Today, I’ve been watching some videos by Barry Schwartz, who has written books like “WHY WE WORK!”
He gives an illustration of how the industrial revolution and the ideas of Adam Smith shaped capitalism and the current society and its behavior towards WORK.
He says that “Adam Smith believed that people are naturally lazy and will only work if they are given an incentive like a wage”. Further, he challenges that idea and says that this idea of Adam Smith is not necessarily true.
The reason why many people are dissatisfied at work inspite of getting wages is because they are actually looking for the “Intangibles” that work can offer.
Intangibles like “A word of appreciation”, “A summary of the impact you’ve made in someone’s life through your work” and so on and so forth.
The capitalist society makes us believe that we need to work for money where as the reality is that most of us are looking for a MEANING in our lives…. to be HELPFUL…. to be VALUABLE in others’ lives….
Do you remember the day you get your paycheck or do you remember the day when someone in your office came up to you and said….”What a great job you did!! and how much IMPACT you made in the office”…
Doesn’t the intangible make you feel more VALUED and INSPIRE you to work even more….
I also was thinking why we don’t see a lot of intangibles at work….
The reason is because we don’t give intangibles ourselves…. because they are intangibles….
How many times have you appreciated your co-workers or your bosses? How many times have you told people how much impact they have made in your lives!!??
These intangibles inspire others to move ahead… so BE GENEROUS in sharing these intangible words and tokens of appreciation with others….!
Believe me, they can really make someone’s day!!!
If you are reading this post and if I have made a difference in your life in some way… be generous and share the thought with me as well! It might just make my day!! 🙂
Living A Dream....!! 