Starting at a company, it can be really hard to understand how you fit in or why your job matters. This is especially true when you are at a larger company where you just feel like you are another cog in the corporate wheel. Why should this matter though? At the end of the day, isn’t the goal of employment just to check the box that you worked and bring home your paycheck?
This was how I used to feel at least at companies I worked for in the past. The work might be a bit too tedious or the work culture isn’t quite your jam, but you still show up every day and put in your 8+ hours because that is what you are supposed to do. I did this for years until I realized that while I spent most of my waking hours at my job, I wasn’t fulfilled. More importantly, I wasn’t happy. I was surprised to find out that I wasn’t the only one. A few years after I left my last few “day jobs” to pursue schooling for a career change, I had numerous friends and coworkers that were doing the same for very similar reasons. I had a friend who was a well-off salesman even leave his role because he didn’t believe in the product he was selling anymore. I had coworkers who were tired of the industry they were in and feeling unappreciated. It felt like something was in the water, but I think for a good reason. If you spend most of your time doing something, shouldn’t you at least be proud of what you are doing?
How do you find fulfillment in your job though? This is a complex question, but I believe a good place to start is asking a simpler one: why am I here at this job? While a little esoteric in nature, I think the question can usually be answered by looking at the company from the position of the founder.
Whether it is a large company or a small one, every founder has something in common: a passion for their idea that they believe fits a market demand. These are individuals who had an idea, thoroughly tested it out, probably adapted it more times than they can count, and got it to a place where it can survive in the harsh world of the open market. I think a big first step in empathizing with the founder is figuring out what the goals of the company are (besides making profits, of course).
At the company I work for, the product is software; in particular, the project I am working on is a program to help veterans get their medical benefits. Knowing this is what I am working on helps me understand the larger picture of the organization because I know what exactly I am working on and what the end-goal is. An added benefit is that I believe in the cause and the goals of the product align with similar values that I have as well. I think it is good to give back and it helps me knowing that the work I am doing helps individuals who have done a lot for me with their service to my country. Knowing that at some point, the founder of the company I work for thought about providing this service to “give back” in a sense helps me feel more aligned with the values of the company and the service I am providing.
At the end of the day, while we all have financial ends we need to meet, I think there is more to life than just getting the largest paycheck we possibly can. I think it is important to be aligned with your company values to find fulfillment in your work and to be proud of what you are a part of creating.
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