Meaningful Work

Work is a part of our search for meaning in life. No matter how much we love our jobs or careers, they are not ends in themselves.

As economic developers, our job is to help others find jobs. Nowadays, our attention is focused on the creation of "quality" jobs, or those jobs that offer good pay and benefits, career growth opportunities, favorable work conditions, and stability. This is no easy assignment given the competition for good jobs worldwide.

Labor Day offers us an opportunity to appreciate people who work. Historically, Labor Day was designed to honor "working Americans" who worked hard in a physical sense. Many economic developers have come to see Labor Day as an unwelcomed day to honor labor unions, which they see as a threat to American business competitiveness. As a result, Labor Day has come to mean less to the economic development community.

Maybe our profession should re-define its commitment to Labor Day by seeing it as a day to commemorate "meaningful" work in society; that is work that helps to bring meaning to people's lives. Maybe we should help to return pride and dignity to the workplace. I don't know about you, but I see too many people in this world who see work strictly as a means to an end. That's unfortunate because we spend 40 plus years of our lives working.

What is meaningful work? It's more than a job hierarchy that concludes that doctors, lawyers, business owners, artists, spiritual leaders, Air Force pilots, and the like are more meaningful jobs than the work performed by machinists, industrial laborers, flight attendants, food servers, and customer service representatives.

Meaningful work is work that helps fulfill our personal calling in life. It is work that makes us feel proud and accomplished in what we do. It is work that teaches us the lessons in life we must learn. It is work that we approach with a sense of personal meaning and worth. It is work that we care for and work that teaches us to care about ourselves, others, and the world in a larger sense.

I would urge all economic developers to consider this challenge and identify how they can help bring about more meaningful work in society in the future. Let's celebrate the expansion of meaningful work in America next Labor Day.

Your comments are most welcome. Email Don Iannone at: dtia@don-iannone.com.