Sublimating Lives Value and Happiness in Work - Research Paper Example

Topic Human beings find their value in work especially at an epoch of economic want and when innately challenged to translate dreams and plans to reality. There he is. A human being is not just a composition of physical and biological realities but also of needs, wants, and desires for the perfection of dreams. A house to live, personal belongings to use, clothes to wear, amenities to communicate, technologies to interact, securities to oblige on, enjoyment of quality social services, building one’s family, and seeing children attend schools. These are the basic needs to avail a warm and comfortable life. However, these fundamental needs require substantial amount of money that should be logically obtained from the market where there is just exchange of values—from work. Indeed, hard work. People can only have access to quality and decent life when he has a work that is compensated equitably. This is because every day, people interact at the market using monetary values. Goods and products are exchanged and traded at the a given value and thus, income generation is a primordial task of every human being to gain both necessities and leisures of life. Everyone knows that a person can only acquire as much material possession depending on one’s purchasing power. There is delight and simple happiness when pockets are filled with a sum or when bank account is credited of an amount by the company in exchange for invested labour and skills. Updike (1999) related in at the very start of his story that this “sensuous pleasure of handling money carries into the very thought of it. A coin, too, bespeaks trust, passing from hand to hand as an abstract signified of value (p.1)” no matter how modest and miserable is the amount at the height of Great Depression. That amount, in exchange for poems and written works of literary writers, remained impressive because it (Updike, 1999) represented the amount of labor exacted from a person’s strength and use of mind. This concern for accumulation of wealth and the accounting of expenditures is demonstrated by how workers care for receipts as evidences of the value consumed. This is the reason why states have monetary policies; companies use business capital to profit; government tax revenues for operation and services; and, institutions generate resources for causes. The income and resource generated make up everything for all human beings to complete the meaning of existence. Thus, human beings existential causes rotate within the realm of his employment because this is the consummate means by how people engage and behave themselves in the market. This resonates the meaning why persons value their work so much and annex the meaning of their lives to their income as mode of measure for their happiness. Rand (1957) expounded money is an instrument of exchange, which cant be generated except when goods are produced by workers. Thus, this govern our relation at the market, define the kinds of goods purchased; and refine the nature of our relation with each other as we interact value for value. Thus, it’s not the root of all evil (Rand, 1957) It’s valuation is similar to the importance of oxygen heaved to sustain life to appreciate existence. It is the compensation of intelligence utilized and the sum of the performance exacted from a person’s strength. It is the means for the satisfaction of desires (Rand, 1957). Florida (2006) further explained that sociologically, people are driven to migrate to other countries or regions where employments are abound and income is possible. The pattern of peoples migration are driven by economic reasons, thus demographic realignment showed how intelligent, skilled, and educated persons are now concentrated at commercial zones and where most institution towers (Florida, 2006). At the urban centres, the behaviours of labor forces are observed on the kind of houses they choose to live; the time they devote for leisure and camaraderie; the nature of their convergences and associations they opt for interaction; the tools they used to sustain communication; the kind of school where they send their children; the type of vehicle parked at their garage; and, the kind of welfare and benefits they enjoyed to secure their health and future. All of this illustrate and dictate the kind of affluence they are enjoying and the level of social strata where they belong. No, this movement of populace from the hinterlands to developed region to pave the conversion of their selves as human capital is not solely for aesthetic sense although these people are lucky that they can readily interact with other professionals to share skills and ambitions to purposively realize their full economic value (Florida, 2006). As development encouraged the convergence of these talented human resources, innovation and growth can be advocated for more ingenuity (Florida, 2006) and nurturing of interdependency for the enjoyment opportunities present in urban community. On the other hand, the influx of most people to cities resulted to imbalanced development as less skilled and knowledgeable people are left in rural areas to take care of sustainable agriculture and development. But nonetheless, people at the rural communities also attached meanings to their very lives by the result and outcome they generate for toiling tirelessly at the mountains to produce their farm products. Considering all these, Ros, Schwarts, and Surkiss (1999) contended that individual indeed value work and in its anent goal which may either be intrinsic, extrinsic, social and for personal satisfaction out of credibility earned from performing tasks for the company. Ros, et al (1999) used ten motivational types of values that are socially acceptable as standard of valuing. These values correlate with each other dynamically and in support to a system that will guide their behaviours, interaction, and responses to market conditions. Ros, et al (1999) expounded that values is significant to cope with challenges innate in the struggle of enduring human existence; interrelating with groups and in individuals on their need; and, channel their universal needs, goals, and survival in a dog-eat-dog society. Experts posit that this valuing has serious implication to their psychological, sociological, empirical, and practical consequences that could either be consistent or contrary to their types of values (Ros, et al, 1999). For instance, a manager finds work valuable because he associates this with power as he exercises control, authority, and has access to resources for operational movement (Ros, et al, 1999). Those workers who are motivated to succeed by exhibiting competence and social standards to attain one’s ambition and gain influence (Ros, et al, 1999). Those who are more interested on what is lofty and best, may pursue work for pleasure and gratification in hedonistic delight. Still others are more inclined to work to attain self-reliance, independence and fulfilments of needs (Ros, et al, 1999). Industrial psychologists share view that those persons who value the fields for excitement and to find self-direction needed to enjoy the rugged variation of experiences of jobs at odd sites and dare accomplished tasks of complex nature (Ros, et al, 1999). Some fulfil their tasks and values using the ethics of categorical imperatives thus, they these with sense of helpfulness, loyalty and responsibility. For them, this attitude could help preserve the welfare of those people they served in a long period of time (Ros, et al, 1999). Those whose nature of vocation require continued commitment and perpetual practice of cultural and traditional behaviours observed the rules of congregation or the norms of communal life (Ros, et al, 1999). Still there are others who are passionate in security management who value their work by extoling the necessity of security, social order, stability and sense of cautiousness (Ros, et al, 1999). Many workers vow to carry their tasks inconformity to standards and would even submissively perform job solemnly as they fear instability of patterns might disrupt norms and corporate practices (Ros, et al, 1999). So you see, human beings have varied stimulants in valuing their works. These values are influenced by culture, politics, the ecology of social interaction, religious beliefs, traditional inclinations, and corporate policies (Ros, et al, 1999). These values are postulated in structures that workers are able to correlate and understand its interrelation to attain acceptability to possible changes, gain self-transcendence, enjoy conservation and achieve self enhancement (Ros, et al, 1999). Indeed, work is significant to live life fully and to realize dreams for human perfection. There are individuals who have made their work as their identity and their very life that without it, they felt like a waste, barren and worthless being thrown to the abyss of nothingness. Work, indeed, is an avenue for personal development, for security, for satisfaction, rewards, and for social acceptance albeit differences of experiences and meanings derived. This is the reason why those who spent their whole life working and siphoning the entire meaning of their lives from their jobs later on have difficulties adjusting in their retirement period. They are so imprisoned by modern structures that held men and women forever linked to the machine-like environment of social capital (Schwart, 1996). It’s a wonder however, that there are persons too whose happiness are not measured by the nature and by the complexity of their works which distinguished them from the rest as persevering workers. They got all the richness, toured around the world, and attained such affluence in life but it’s odd to realize at end that they remained existentially sad and forlorn at the confines of their lonely zones (Warr, 1987). Work is good, life demands comfort, but the measure of happiness is a phenomenological choice of every man. Reference Updike, J., Personal History, “A Sense of Change,” The New Yorker, April 26, 1999, p. 83. Florida, R. The Nation of Numbers: Where the Brains Are. The Atlantic Monthly, October 2006, pp. 34-36. Ros, M., Schwarts, S.H., and Surkiss, S. Basic Individual Values, Work Values, and the Meaning of Work., Applied Psychology: An International Review, 1999, 48 (1), 49-71. Rand, A., Atlas Shrugged, Random House, New York, New York, 1957, pp. 1-594. Schwart , L. S.H. Va lue priorities and behavior: Applying a theory of integrated value systems. In: Seligman. 1.M. Olson. & M.P. Zanna (Eds. ) . Values : The Oiirario ,Symposium, Hillsdale. N J : Lawr cnc c E r l h a um Associates Inc. 1996, V o l . 8 (pp.1-15). Warr, P. Job characteristics and mental health. In P. Wa r r (Ed) , Ps y chology at work (3rd Edn.). Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin. 1987. Read More