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Developing a New Concept of Work |
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Page 2 of 4 The interest/benefit of working
- Satisfaction through work: The first dimension in the concept of work is the satisfaction and the study dimension that young people bring in, in relation to work. Young people have liberty and are free and YCW should listen to their expectations. This satisfaction exists more or less for each situation of work. I considered my work in YCW satisfying, it was not easy but it was a challenge to develop capabilities that I wouldn’t have without this job. It is important to find out what satisfaction the work can give. It could be outside the work e.g. thanks to my job I can be in touch with other people. The degree of satisfaction in work is very important. Young people who are free remind us of this.
Identification through work: There is a distinction between identifying through work and building up my identity thanks to my job. If I identify myself to my job and tomorrow I lose it then in my own eyes I won’t exist anymore because all I was, I was it because of my work. This is what happens in retirement when the meaning of life came through the job and that is dangerous. To build up one’s identity thanks to the job is different.
To earn money through work: To consider work as being a means to earn money is what society wants us to think (also that this money is necessary to satisfy our needs, but often these are superficial ones, created by society), but YCW resists this. Our question is thus how are we, in our concept of work, going to resist this and why should we resist this? To reduce work to being a means to earn money is a way of increasing the gap between people because a certain kind of work only allows surviving, whereas other kinds of jobs allow living an easy and even luxurious life. If the only meaning of work is to earn money then we enter the logic of exclusion. Moreover, this identity goes with the identity of the consumer. But people saying money is not important must have big bank accounts to say such a thing.
Model of work: Nevertheless YCW says no to this kind of evolution (that regarding work only money is important) and rather tries to have work giving not only money but also recognition, possibility of relationships, opportunity to take over responsibility and elements allowing possibility to grow as a person.
Flexibility and identity: Young people are more sensitive to the interest of flexibility. For them, the idea of entering a company and doing the same job until the end of their lives is horrible. Flexibility is to overcome monotony in life. In reality the flexibility offered is not the multiplication of opportunities to self-development but an adaptation to the needs of the economy.
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