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How much work do we need to be happy? Some believe that the more the better. Work absorbs them, they think about it all the time, conduct non-stop official correspondence and wake up in the middle of the night thinking about business. But there are those among us who do well without work. They do not need the framework and incentives that the profession provides. They live at peace with themselves and do not need a work history to feel their value. Each of us is looking for his place between these two poles. We talked to two successful women who seem to have already found him …
Yes, I can live without a job, I have other roles
Larisa Pautova, sociologist, doctor of sociological sciences, project director of the Public Opinion Foundation
“I realized that I could live without a job when I went on maternity leave before the birth of my youngest daughter. And not only because children are sacred. Turns out I can knit. And I love scrapbooking, which I didn’t know about before. And on playgrounds and in clinics, I meet real people – and they do not always look like abstract respondents, whom I am used to seeing in analytical reports. It is intriguing and imperceptibly pushes to think. Rock the stroller and think. Very comfortably.
You can also learn online what you didn’t have time for before. And finally finish reading Kuprin. Learn something new thanks to the Internet. And the article is written not because it is necessary, but because it is a thrill. And for the first time in seven years of living in this house, I noticed a sunset in the window. And I examined the grandmothers in front of our entrance.
Read more:
- Work: Emotional Intelligence Wins!
Finally, I was able to ask myself the question: who am I and what do I want to do? At work, you can also ask such questions. But outside the office, you think about it differently. I saw my other roles. I recently took an online course called Time Management for Moms. The trainer asked the participants to list things for each of their life areas: wife, mother of the first child, mother of the second child, business woman, spiritual development, sports, beauty and health, finances, and so on. The to-do list is gigantic. It turns out that I completely forgot about many roles and never included them in the plan. Summing up, the coach reminded us that work is only a part of life. Now I believe. And here, too, there is room for thought.
I was told more than once: “There is work and work.” My story is about just that. Apparently, I am one of those people for whom work is not a place, not a service, but something like a normal blood sugar level. You can live for a while without a fixed place of work. And what is life without “thinking sociologically”? When you can’t think, you feel bad, “not viable.”
In this situation, the dilemma “work – not work” is not worth it at all. If today, while watching the news, I “turn on a sociologist,” is this work or not? Or if I’m writing this text for Psychologies? It seems to me that by changing the focus, I became deeper. And eventually I will be able to do and say more…when I get back to work.”
No, there is no development without work, but I like to live in the flow
Tatyana Solovieva, psychologist, HR Director, IBM Eastern Europe/Asia
“Work for me is an opportunity to do interesting things together with other people who are also interested in this business. In physics there is the concept of a shoulder. The larger the arm, the greater the load that can be lifted by applying the same force. Such a “shoulder” gives work in a large company. It’s a powerful, smartly built environment. After all, whatever I’m interested in, I can find in my company materials on this topic, people who have thought about it – in Russia and abroad – and they will share their knowledge with me. In such an environment, you grow much faster. And development is one of the most important values for me.
Read more:
- When work conquers fear
I am interested in doing my job, I like working with interesting people, I like that the world is so big and small at the same time, and that thanks to modern technology it is all at arm’s length. I like to understand the system around me and my role in it. I like to participate in changes and be a part of these changes. I am proud of the company I work for, I care about what is happening to it, I am happy for its success; Changes in the economy, in the industry, in technologies are important to me because it concerns my work.
Life does not stand still, it is a flow – and I like to be in the flow. I like to come to work early – almost always before everyone else, calmly put everything on the shelves – plan the day, think about what lies ahead. Then, when colleagues come to the office and everything is spinning with increasing speed, the most important thing for me is personal contact.
I recently had the pleasure of arguing with a smart person about the meaning of work. For him, a leader with a brilliant education, strategic vision and experience in building a company that has become an industry leader, the meaning of work is to achieve goals, and the main approach is to focus on goals. But for me … no! People are what is meaningful, exciting and valuable to me. My work focuses on relationships. Creating an environment in the company so that it is successful and employees want to work in it is the goal, and the opportunity to influence it is happiness! I can help someone with my work and I can do something useful for society. And I’m interested.”