Core Value #4 Meaningful Work

There are differences between a job, an occupation, a career, and your vocation. When I talk with kids about their futures and the world of work, I usually describe them like this:

• A job is anything you are responsible for getting done—this could be chores, mowing the neighbor’s lawn, or working at the grocery store. It can be a one-time thing, or ongoing. We all have jobs to do, both at home and at school/work. Sometimes they’re paid, and sometimes they’re just responsibility.
  
• An occupation is more long-term, and bigger picture—like a teacher, a mechanic, a first responder, a software engineer—and it’s almost always something you’re paid for.
  
• Your career is the whole history of all your various jobs and occupations added up over time! Typically there’s a common theme, so you could talk about someone’s “career in education” or “career in professional sports” and that includes all the jobs/occupations they’ve had within that field.
  
• Your vocation is the work you feel called to do, the work that gives you purpose, and—if you’re lucky—it’s something you get to do within your occupation. Some people are very practical (whether by choice or circumstance) and they go to work so they can pay the bills and fund their lives, then find their purpose outside of work. That is admirable, for sure. But, if there’s a way for you to infuse your purpose into your job, it becomes your vocation—which increases quality of life for you AND those around you. 

One of my top five core values, as determined by my most recent values sort, is meaningful work. This is because I’m someone who needs vocation in order to thrive. If I don’t find some connection to my deeper purpose within my day-to-day, my mental health deteriorates. I start to wither from within. 

Meaningful Work: doing and providing work that has a purpose and/or significance.

My first job was as a waitress in the dining room of an elder care facility. Residents came to the same dining room each night, sat at the same pretty tables (they all had their favorite spots, and there were definitely cliques), and we served them as if it were a real restaurant and not just a glorified cafeteria. I loved it and found great satisfaction in doing my job well, getting to know my “regulars” personally, and creating a dignified experience for them. Looking back now, I believe that building personal connections (real, reciprocal) and cultivating individual dignity were the things that made this job meaningful for me at the time. Eventually, I felt overwhelmed by the declining health and death of too many people I cared about… and I moved onto a different job. 

In all my jobs since, I’ve been drawn to the aspects that allow me to build real relationships with others that help us both grow and change—sometimes it’s about reinforcing dignity that’s already there, sometimes its about healing. Some of my favorite jobs have been coffee, restaurant, or bartending jobs—but even my short stint at Hollywood Video allowed me to connect with coworkers in a way that felt meaningful. My least favorite have been the jobs that kept me isolated, focused on task completion, or required lots of tense or transactional interaction with others. These took such a toll on me that eventually I realized I needed to leave the world of HR/finance… I needed a career path with more of what I found meaningful built into the every day requirements.

In 2017, I went back to school to get my MS in School Counseling and its one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m now in my 5th year as a public school counselor and I don’t think I’ll ever move on. It’s simply the best job in the world—for me, at least.

Yes, I have to do some bullshit that I don’t like and that doesn’t feel meaningful to me. Like, I did not go through three years of specialized counseling education to be the one you ask to change your schedule so you have PE at the end of the day so you don’t have to be sweaty and then keep going to class. I didn’t become a counselor because I wanted to write 504 plans, or answer 100 emails per day, or bug kids about their grades or attendance.

But because I’m there for those conversations, I get to be there for the ones that really matter. Because I listened to what seemed like a silly stress or entitled request from a kid—and I really listened (even if I said no)—then I get to be the one listening when they finally open up about their crippling self-doubt or grief or loneliness. Because I grind through the data and have tough conversations with kids about their grades or attendance or behavior, I get to be the one they trust with the reasons behind those poor grades or missed days or crazy-seeming outbursts. 

There is absolutely a percentage of my tasks each day that are not meaningful to me, but so much of what I do as a school counselor leads to genuine relationship, development of dignity, and sometimes true healing that it still feels meaningful to me every single day. Every one. Even on some of my worst days in this job, I love it and feel extremely grateful to be in this role. Even then, it’s meaningful work. 

Today was an especially hard day, and it’s already been a tough week. I have been stressed, scared, and angry. I have been grateful, so proud of kids, and full of love. I’ve doubted, questioned myself, consulted, and kept going. Right now, I feel extremely sad. Vicarious heartbreak, plus some self-reflection that hurts… there are times this work means I’m in pain. I already know when I show up to work tomorrow, there will be more pain and heartache AND lots of bullshit stress because it’s the last day of the semester and all sorts of grading/scheduling deadlines need to be met—no matter what’s going on for individual students.

Still, I love it. It drives me, forces me to grow as a person, to grow in love, and to improve my communication, advocacy, and therapeutic skills. Every day is a challenge and a reward. Every day is meaningful.