The accepted and expected view that work should be something to dread, tolerate and suffer through is not true. Work is not something that you should drag yourself through. You deserve better than that. Work is not something that should fill you will anxiety. Those Sunday night nerves, the Monday morning blues, the countdown to Friday… sure, it’s all normalised and therefore accepted and expected between people. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, it shouldn’t be that way. People spend such a massive chunk of their time working, what is it doing to the mental and physical health of those who barely tolerate what they do every day for a living?
It is accepted that the main reason we work is to be paid money. We all have to live. We all have bills to pay. We all need to eat. There’s no denying any of that. But what if you had another main reason to work? What if you were passionate about the work you do? What if you enjoyed the work you do? What if the work you do filled you with a true sense of belonging and fulfilment? Unfortunately for many people, they cannot say this is the case. For many people, they do not feel satisfaction, enjoyment, or fulfilment from what it is they do every day. How soul-destroying is that? All of us at Apex have been in that position. We reflect on this time in our lives often. We talk about what caused this lack of satisfaction in our previous roles and we all agree that it is how we were made to feel by those we worked with – mainly leaders.
How would people feel if they did meaningful work in a way that suits them and worked with leaders who valued and appreciated them not only for the work they do, but the person that they are and all of the unique talents, insight, perspective and personality that comes with them? And they were aware of being valued and appreciated because their leaders tell them and actually mean it…? I think those people would very soon feel engaged, satisfied, fulfilled, and happy in their work. What a wonderful thought that is. That’s what we’re aiming for.
