Just A Job

We work not just for money, but for a large variety of psychic rewards. Nowhere is this more evident than with people who retire and make themselves busier than they ever were as "employed" members of society.

The ripple effect of work comes in the experience of community expressed in the terra firma of belonging. When we belong to a working community, we are part of a group, part of something larger than our small and vulnerable selves. We are, for better or worse, connected to a system of people organized to achieve a common goal. It is in this psychic circle that we find ourselves loyal to the others with whom and for whom we work.

In the world of work of thirty to forty years ago and way back through the evolving workforce of the 20th Century, people were hired into jobs for which they could expect to remain for some fairly large measure of time. Today, Manpower Inc is the largest non government employer in the US. This is primarily a temporary agency. A large number of people today work in contract positions, brought in to solve a problem, address a specific need, but with no added benefits other than their hourly wage or contractual financial limit.

And enter the thought: it's just a job.

Although it's wise to take a deep breath and fully accept that the caring, nurturing employer has long since left the stage, it helps to see what we've lost in this and how we cope with that innate lack of belonging to a group. In my case, I have just expanded to three "jobs" each of which has deep personal rewards emanating from use of my talents to contribute to the greater good and get paid in doing so.

But what's missing is a deep sense of loyalty to any of these entities. Not one of these "jobs" provides benefits. Not one of these jobs promises to be around a year from now (yes, for themselves, but not necessarily for me). Contracts are temporary and renewable, depending on the flow of business, none of which is in my control.

How do I, or for you dear reader, create that sense of belonging and not just show up, deliver, walk away as if it was someone else's responsibility to own the system and give back to it more than the minimum? In the old paradigm there was a pressure to devote a certain degree of thought and even emotion to the organization, or at least to its people. In the new paradigm, it's way easier to get to the divisive "every man for himself". No matter how nice the people you work for are, there is still no structural framework to act as your safety net.

I have no answer for this, just questions. It's just a job may be a way to keep from getting duped and dumped or it may be a way of driving a wedge into our own well-being at work. I hear those words as defensive.