It's Personal.

It's easy for an artist to say that his work is his life. It's easy for the entrepreneur to say that his work is his passion. It's easy for those starting out to be infused with purpose and direction. As a whole the above probably covers about .0001% of the working population but it shouldn't. Work used to be something you went to for a certain period of the day and most likely you built or produced something of tangible interest to a buying public. It no doubt, gave you a sense of satisfaction to see your end product and milestones were met and celebrated accordingly. There was something of you in the product and that made it personal, from your side and the company's side

At a recent conference of 500 people, a few weeks back, it was no surprise to find not one person in the auditorium made anything. It was a corporate travel conference and as such belonged to the service industry segment. A segment that encompasses the majority of people I know, I associate with and who I have a vague acquaintance with. I know I have asked the question before about how many people do you know, who actually make something tangible but I have a feeling in Australia that side of the work force is getting smaller by the day. Thus making it more difficult for people to come together over a finished product and feel a personal sense of achievement.

Over the weekend I checked and had trouble finding anything in my home that was made locally or in Australia. Aside from some bits of furniture I had commissioned, the dearth of local products made me feel confused because I don't know when and how all this happened but I find myself the owner of a bunch of globalised products marketed well.

The above rambling is to point out how much more difficult it is today for work to feel personal when you don't have anything to point at, that is yours. If we aren't making anything then we need to find other ways to make work personal, considering the amount of time people spend at work with the help of technology. It's all very well to have an office to sit in but what are you getting out of it, if there is nothing to show for at the end of the week. Work has to be about personal and it has to love you back in some way other than a wage packet at the end of the week.

From a service industry viewpoint the one thing that makes it personal is the relationships you build to perform your role. These relationships are often the reason you come to work no matter the hurdles, weather, sickness or bad public transport. These relationships give you a sense of purpose because you have people depending on you to provide, not necessarily a product, but a service where you give of yourself and together you build something substantial, trust and credibility.

So the next time you find reasons to not go to work, think about the people who couldn't get through their day without you and celebrate what you have built. After all, it's personal.