Finding the true riches in
work
To be
truly fulfilled, make happiness the end goal, not 'good' jobs and
money
By
INVITATION
By LAURENCE LIEN
FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
WHEN I switched careers - from the civil service to civil
society in 2008 - people close to me were concerned that I was
making an irrational and unwise decision.
After all, I was leaving a seemingly glamorous job
in the Administrative Service of the Singapore Government with its
good pay and prestige.
Exiting obviously was not an easy decision. But I
have not looked back since. In fact, I am happier today than four
years ago.
The work is personally satisfying as I have free
rein to express my interests and creativity. At the same time, I am
serving the common good by making a difference in transforming
Singapore into a giving society and building civil society.
Yet there is still a stigma attached to working in
the non-profit sector. A couple of my young officers have told me
how their parents (usually their mothers) keep pressurising them to
leave the non-profit sector for "greener pastures" elsewhere.
This raises the question: What is work for? Is it a
necessary evil - to survive or to be rich? If you have so much
money you don't have to work for the rest of your life, would you
work? Does it matter what career we choose, if each paid us the
same?
Let me try to answer these questions with three
points.
First, work is good when ordered to serve humans,
and when humans are the subjects, not instruments.
Many people have conflicting views about work. We
tend to denigrate some jobs, particularly the more menial and lowly
paid ones.
In such roles, humans are being treated merely as
factors of production. The ancient philosopher Aristotle thought no
one could be both free and obliged to earn a living; while a more
modern one, Bertrand Russell, argued that the road to happiness
"lies in an organised diminution of work" .
But even in a menial job, there is dignity in work.
Indeed, every job that is not immoral has dignity. Work has
intrinsic value and is net a necessary evil. Instead, it can be
uplifting and fulfilling.
Through work, humankind not only transforms nature,
but also achieves fu1filment and self-realisation as a human
being.
No one should look down on any honest job, no
matter how menial. Instead, we can adopt a more egalitarian ethos
to provide all workers with a fair, living wage, so they are not
under the constant stress of inadequate job security.
In Singapore's society, we do value some jobs,
especially those that are intellectually stimulating, prestigious
and well-paid. In some cases, we prize them too much Work then
defines us and becomes our essence. We go to the extreme of placing
our working life at the centre of any desire for happiness. Some
even compete with their friends to see who works longer hours.
When it comes to work, the most critical questions
are not what you do, how hard you work or how much you get
paid.
Rather it is: Why do you do what you do?
This brings me to the second point. In doing our
work, we must move from extrinsic to intrinsic and transcendent
motivations. Only then can we be truly happy.
Extrinsic motivations are about satisfying a set of
tangible needs, with money considered a universal motivator, and
power and recognition included as well. People with intrinsic
motivations focus on using their skills and strengths, and engage
in tasks for which they learn and enjoy. Their satisfaction comes
from the work itself. For persons driven by transcendent
motivations, they see that their actions affect others, and hence
take those people's needs into account. For them, satisfaction
derives from being useful to others.
In Singapore, extrinsic motivations are dominant.
Work is often primarily seen for the purpose of making good money,
in whichever way we are skilled, so that we may live comfortably,
have status in society and provide for the family. Most pay little
attention to the intrinsic worth of the work we do, and its value
to society.
In our society, we need our workers to be more
driven by both transcendent and intrinsic motivations.
What a person is paid is often not commensurate
with the value of his or her job to society. A bus driver earns on
average $4,700 a month in Australia, but only $1,500 in Singapore.
Is the bus driver in Australia doing a job that is three times more
worthwhile? A pre-primary teacher in Singapore earns $1,840 a
month, while
a foreign exchange broker earns $11,000; is the latter's vocation
six times as valuable?
I would also argue that employees who are more
transcendentally driven are also more values driven. They would
care about doing the right thing all the time and for the long
term, and are more likely to be loyal and collaborative, to invest
in positive change, and to practise social responsibility. They are
also more likely to take on important "below-market-rate jobs" like
non-profit worker and volunteer.
When workers see their work as more than just a
job, they become much more engaged and passionate, creative and
enterprising. Singapore ranks poorly in global
surveys on job satisfaction, and employee engagement and loyalty.
This augurs pporly for our aim to have a dynamic and productive
workforce.
While extrinsic motivators are not completely
unimportant, we must desist from using them as the mark of all that
is worthwhile. Pay, specifically, should not be the presumptive
measure of self worth and job worth.
My final point is: We ought to make the happiness
of ourselves and others an end goal. Instead, we often get it the
wrong way round, as we make "good" jobs and money our end goals
instead.
Research tells us that happiness is found in
healthy relationships, in loving and being loved; in doing things
we are passionate about; in being creative (and
"pro-creative"); and in having fewer wants and being contented and
thankful for what we have.
Instead, many of us chase jobs for their financial
rewards and status-enhancing qualities. We have no work-life
balance. We want more and more, and end up less and less satisfied.
We suffer burnout, disillusionment and broken relationships
as a result.
What should we do then? As we begin a new year, we
should start reassessing our priorities and what gives true
meaning. We must starting respecting the dignity
of those who work in less-skilled jobs, and give them a fair,
living wage.
We need to teach our children proper values and
motivations, obsess less over their grades, and support them in
careers that they are passionate about and that
serve the common good.
Then perhaps I would hear more of my staff having
their loved ones cheer them on in their chosen profession. And
perhaps we will have more willing to serve as ministers too.
The writer is a Nominated Member of
Parliament, chief executive of the National Volunteer and
Philanthropy Centre, acting chief executive of the Community
Foundation of Singapore and chairman of the Lien Foundation. By
Invitation features leading writers and thinkers from Singapore and
the region.
Insight, The Strait Times, Saturday, January 12 2013, Pg D10
