In today’s world, earning a lot of money is more important than enjoying one’s job. Meeting financial needs, engaging in more enjoyable activities such as travel, and engaging in charitable work is only possible if you earn more money. On the contrary, if you enjoy your job but do not earn enough money, you will only be able to enjoy it.
“It is commonly agreed that having fun at work is more important than making a lot of money.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
According to an ancient Chinese proverb, “find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” The implication is that you will be so preoccupied with enjoying your work that you will not consider it to work at all. This is certainly a realistic statement, and we might add that a person who enjoys his job is more likely to be happier and a better person than one who sees work as drudgery or, worse, as a necessary discomfort.
Nowadays, most people associate a job with the material comforts it provides rather than the satisfaction it provides. Most people, it appears, would look for a job that pays well, even if it means sacrificing their interests in the process. How important is it for you to enjoy your job?
Doing one’s best at one’s job is no longer a tedious task that necessitates backbreaking effort if one enjoys it. In such a situation, there will always be a desire to go to work and enjoy what one does. Consider the case of a marine enthusiast who works in the Underwater World. Working with marine life would be enticing in and of itself. Thus, rather than being a clockwatcher all the time in a job that does not appeal, one will be enthusiastic about one’s job. Even if one is well compensated, it is the money at the end of the month that one enjoys, not the work. In such a case, one looks forward to only one day per month rather than every day.
But, in reality, money is what makes the world go round. How can one truly live a good life if they are constantly concerned about unpaid bills? It is important to enjoy one’s work, but not at the expense of one’s ability to earn a living. Only after one’s basic needs are met can one truly consider other aspects of life. In most cases, enjoying your job is a privilege reserved for a select few. For the rest of us, money is more important.
Additionally, earning a lot of money allows one to enjoy life outside of work. The woes and joys of life are then well balanced because the job you do not enjoy allows you to enjoy your leisure. This is a good trade-off for many of us. So one only works at a mundane or highly unpleasant job to make a living, and then goes home to relax after work or on weekends. This is also an acceptable situation because most people do not associate work with enjoyment.
If one enjoys one’s job, it doesn’t really work. As a result, the distinction between leisure and work may become blurred. This is not a good situation because it implies that there are no clear demarcations in terms of time allocation. Keeping work and play separate, on the other hand, allows one to leave either behind when necessary so that one does not bring the stress of one into the other.
It should be simple to learn to enjoy a job that pays well. One could consider all of the pleasures one could have and realize that it is the job that allows these to occur, and from there conclude that the job is actually enjoyable after all. According to psychologists, what gives us pleasure is a matter of programming. We have been programmed to listen to certain types of music, just as we have been programmed to like certain foods and even certain people. If this is true, we could program ourselves to enjoy our jobs – whatever they are. So, if there is a well-paying job that we do not find enjoyable but that pays well, we can consider it enjoyable.
As a result, while it is true that enjoying a job is more important than earning money, it would be fantastic if we could enjoy the job while also earning a lot of money from it. It is a matter of attitude: if we look hard enough, we can find enjoyment anywhere. But, if we had to choose between the two, I would say that enjoying one’s job is more important than making money.
However, it should be noted that the best compromise is to find a job that pays comfortably rather than excessively and that you do not despise. As a result, you can grow to like your job (though not necessarily enjoy it) while still being able to live comfortably. This will be a very happy situation!
