ABSTRACT
Work is important in people’s lives. Some people work because they must; others work simply because they enjoy it. As a result of my conversations with individuals and over 40 years of teaching career counseling and providing career counseling services to individuals, I am convinced that the main reasons people work are to survive, to fulfill a purpose or calling, to thrive, or to accomplish something and receive the associated reward or acknowledgment. As I thought about authoring this essay, I engaged in conversations about work with people who were employed as clerks in stores, people on elevators as I attended doctors’ appointments, walks with neighbors, and conversations on Zoom and telephones. People ranged from very wealthy to very poor. Their answers about work fell into the following categories: survival, purpose, thrive, and accomplishment.
This essay talks more about each of these concepts.
