For Money or for …

Career.
Happiness.
Job Satisfaction.
Security.
Etc., etc.
What do we work for?

These thoughts have been on my mind a lot lately. Not because I am in a dilemma (although it’s worth taking stock of our situation every now and then) but because the people within my circle of influence are.

My eldest sister for instance, finally handed in her resignation, after much prodding from us. It is not because she dislikes her work; it is because of the untenable company system she works within which she has tried to change but failed in the last few years. She has finally given up on hitting her head against the brick wall.

My younger sister on the other hand has an opportunity to move to a position that she has dreamed of for a long while but … she has to sacrifice quite a large sum of her current fringe benefits to attain what she wants. We shall await her final decision.

My cousin, who has just graduated and joined the rat race, has resigned after a month in a research company and returned to the world of academics as a lecturer. Many would have said that career wise; it’s not such a good move. But knowing my cousin, the job of a lecturer would probably be perfect for him. His musings on education can be found here in his blog.

Then, there’s this friend, who has recently given up on a cushy job and decided to work full time as a gym instructor.

And another friend who has refused to take up a high paying job with an investment company in KL because it would mean she has to uproot herself from her comfort zone in Penang.

One friend, despite her unhappiness, has not moved from her job because she wishes to complete her MBA first.

There are two Canadian friends who have forsaken better remuneration lecturing elsewhere for an experience to work in Malaysia.

And if I dig deep enough in my memory bank, there would be many more instances and examples.

What really motivate all of them? Obviously not merely money.

For me, remuneration would always be part of the total package but it is not THE top priority. After all, I have taken a tremendous pay cut to join a dotcom company once upon a time. Job satisfaction, social circle, company culture, company politics, and remuneration ~ all these play a part in the final decision.

My philosophy is simple. There is no perfect job (at least not within the realm of my experience) and there is no perfect company. When I am very unhappy and dissatisfied with the job and/or company, I’ll go through the following line of thought.

“Can I change the situation? If yes, I stay. If no, then … can I change my attitude/ perception and accept the situation as is? If yes, I stay. If no, I’ll leave.”

Some say the reality is not as simple as that. Sometimes we are stuck with responsibilities that make leaving the job more difficult. (This is in situations where we do not have a better option.) But again, the choice is ours. We could sacrifice on certain part of our lifestyle if we really cannot stand the situation. Or if we really want to continue with our lifestyle (that clearly shows where our priority lies), we have to adjust our thoughts and attitude and accept/ tolerate the situation.

So perhaps, it is really that simple after all.