The alarm rings at 5.15 AM.I battle the urge to sleep for a few more minutes. The warmth of the bed and the thought of dreaming sweet nothings keeps me tied down. After a few more minutes of tossing around, I finally wake up. Another new day and the routine of packing the kids lunch and getting ready to leave to work begins. I finally head out at 6.30 AM with the hope of beating the traffic. A few podcasts later, I reach my desk at 7.45AM. Most of us jump through different hoops and finally get to work everyday .
What keeps all of us going back to work everyday after battling our own little struggles? The easy answer is to pay our bills. But deeper contemplation reveals that there are 5C’s that keep us going back to work. For some it is a combination of a few of these, for others, one C is the stronger than the rest. The bottom-line is a combination of all these keep us going back to work day in and day out.
- Compensation – the big C for most people. All of us love a healthy compensation package. The money is important to pay our bills, to save for the future, to keep the family wheels turning and to relax at times. There is no doubt that this a key factor for most people to go to work. People who emphasize heavily on this C, may feel the need to switch jobs as soon as they hear about an alternate well-paying job or their life circumstances change and there is an increased monetary need, they begin to scan the horizon for an alternative.
- Challenge – some people thrive on challenge. Mundane things can easily demotivate them. They go to work as it provides a playing ground for them to keep themselves challenged through their work. The workplace offer myriads of opportunities to find a challenge and be part of it. These people have a tendency to constantly raise their hand for different tasks, love taking on stretch goals and roles and learning new things. Recognizing and acknowledging their efforts is important for these folks.
- Community/Camaraderie – we tend to downplay this very important C. It may come as a surprise that a significant portion of the population goes to work to feel kinship with other humans. Being part of a community and feeling accepted is a core need for humans and finding it through the workplace is a key driver. We spend a large amount of our waking time at work and the relations and the comradrie we share with our coworkers fills that need. Taking part in office events, celebrating coworkers birthdays/babyshowers, hanging out at happy hours, team lunches, water cooler small talk – are all small events that contribute to that community feeling.
- Company culture– The kind of company/organization that you work for is also an important driver to keep you going back to that place. The mission and vision of the firm, the values the company stands for and the culture of the place you work make a huge difference. A cutthroat culture may work for few people, whereas others may like a laid-back culture. The culture of the workplace is what you experience and see on a daily basis among all your coworkers. The leadership team plays a key role in embodying and driving the culture.
- Contribution – An inner need to contribute and make a difference and serve is another important driver for us. The workplace provides us with a forum to utilize our skills and capabilities and touch more lives and make a difference in the world through the work we do.
And here’s a bonus one:
- Convenience – The flexibility that a workplace offers is also important to some folks. Perks such as flex timings, reduced work schedule, telecommute options, PTOs, short commute to work are few of the things that could be key drivers as well.
The weights we assign to these Cs shift at different phases in our life. When we are just starting a career fresh out of college, compensation may be our primary driver. Later as we experience more financial stability the urge to be challenged and make a larger contribution could take a stronger rein. To someone with young kids, convenience could be the key driver. The key thing to remember is there is no right or wrong to which C or C’s drives us back to work. It is important to know what C driver matters to the phase of your life you are in.
What C is driving you to work right now?
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