Work Life Area

 

“I Love the Smell of Detergent”……. Is your Job a Calling?

LIFE AREAS

PHYSICAL  |  EMOTIONAL  |  INTELLECTUAL  |   SPIRITUAL  |  SOCIAL  |  FAMILY  |
WORK  |  FINANCIAL  |  RECREATIONAL  |  HOME/OFFICE ENVIRONMENT  | OVERALL

It was a cool, misty October morning in Atlanta. I was in the waiting area of an auto body repair shop.  A woman who appeared to be in her 60’s asked to change the TV channel to news.  As a detergent commercial came on, she settled back in her seat and beamed.  “I love the smell of detergent” she announced cheerfully to no one in particular in a room ironically filled with a greasy odor.  That was the start of a friendly chat between her and me.  She declared with notable pride, “I do laundry.  I go to people’s homes to wash, fold and iron their clothes.  I am very clear: I don’t do housekeeping, clean, cook, baby sit or dog sit.  I only do laundry.”

I was intrigued and pressed to know how she advertised her services, if she had a business card that said ‘Laundress’. She shook her head, “That is a good idea. But so far I haven’t had to.  My girlfriends told others and they told others.  For years I worked in day care centers, did cleaning, and I realized all I really love to do is laundry. “ She has a flourishing business that runs solely on word of mouth and referrals from satisfied customers.  It gratifies her to help well-to-do people who lead densely busy lives, by lightening their load.  She literally tackles their loads, albeit soiled loads, and leaves them immaculately washed, dried, pressed and hung or folded.  She organizes a very specific area of life for them.  It brings them needed relief and her unbridled joy.  There is nothing menial in the work she does; it is indeed a life purpose.

There was something touching and transparent about her humility interlaced with pure pride in her work. All five character strengths correlated to happiness were splayed out in front of me: love, hope, gratitude, curiosity and zest.  If there was passion for one’s work, it was in that stark waiting area that day.  If there was a calling, it shone in that bright demeanor of a truly happy woman.  It was a revelation.

Such clarity of what one wants and confidence in what one does is a priceless gift. If you were to take stock of what you do and why you do it, what would your response be?  How drawn are you to do your work?  Does it give you a sense of purpose?  Does it make a positive difference in your community?

Is it even possible to transform a career or job into meaningful work? Is it possible to see its impact on the world in direct or indirect ways?  Bryan Dik, PhD and Ryan Duffy, PhD, say in ‘Make your Job a Calling’, that people with a calling are more confident, comfortable, committed, harder working and happier in their work and life in general.  It is also not enough to have a calling; one must live it as well.  It is not a one-time discovery that is finite; it is an on-going and fluid process, as you constantly expand and improve.  So take the plunge and discover how you can find calling in your work.

Five Tips on ‘How to Live your Calling’
© Bryan Dik, PhD, Associate Professor, Colorado State University
Chief Science Officer, Jobzology

1          Use your strengths
2          Link your work to outcomes that matter
3          Focus on the greater good
4          Actively craft your job
5          Invest in your non-work callings

~ Sushama Kirtikar, December 14, 2015