Just like the word world, the term world of work is both simple and complex. The world of work is made up of things most of us recognize, like occupations, jobs, employers, employees, paychecks, promotions, etc. We often give these things different labels, like workers and organizations, for example.
We use the word world in a couple ways. We all know what it means to say, “the whole world is watching,” or “every corner of the world is affected.” But saying, “We are worlds apart,” or “He lives in a different world,” is more complicated. Just like the word world, the term world of work is both simple and complex.
The world of work is made up of things most of us recognize, like occupations, jobs, employers, employees, paychecks, promotions, etc. We often give these things different labels, like workers and organizations, for example. Although we all recognize these things, we each experience them differently.
Imagine that you and I have the same parents and have the same education. Then imagine that we have the same job, at the same company, working under the same boss and making the same wage. It is possible that one of us is satisfied, secure and optimistic about work, and the other is miserable. Do we have the same world of work, but just experience it differently? Or, are we living in our own, unique worlds because of how we experience our work?
There is no right answer to these questions. But, understanding the influence and power that work can have in our lives and why we should reclaim our world of work, will help us define our own, unique world of work.
