What do you want work to feel like when you’re older?
What do you want to be when you're older? It's a question asked so regularly that most kids have an answer to hand: Astronaut! Footballer! Train Driver! Superstar! Recently, I started to wonder about the framing and its implications. As we move into adult life, we continue to obsess over the work we do. The disenfranchised accountant wants to be a marine biologist. The demoralised marketer wants to give it all up and work in a bookshop. Why? Because they want to be something different. Because they want to do a job they love.
Everyone should have that privilege, but in most cases, I don’t think the search for the perfect job description is the right way to find it. The same role is experienced in different ways by different people, because how they work is just as important what they do. This insight is plainly evident in the ups and downs of the colleagues around us, but it’s still hard to take seriously when we think about ourselves. If we did, we would spend far more time aspiring to the magical pillars of autonomy, mastery and belonging that so deeply connect to our well-being and job satisfaction. Regardless of the work we happen to do each day.
If we took it seriously, we might also stop asking children what they want to be, and start asking how they want work to feel. In a world where we have little idea what jobs will exist in 10 or 20 years, maybe that would help them think differently about their working lives? Who knows, maybe it would help us think differently too?
Regular readers will know we like to put ideas to the test at MoreThanNow. And luckily, a teacher is not a hard thing to find in my life. So here are the answers from a class of 10-and-11 year-olds from Croydon. This is what a great day at work should feel like:
“When I make people happy. Because knowing that I made someone happy makes me happy. ”
“When we are bonding well as a group, and come up with creative ideas and put it in our work.”
“When everyone smiles and it brightens my day. ”
“When you are trying your best and working hard”
“When we get extra breaks and extra time off work, and when all your staff and your boss can go to the beach. ”
“When I get a promotion and a new wage of about one thousand pounds. ”
“A good day at work would be a nice chilled funny day, but you get work done. ”
“I am thinking of becoming a hairdresser. A great day at work would be getting someone’s hair right. This would be a great day because by getting it right it would make them feel good and possibly quite confident. ”
“If everyone did what they were supposed to do and not be lazy. ”
“When we have a mix of fun and games combined with work. I like it this way because while we are doing work we are enjoying ourselves. ”
“Being able to explain my problems to my manager”
“Everyone surrounding has got a good vibe. There is no complaining and nothing goes wrong. ”
“You get along with your teammates and when you get a goal and your coach praises you. ”
“A great day at work would be that I meet old people and make friends. ”
“Having a great day includes being kind, sage and caring. ”
“A great day at work would be when we could have breaks as you’d be working very hard and you might feel a bit tired after you finish. ”
So there you go - a good team, a good boss, a work-life balance, fair pay, hard work, lots of fun and some time at the beach. Turns out you don't have to be an astronaut to have a great day at work.
So, next time you're going to ask a young person what they want to be when their older, try this version instead. What would a great day at work feel like? Their answers might surprise or challenge you. They might even make you smile and brighten your day :)