Value-Work: Is our employment ‘worth’ to us as a society?

Value-Work: a Vista

To survive from the socio-environmental catastrophe that the world has led itself into, today both organizations & employees should start looking at their paid-jobs from the perspective of ‘Value-Work’; not merely as some preferred activities. If we really want to have an impact of our performance to last longer in a positive space, we must ask ourselves, - ‘Is the work vital?’, ‘Is it empowering my values?’ or ‘Dose it motivate others?’ or ‘Helping the community at large?’. 

I think we must assign a ‘value’ to all kinds of paid-jobs that we do. And this ‘value’ must be determined not just in terms of profit & productivity but by measuring the socio-economic & green values that these paid-jobs churn out or wipe out! This would definitely draw attention to the unfair discrimination that our industries & organizations adapt to incentivise some jobs that generate insignificant social improvements and at the same time neglect others that conform to much higher social benefits. Because of the absence of such matrix & guidelines for value, today in many cases we see jobs those are socially damaging may be attracting the best and brightest talents at the expense of other professions. Example, the guy who had passed out of the best business school, joined some top ‘accounts & audit firm’ with a very high pay; and as demanded by their clients, he started using his analytical & creative talents to help cooking their accounts book to turn around their balance sheets.

The priority for organizations as exist today is simple: “higher pay–attract best staffs-achieve higher bottom line”. Corporate or employee’s socio-environmental responsibility?? It is another story!

Point to Ponder: Is our employment ‘worth’ to us as a society?