Bees at work (XVI). Meaningful work means happiness too.
Today is our turn to write about meaningful work that means happiness. As usual, we will begin our publication by framing two definitions:
- Meaningful
- Happiness
To be meaningful: implies to hold an inner significance, something or someone that has a sense for us, or a situation in which we wish to convey or carry a purpose that goes deeply personal into satisfying our life motivations.
What is meaningful for each person is very personal and subjective. In addition, our motivations are dynamic and change over time. Besides, something meaningful for each person may have a community or social impact beyond ourselves. For example: what is meaningful for me, may not be meaningful for you. For me, it is of high meaning to marry and have babies; meanwhile, for other women, that might be not relevant. Another example, when it comes to work, for me is very meaningful to write and produce new theories of corporate strategy in the context of “a future economy” that is not organized under the 2 major economic systems tags (capitalism or socialism). For me is very meaningful to study a new framework of economics in which the societies allocate scarce resources to amplify the middle-class status in the planet (which means to earn at least between US$28,800 to US$175,200 dollars a year). For me, this pristine economic system is a new concept of economy, that I define as an ethical entrepreneurship system, the evolution of capitalism as we have seen it during the XX century. Meanwhile for others, what they want is to impose anticapitalism proposals for which the state-owned and production decisions are made by official policy. A final example: What is meaningful for my future mother-in-law is probably completely different from what my generation X has coined, and it is also distinct for the new emerging professionals who recently graduated from University.
Meaningful work is a personal choice. Since meaningful is personal, then meaningful work is also unique and individual for each person. It is a choice by each of us to make our work a meaningful matter. It is a choice that is linked to our personality, character, motivations, emotions, and subjective wants and needs. In an ethical entrepreneurship system, everyone is free to choose the work they wish to do, under certain honorable social framing of respect for others. When we frame our jobs with dignity, then it is obvious that there are certain types of jobs that are not supposed to exist, because these jobs denigrate or degrade humans at the core.
Which jobs are not meaningful? Using our strategic common sense, since every job is a personal choice, and what is meaningful varies from person to person; we ask ourselves, which jobs are not meaningful? And the response to this question is related to the word “respect for our own integrity and respect for others”, or it is related to the sentence that we have written in the last paragraph: under certain honorable social framing of respect for us and others. A meaningful job, as a personal choice, is framed under a range of certain boundaries or thresholds, that may vary from society to society. But even when we segregate countries of different religions and social-cultural norms; we are sure that, there is a common range of frontiers in which a job is done under certain ethical social framing of respect. Let´s continue.
Any job that is associated with modern slavery, cheating (or lying), corrupting, triggering sexual immorality, or using violence (to kill, to hurt, to disrespect the essence of other humans), can be considered as not noteworthy or not complying with certain respectful virtuous limits. For example, an immoral job that destroys women´s dignity in every country on earth is the job of a sex worker (prostitute). Prostitution must not exist in any society in this world, it should be prohibited in every single country. It can´t be possible that men and women wouldn´t have evolved from the times in which a non-educated lady who was not able to marry and wanted to earn easy money, only had the option of prostitution. In this century, prostitution should be eradicated from the roots of any society. The same applies to any occupation or role that promotes or hangs around prostitution, including those musical artists (performers or singers) that show off their intimate parts in public, or those who employ nudity to gain followers and clients in social media, TV, or scenario. Any job that triggers prostitution has to be eliminated, everywhere.
A meaningful job for happiness. Once we frame which jobs are morally inadequate for our societies, then the next step is to find out if we can discover a meaningful job that provokes our happiness. A work that is meaningful and causes inner satisfaction, to a condition in which people feel a strong sense of contentment should be included as a pre-requisite condition “number one” in our job descriptions. A job description is a detailed analysis and definition of a job, all the duties, responsibilities, and conditions required in the performance of that job. The first metier that a job position should offer to an employee is a sense of happiness and joy. That is why when a job description represents a place in which an individual feels unworthy or humiliated or mistreated by others; the employee feels miserable. Regardless, if he or she has all the capabilities and technical conditions, or an education degree to fulfill it. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the employer to offer a bouquet of rewards for those jobs which are wretched themselves, to help the employee to feel motivated, or to at least anticipate in advance when to support the worker to find meaning through several actions such as training, additional bonus or compensation packages, job security, and other forms of personal fulfillment for the employee.
Sometimes the lack of happiness at the office is not defective on the employer. It may happen that the employee has been hired in a role for which his or her archetype doesn´t fit with the employer’s team expectations, and/or the manager is not trained to help the employee to find happiness either. Let´s see what Bain & Co has produced when it comes to general archetypes of jobs (1):
If you wish to download the slides, please click here:
Meaningful work occurs in high-sophisticated and skillful roles, but also in practical basic roles. It depends very much on each of us to find happiness in our roles, and if not, try to find out why, for the sake of continuing searching for what is meaningful for us and can make us happy. In my personal case, I know deep in my heart that I have not reached an abundance of contentment, not because of not finding my work, which I adore. But because I have not been able to marry and have my family yet. I feel incomplete without Alex Guillermo Lozano Artolachipi.
Let´s stop here, and move on to our art section:
Strategic reflection music section.
Why did we pick Alondra de la Parra: Alondra de La Parra is just starting? She is another example of what it means to be prepared for developing a strong value of dignity in work. Her biography https://alondradelaparra.com/en/about/ is a step-by-step escalier that began with education. She is now 40 years old, and for us, she is an example of the process of what it takes to be fruitful in music, in her role as a music director and orchestra conductor. We oversee a lovely strategic career for her, particularly once she will enhance her conductor role of “other symphonies” and commence to activate her own original compositions and masterpieces. She shows us meaningful work that means happiness based on first-class education + constant preparation + unceasing persistence + imperturbable patience + endurance through hard work + a stroke of luck.
Would Alondra become the first Latin-American Mozart of this century? Only time will tell. She has it all to make it happen in the next 20 to 30 years. We expect God can bless her very much. We envisage for her only the best!
Songs for today belong to Stevie Wonder. Three songs: “I´ve just called to say I love you”. The second “You are the sunshine of my life”, and the third one “Faith” ft. Ariana Grande. Enjoy!
Thank you for reading to me. See you next Friday. Blessings!
Sources of reference used for this publication:
(1) https://www.bain.com/insights/what-type-of-worker-are-you-future-of-work-report-interactive/
Disclaimer: Illustrations in Watercolor are painted by Eleonora Escalante. Other types of illustrations or videos (which are not mine) are used for educational purposes ONLY. Nevertheless, most of the pictures, images, or videos shown on this blog are not mine. I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.
Eleonora Escalante Strategy 