The # 1 Reason For Work Is...?

Why would we work when there is not even any financial obligation for us to do so? Does it mean that work is not merely a labour-intensive means to some financial end? Does it mean that work is more than just money?

For many work seems to offer a semblance of meaning, as well as structure. After all, who among us adults does not find their day structured around this cornerstone of life we call 'work?' It consumes the greater part of our hours. And for all those who despise the work they are made to do out of necessity there are those who work for reasons that are compelling in their own right. Reasons such as this: that work offers us a sense of belonging. This is work as the building and maintaining of community. Work as communion.

Most of us work in a collective setting. Even if we have our own personal desires and designs empowering us to go work on a daily basis (i.e., our daughter needs braces for her teeth, the car needs a new muffler, we have Christmas coming up) there is also the ever-present collective dimension of work whereby we are joined with others towards a common goal. It can run the gamut of 'defending the Homeland' to 'ensuring public safety.' It can span the spectrum of 'schooling the next generation to come' to joining as one with all the other 'shiny, happy people at Wal-Mart' ready to great this season's throngs of commodity hungry consumers.

We can even, at times, find oursleves 'falling in love' at work. Just as it was back in the day at school, one of our motivations for getting up everyday could be the fact that a hot new associate has just joined the team. We are eager to spend time with this attractive person. Our intrigue and more than slight sexual interest can inspire us at work in ways that can be quite surprising. We could find that our creativity takes a quantum leap, simply because we are eager--in that evolutionary way--to impress this person with our skills. We desire to make a good impression.

We end up buying new clothes, courtesy of American Express. Which leads us back to what is perhaps the most primary reason for work: economic.