{"id":16833,"date":"2015-09-30T22:00:02","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T02:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=16833"},"modified":"2020-03-30T23:19:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T03:19:23","slug":"dont-love-your-job-theres-a-reason-for-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/dont-love-your-job-theres-a-reason-for-it","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t love your job? There\u2019s a reason for it"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to work, we are doing it all wrong.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the word from Barry Schwartz, whose incredibly popular TED Talks<\/a> about the modern workplace have been seen by more than 10 million people. They\u2019re so popular, in fact, that the organizers of the series convinced him to publish a book called Why We Work<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The problem, says Schwartz, is that we assume that people don\u2019t really want to work, that they\u2019re just in it for the paycheck.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies create structures to make work more supervised, less autonomous, and less creative, with the expectation that this will boost productivity,\u201d says Schwartz, a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College. \u201cYet these very structures reduce productivity, and create disengaged, less productive workers.”<\/p>\n

Schwartz argues that the vast majority of employees want to work hard for the sheer satisfaction of doing a job well. It\u2019s especially true for young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Millennials really want work that means something,\u201d Schwartz says. \u201cThey don\u2019t just want a paycheck. I think they take it for granted that work will have these non-material benefits that I write about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why We Work, <\/em>published by the new TED imprint at Simon and Schuster<\/a>, shares Schwartz\u2019s extensive research into the workplace. And a lot of it is downright dark. He writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vast majority of us, some 63 percent, are not engaged. We are checked out, sleepwalking through our days, putting little energy into our work. And the rest of us are actively disengaged, actually hating <\/em>our jobs. In other words, work is more often a source of frustration than one of fulfillment for nearly 90 percent of the world\u2019s workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Don\u2019t<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet, there\u2019s good news. Successful, young startup founders aren\u2019t cool only because they\u2019re rich or because their ideas took off: they\u2019re cool because they\u2019re passionate and they have work they love. And the enthusiasm is rubbing off on their employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are plenty of examples, all the \u2018100 Best Places to Work\u2019 lists,\u201d says Schwartz. \u201cGoogle is a sexy example and people talk about the great cafeteria, but it\u2019s not the food. They stay for the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwartz says the most important element to foster is a strong company mission: believing in the company mission helps workers thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got Zappos. They have inspired their workforce to feel like there is nothing more important than satisfying the customer. Another one is the Container Store. Everybody there can\u2019t do enough to help you. They are not doing anything sexy like Google, they\u2019re in retail.”<\/p>\n

Schwartz encourages companies to give employees the flexibility and freedom to do great things in their roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive it a try, with every expectation that it will produce a more productive workforce. There\u2019s evidence that happy workplaces are industry leaders in many different industries. For leaders and managers, you don\u2019t even have to do it out of the goodness of your heart. You can just be interested in the bottom line, and still make these changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cover photo credit: Lauren Kallen<\/p>\n

Inside photo credit:\u00a0Bill Holsinger-Robinson\/Flickr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to work, we are doing it all wrong. That\u2019s the word from Barry Schwartz, whose incredibly popular TED Talks about the modern workplace have been seen by more than 10 million people. They\u2019re so popular, in fact, that the organizers of the series convinced him to publish a book called Why We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1541,"featured_media":16842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDon\u2019t love your job? 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