Hi friend!
I have a tiny favor to ask.
But first, I want to start with a little story.
About seven years ago, my dear dad, a fine arts professor, retired. Immediately upon retiring, what did he do? He started adjuncting in the same department where he had worked for the last 37 years (mind you - he retired with a full pension).
Contrast that little story with my first career as a consultant. I remember walking to my office in the morning and fantasizing about getting lightly tapped by an MBTA bus. Nothing that would cause any real damage, just a little nudge that would put me in Mass General Hospital for a week or two and hinder my ability to make PowerPoint slides. I know - this fantasy sounds absolutely bananas from this vantage point - but at the time - it seemed totally rational (and for some of you reading, I’d venture you’ve had similar fantasies….)
I’ve been thinking about these two stories in the context of the “Lottery Question”. A question, first asked in 1955, that researchers have used to get a sense of how we feel about our work (and how that sentiment has changed over time).
Here’s the question: “If you were to get enough money to live as comfortably as you would like for the rest of your life, would you continue to work or would you stop working?”
Early studies showed that 80% of folks would continue working, later studies showed that more like 72% of folks would keep working. [HUGE CAVEAT - this question was only asked of men!?!]
But, what I think is more interesting, is not if you’d keep working if you won the lottery, but whether you’d keep working at your same job. Hence, the new lottery question:
Now here’s my tiny favor - please answer the lottery question by hitting the button below! I’d love to get to the 1099 respondents of the original study [with obviously more diversity than the original].
I’ll share more in a follow-up post about the results of the survey! (If you can’t access the link and still want to vote - you can reply directly to this email with your response.)
Here’s to the Powerball. A girl can dream!
Rachel
More Stuff:
Read: Advice for Your First Job: September brings fresh graduates entering the workforce. Looking back - what do I wish I had known when starting my first role? Some thoughts and advice from me and others.
Listen: More Looking Back: On this podcast, Jane Fonda talks about a life in review. But, could we do a life review more frequently? And what changes would we want to make based on our intermittent life reviews?
Think: Poignancy and Meaning: We often think about joy and happiness as keys to meaning at work. But it’s actually complex emotional states - like struggle, overcoming challenges, deep emotions that may be sad, that give us meaning at work. As a manager, don’t shield your teams from what’s tough - those tough moments might be the most meaningful to them in the long-run.