replaceable may give workers the urgency to earn more credentials, compete for job opportunities, and work longer hours to demonstrate better performance. This can result in an unhealthy balance between work life and well-being, especially when workers come to understand their professional identity as the most important aspect of their overall identity and worth. Meaningful activities and hobbies, as well as valuable time spent with loved ones, are equally valuable life passions to pursue. Work need not be the only place where people find the source of their inner passions, personal identities, and beliefs.

What is your relationship with your work? Do you treat your job as a ‘job’, ‘career’ or ‘calling’? If you disagree with Wrxesniewski, Jobs, and Cech’s opinions, what are your reasons for your disagreements and viewpoints on your work? In a world with uncertain changes, constant distractions, and diverse career opportunities, taking a moment to reflect on your relationship between your work and what you love may guide you closer to a life full of joy, satisfaction, and fulfilment.