Is work your passion?
Are you happy with your job or do you always feel like you have to keep trying harder?
If you feel like you aren’t getting anywhere or as if you can’t ever reach your goals, you are not alone.
We’re going to look at the culture of the workplace in the US and why some Americans believe you should find fulfillment in your job while others think it’s just to earn a paycheck.
What do you think?
Find out how to articulate your thoughts on this topic today.
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A Little Background
Should work be something we feel passionate about or should work just be work?
This is a question that you could likely talk about for a long time.
This is something that people are likely to have differing opinions on, and therefore you may feel strongly one way or the other.
We’ve had some episodes in the past where we’ve talked about work culture that may be very beneficial to listen to first.
- How Does Culture Influence Work Ethic
- Do You Work Like A Dog? The Reason Behind The American Work Ethic
These episodes will help you to understand the workplace and culture within the US.
The culture in a work environment may be quite different or it may be very similar to your home country.
This is a good thing to look at, understand, and bring up in your conversations in English–this is great for making connections.
Looking At The Pressure and Culture of a Workplace
So is the workplace just a place to get work done or something to feel passionate about?
There’s a great article from the New York Times called “Should Work Be Passion, or Duty?” by Firmin DeBrabander that was published on Sept. 2, 2019.
This helps to put everything into perspective and gives you some great talking points about this topic.
The article talks about how there is so much pressure among Americans to love work and to do extremely well at it.
There is such a huge push to get attention at work and to get recognition and prestige.
Americans tend to work more than many other countries— a significant part of the world has a much better work/life balance.
The article talks about the fact that we have this feeling that work is not just work but what defines us and who we are.
There is a huge push to make work be something we are very passionate about and work hard for at all costs.
It mentions a study that shows that young people desire a career they care about more than anything, even more than marriage or money.
This mental state sets people up to fail to achieve their goals which is disappointing.
There are always going to be things in a job you will not like, but when it’s all negative it causes “burnout.”
You don’t get work life balance when you are so focused on working harder and harder, and trying to do better.
Make The Most Out of Your Work Situation
When you really think about it, your job can be as good or as bad as you want it to be.
It’s all about your attitude and the way that you deal with the situation that you are given.
If you try to change your attitude and make your job more of a vehicle to achieve your “duty,” it gets you a lot further. Firmin DeBrabander mentioned this way of thinking in the article.
This ensures that you do not make your job your entire life, because ultimately it’s not.
The writer of the article said that duty is not necessarily about what you are passionate about, but you can certainly make the most out of it and still contribute.
Your duty can and should be about focusing on what you are good at and allowing you to contribute to it as much as possible.
You can do this in different ways, such as at work of course, but also with your family and personal life.
Don’t put so much stress on finding your dream job because this is a lot of pressure and it often doesn’t pay off.
Your dream job is going to be different in practice than what it is in your mind.
Focus on what you have, what you want, and then strive to find the best that you can.
The article has so many great points like some of the opinions we have mentioned above, and it’s well worth taking a look at.
This is all about finding balance and ensuring that you are in a job and a work environment that makes you happy and allows you to do your best.
Takeaway
This is all very personal and it’s up to your mindset and the environment that you work in.
This is about what you value and consider to be important because ultimately it’s your choice how you view the workplace and your commitment to your job.
So how important is a job or a career?
This may very well be something that varies by culture, and so it can make a good topic of conversation.
Try to talk to natives about their thoughts on this and then offer your own–this could make for great connections and conversation!
If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
