Three friends have been meeting weekly for drinks on Tuesday evenings after work.  They talk about all kinds of things, but often the topic of getting meaning out of one’s work comes up.  

Simon is very comfortable in the “work to live” crowd.  While he works hard and effectively, he sees his work as simply the means to financing the life he wants to live during the time he is not working.  His life is dedicated to a host of outdoor hobbies that has him getting out of town on Friday afternoon and returning late Sunday night almost every weekend.  

Jeremy loves what he does at work, maybe even too much.  He sees every problem that arises at work as a personal challenge and will put in 18-20 hours a day, if necessary, to solve them.  He finds nothing more satisfying than overcoming the technical challenges that often present themselves in his line of work.  He couldn’t be happier with his work than he is and wonders why so many people struggle with enjoying their work.

Ryan wants his work to make a difference.  He trained hard to get a good position in the medical field but is very disappointed that he gets so little compensation for his services.  It helps that his clients so appreciate his efforts, but that doesn’t help provide for his young family.  He is really wondering if he made the wrong choice in choosing the career that he did.

This Tuesday’s evening, someone brought up the topic again this way.  “If you could change one thing about your work to make it more meaningful, what would you change?”  

Consider the following:

1. If there was a fourth seat at the table, how would you contribute to this conversation if you could?

2. What kind of questions might you raise to help get to the root issues?

3. Try describing your attitude toward your work in three or four sentences?