From the time we are little kids we’re asked what we want to be when we grow up. We’re encouraged to try all the extracurriculars and pick our favorite, or otherwise identify our “passion.” “Find out what you’re passionate about and find a way to make money doing it,” we’re told. In short, in the modern age, work has gone from a job, to a career, to a calling.
But what if that isn’t the best way to think about work?
What is Workism?
In 2019 Derek Thompson wrote an article for The Atlantic about the “religion of workism.” He shows that rich men work the most these days, contrary to history when the most privileged groups typically worked least. Why is that? Here’s what Thompson writes:
“Maybe the logic here isn’t economic at all. It’s emotional—even spiritual. The best-educated and highest-earning Americans, who can have whatever they want, have chosen the office for the same reason that devout Christians attend church on Sundays: It’s where they feel most themselves.”
But it’s not just rich men anymore. Workism is spreading. Thompson writes, “In a 2018 paper on elite universities, researchers found that for women, the most important benefit of attending a selective college isn’t higher wages, but more hours at the office.”
He continues:
“What’s more, in a recent Pew Research report on the epidemic of youth anxiety, 95 percent of teens said ‘having a job or career they enjoy’ would be ‘extremely or very important’ to them as an adult. This ranked higher than any other priority, including ‘helping other people who are in need’ (81 percent) or getting married (47 percent). Finding meaning at work beats family and kindness as the top ambition of today’s young people.”
Millennials and Gen Z want to make a difference through their work. Why is that a problem? It’s not. To quote Thompson again:
“The problem with this gospel—Your dream job is out there, so never stop hustling—is that it’s a blueprint for spiritual and physical exhaustion. Long hours don’t make anybody more productive or creative; they make people stressed, tired and bitter.”
Finding Happiness at Work
To really find the key to happiness at work, we must rethink our preconceived notions about our interest and “passions.”
Combatting Fixed Theory
The first thing to consider is fixed theory—the idea that our passions are ingrained in us from the beginning of our lives and can’t be changed. But this has been disproved by neuroscience…and common sense.
“If passions are things found fully formed, and your job is to look around the world for your passion—it’s a crazy thought,” Greg Walton, a Stanford professor and co-author of a study on interests and passions, told The Atlantic in 2018. “It doesn’t reflect the way I or my students experience school, where you go to a class and have a lecture or a conversation, and you think, That’s interesting. It’s through a process of investment and development that you develop an abiding passion in a field.”
So what’s the opposite of fixed theory? It’s the notion that interests can develop overtime…and in fact, this is something proven by neuroscience.
Intrinsic Motivations vs. Extrinsic Motivations
Arthur Brooks has a series in The Atlantic on “How to Build a Life.” One of his articles discusses the secrets to happiness at work. He writes:
“To be happy at work, you don’t have to hold a fascinating job that represents the pinnacle of your educational achievement or the most prestigious use of your ‘potential,’ and you don’t have to make a lot of money. What matters is not so much the ‘what’ of a job, but more the ‘who’ and the ‘why’: Job satisfaction comes from people, values, and a sense of accomplishment.”
He goes on:
“For real satisfaction, you should pursue intrinsic goals—two in particular. … The first is earned success. … Earned success instead gives you a sense of accomplishment. … The second goal worth pursuing at work is service to others—the sense that your job is making the world a better place. … you can find service in almost any job.”
Takeaways
To put it one way, relationships (service to others) are at the heart of what makes people happy at work. This is true regardless of your religious beliefs. However, these fundamental truths about relationships and even work are found in the Bible.
For instance, the most important biblical commands are not about changing the world, being successful, being smart, being morally perfect, or making more money, but simply this: Love God above all else, and love others as yourself.
The Bible also tells workers that whatever they are doing, to work for the Lord and not for man, giving immediate and intrinsic value to their work no matter what it is.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hope for a dream job, or pursue jobs that interest you. But don’t be discouraged if you end up working a different job than you imagined, whether for a short season or a long time. You can still find happiness at work.