Children are frequently asked the question, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up? My Mother and Father used to ask me same type of questions when I was child. I used to reply very eagerly that I want to be Pilot. When I completed my higher secondary level course, I tried to choose medical field. Because of time, situation and different circumstance I had to change my field in business studies in graduation level. When I got an opportunity for further study at UK, I continued my further study in Advance Manufacturing and MIS (Hybrid Manager) which was funded by EEC Union for Air Bus UK. As time passed and I am adult now, if the question is rephrased to me ‘What do you do?’ It is more likely now to mutter that I am qualified to work in strategic level in an organisation rather than any particular profession like Pilot, Doctor, Charter Accountant, Human Resource Manager, Marketing Manager and Industrial Engineer.
These two common questions are significant because both underline the fact that paid employment is generally considered to be a central defining feature of ourselves as individuals. As children we are being judged in terms of our employment aspirations and, as adults we are being assessed in terms of our employment status. In summary, paid work is one of the principle means by which we evaluate other people.
An individual experiences work as the meaning of work in terms of the economic necessity to work and moral necessity to work. In terms of the economic necessity includes the material reasons for work and raise the question of whether people would carry on some form of work even if they had no financial need to do so. In terms of the moral necessity includes the concept of a ‘work ethic’ and assess its various elements that are supposedly encouraging people to work irrespectively of any economic necessity.
It is a common sense view is that people work simply for money. However, research always revels that the actual reasons why people work are far more complex. Certainly, it is true that money is important, but employees tend also to give a range of other reasons for working. To illustrate this point, let’s take a research question done at Swan Hunter Shipbuilder in UK by Erickson, Stephenson and Williams (2000: 180-1). The research question was ‘Why do you work?’
‘I want to provide for my family, but I enjoy the trade union side of my work. I like going to meetings, negotiation and helping people.’ (Design engineer)
‘To keep my family. But I think it’s important to do something you enjoy.’ (Draughtsman)
‘The pay packet. But work is a necessary ethic when you work all your life- it governs your existence.’ (Welder)
‘For self-respect-I don’t want to become a social parasite. And I don’t want to be bored. It’s good for meeting people and I get a lot of job satisfaction, and for the money too.’ (Steel-metal worker)
‘Making a living and getting the self-respect of doing something productive. It gives me peace of mind.’ (Driller)
‘To exist. I like the job. I come to work to use my skill and to make enough money to have a decent way of life.’ (Planter/foreman)
‘It’s all I know.’ (Caulker/burner)
Now, I want to move my topic to evaluate the importance of the economic need to work. From the earlier discussion about the work, we roughly know that people work in order to earn money to live; it is through paid work that basic needs are satisfied because it provides money for subsistence (food, housing, clothes, and so on). However, it is hard to accept blindly this argument as it stands: can we really talk about the need to work for the purpose of subsistence when most developed societies provide welfare system that prevents people from falling below the basic level of subsistence?
These two common questions are significant because both underline the fact that paid employment is generally considered to be a central defining feature of ourselves as individuals. As children we are being judged in terms of our employment aspirations and, as adults we are being assessed in terms of our employment status. In summary, paid work is one of the principle means by which we evaluate other people.
An individual experiences work as the meaning of work in terms of the economic necessity to work and moral necessity to work. In terms of the economic necessity includes the material reasons for work and raise the question of whether people would carry on some form of work even if they had no financial need to do so. In terms of the moral necessity includes the concept of a ‘work ethic’ and assess its various elements that are supposedly encouraging people to work irrespectively of any economic necessity.
It is a common sense view is that people work simply for money. However, research always revels that the actual reasons why people work are far more complex. Certainly, it is true that money is important, but employees tend also to give a range of other reasons for working. To illustrate this point, let’s take a research question done at Swan Hunter Shipbuilder in UK by Erickson, Stephenson and Williams (2000: 180-1). The research question was ‘Why do you work?’
‘I want to provide for my family, but I enjoy the trade union side of my work. I like going to meetings, negotiation and helping people.’ (Design engineer)
‘To keep my family. But I think it’s important to do something you enjoy.’ (Draughtsman)
‘The pay packet. But work is a necessary ethic when you work all your life- it governs your existence.’ (Welder)
‘For self-respect-I don’t want to become a social parasite. And I don’t want to be bored. It’s good for meeting people and I get a lot of job satisfaction, and for the money too.’ (Steel-metal worker)
‘Making a living and getting the self-respect of doing something productive. It gives me peace of mind.’ (Driller)
‘To exist. I like the job. I come to work to use my skill and to make enough money to have a decent way of life.’ (Planter/foreman)
‘It’s all I know.’ (Caulker/burner)
Now, I want to move my topic to evaluate the importance of the economic need to work. From the earlier discussion about the work, we roughly know that people work in order to earn money to live; it is through paid work that basic needs are satisfied because it provides money for subsistence (food, housing, clothes, and so on). However, it is hard to accept blindly this argument as it stands: can we really talk about the need to work for the purpose of subsistence when most developed societies provide welfare system that prevents people from falling below the basic level of subsistence?
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