Is your work coherent with your life?

This is a question rarely asked before 40, but it’s so important after 40. Most of our work lives have been about accepting the views of others and working to the plans of others. We had jobs and we were expected to meet the requirements of our jobs. While this is a good and important ego building and development part of life before 40, after 40, it destroys the soul. What does work coherence mean?

Does your work make sense to you? Is your work an end in itself or is it just an activity to please someone else or to make money? After 40, it becomes necessary to make our work self-directed, and it has to fit our own values. The opposite of this ideal is directed work in which we have little choice when it comes to what we work on, and how we work.

Organizations are mandated by law to maximize shareholder profit. This competes with the needs of the individual, who first and foremost, wants to maximize work happiness and meaning. Organizations are often confused about this, assuming that if everyone makes money, then everyone is happy. This thinking can be traced back to turn of the century management practices (and many HR practices), and they are in direct conflict with personal values such as independent work, creativity, and joy for workers. Motivation vs. Meaning

Research into organizational life has been focused on how people can be motivated to work. Sadly, this has left little room for ideas about helping workers find meaning in their work — and these two ideas are very different. You might, for example, be motivated by the promise of more money for a task well done — but in our current system, this becomes the major focus, while finding meaning in what we do takes a back seat. After 40: Meaning craves attention and respect

While organizations focus on a person’s competence to do a job, it is more important after 40 to understand whether a person has the capacity to enjoy his or her job. Society’s view of success is often biased towards the material: accomplishments, awards, and money. In over-40s who don’t enjoy their work, however, deeply hidden is a person desperate for the key out of their job prison. How can over-40s recreate a richer sense of work and life?

The Buddha said, ‘’Work out your own salvation; do not depend on others.’’ Self-reflection must start with an inventory of what is most important in your life. This must be an honest open dialog — with yourself — about what kind of work makes you feel alive, and gives you unlimited energy and excitement about your day. What work makes you feel whole? What work makes you feel your contribution fills a need in the world — gives you a sense of purpose? Following your calling and your heart is a matter of understanding the type of work that has the greatest pull on your life. How can we know what we want to do after 40?

Researchers have suggested that having vision matched with action is the best course of action. In the organizational context, this is approached as a competition — developmental plans to meet some short term organization need, for example.

Page 1 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next