Work to Live, Not Just to Earn a Living

It's not just work that helps the elderly maintain their health. It's working at a job that has a purpose. But how can you recognize a job that fits your "calling," as well as generating the income you need to pay your bills?

The kind of job that makes a difference in your health is likely to have at least one, preferably more, of the following characteristics:

• It's not all about you. At least some aspect of your job should be transcendent, that is, there should be some way that you know that your job makes a difference for the greater public or the world at large. Any job can be transcendent. Researchers at the Sloan School of Management at MIT interviewed a garbage collector who reported that his "tipping point" occurred every day when he unloaded his truck into a recyclables plant. A priest reported his good feelings at being able to bring his church together to restore their sanctuary. A teacher spoke of her joy at seeing troubled students graduate.
• It's not all happiness. Meaningful work is poignant, not euphoric. There will be good times and bad times, but the bad times are just part of the story. Purely fun work is usually not meaningful. A manager who keeps her employees engaged, happy, and productive usually finds her job meaningful, but usually does not find her job easy.
• Meaningful jobs have their highs and lows. There will be moments of accomplishment when you might say "I feel like a rock star!" There can be long periods of tedium, that are endured because the highs feel so good.
• People who have meaningful jobs take a moment to reflect on completion of major tasks. A chef takes just a moment to admire the dish before it is served. A house painter looks at the completed wall or ceiling or fence. The aforementioned garbage collection looks in the rear view mirror at the clean streets.
• Meaningful jobs are personal. There's never a question that your work contributes to the success of the enterprise.

On the other hand, there are managers who can spoil meaningful work and its benefit for health. Here's how to recognize employment situations that won't contribute to your wellbeing.

• Meaningful jobs don't emphasize bottom-line profits at the expense of quality work.
• Meaningful jobs don't require employees to do things they consider counterproductive or just plain dumb.
• Meaningful jobs don't involve busy work. Your boss should give you something that makes sense to you to do.
• Meaningful jobs don't have inept managers. If you are constantly having to redo work because the instructions you were given were ill considered, you don't have a meaningful job.

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• Meaningful jobs don't take employees for granted. If you boss doesn't know your name or doesn't say hello every morning, you probably don't have a meaningful job.
• Meaningful jobs don't put employees at risk for physical or emotional harm. If your employers don't take reasonable precautions for safety and also protect your from emotionally unstable coworkers or customers with whom you have no latitude for action, you don't have a meaningful job.

Whatever healthy retirement is, it isn't a time just to sit around and watch TV. If you have the financial luxury of working where you are appreciated, choose meaningful work. It will extend your life, and give you quality of life.