We often speak of giving meaning to work, but what really is the value that it provides? Although in North America “hard work” is highly valued, it’s not the same in other countries and cultures. In some countries, someone who works long hours and is always busy is likened to someone who is “chasing his tail”. In some cultures, bosses are supposed to have free time and be available since they get others to work enough that they can spoil themselves. Of course Im joking, but it’s not far from the truth. Here, we try by every means possible to balance our life and reduce long hours to free us from the dictatorship of the agenda and other demands, measuring a person’s importance by how easily they can avoid having to respond or answer requests or how much free time they have to focus on other activities. In fact, if I may let myself, I would say that on this side of the Atlantic we work in a much more intense and concentrated manner than on the east side, where there is a tendency to stretch out the days to enjoy longer lunch hours, coffee breaks and many meetings.
The issue of the value of work relative to its meaning struck me the day that a very dear friend threw out at me that I work like an idiot and that’s absolutely ridiculous, while I had just left a meeting where someone else had just complimented me on the fact that she found that I worked very hard which, in her eyes, was a gauge of success. Hello? Am I a workaholic condemned to forced labour or some species of headless chicken chasing its tail? It begs the question… The answer is plain: and what if I like what I do so much that working is not a burden (maybe occasionally…) but an opportunity to excel, learn, create value and inspire my staff?
My friend has chosen a different career track, on the sidelines of what she started with at the beginning of her professional life. She is as passionate as I am in her activity but her activity doesn't lead her to the same volume and the same intensity. I respect her choice. But it’s not that working “hard” means that one is exploited or subject to a capitalist diktat but just that our work has so much meaning for us that it takes a great place in our life.
Is this a question of culture or generation?
My daughter came home one night saying that the Millennium Generation (Y) is described as being lazy, aimless and self-centred. A nasty blow to my dear offspring. However, I gently remarked that she “has it easier than her mother’s generation” and that sometimes that can create a feeling of injustice, bitterness and jealousy for those generations that have not been as fortunate (i.e., that of her mother, a 100% X). So is this why all the Ys are little princes and princesses? Are they all as wrapped in cotton wool as the older generations think? A recent discussion with a professor of finance told me that we are far from full employment and ultra-spoiled young people. His students have completed a Master’s in Finance but are struggling to find a job and if they refuse some poorly paid and under qualified jobs it’s because they have worked so hard that they want to experiment with the famous ROI (Return On Investment) that they studied at school. Can you blame them? Especially since their parents told them they would always be there as long as they had not finished their studies and found a job so they could be IN-DE-PEND-ENT!
As far as culture is concerned, what makes me laugh is that North American parents let their children leave at a young age to go and study (the long distances make it necessary) but they sometimes get them back as adults. European parents keep them until the end of their studies but once they have left the nest, “out you go” is not really a return ticket. Then there are these somewhat stateless families that have young teenagers who leave the family nest to travel the world very young but who maintain a very strong family spirit that gives success and social status a prominent place. This sounds a bit like “Live and Become”. It’s certainly a question of history and the phenomenon of the diaspora which lets everyone feel at home thanks to members of the community who welcome you wherever you are. Regardless of the sacrifice, the young generations must succeed.
Is it a generational or economic issue?
Finally, thinking about it, I see today’s generations and I think that they are not so different from our own. The 1990s left many traces and a bad taste for young people who left university, boosted by their parents ambitions and hyped up with theories of economic growth learned at university. Once on the market, they fell flat on their face. When we think of current unemployment rates among young people in Spain or Greece we can only think that history repeats itself and that these young people will rather resemble the disillusioned and bitter Generation X. The Millenium Generation has understood that since 2008 the world has changed and that the reality of a job would be no more favourable than their elders.
The value that is placed on work is more intimately related to education and the socio-cultural environment in which you have been raised rather than the generation, although it can have an influence. The more one has been raised in a financially stable, comfortable and easy environment, the less the concept of hard work has a place, to “fight” to make a mark with one’s personal values. It’s a funny question to ask of the second generation of entrepreneurial families who have inherited their parents’ work. The second and third generation that takes up the succession often doesn’t perform as well and the companies decline. There are few that cross generations. We have seen some recently that have done brilliantly and have transcended the years. Power Corp is an excellent example. The secret may be held by values passed on in education beyond degrees and academic success, in the family DNA and the ability of parents to guide and inspire the younger ones.
Reading references
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-braner/the-value-of-good-old-har_b_3294466.html
http://ideas.time.com/2012/07/04/what-are-american-values-these-days-2/
http://www.lefigaro.fr/emploi/2013/02/21/09005-20130221ARTFIG00552-les-francais-travaillent-moins-mais-sont-plus-productifs.php
Nathalie Francisci, CHRP, ICD. D
Partner
ODGERS BERNDTSON
Global Leaders in Executive Search