The 2,759 people are my LinkedIn followers.

And I was curious.  Are they working just for the money?  Or are there other reasons too?

Turns out there were A LOT of other reasons. 

Reasons like learning new skills, making an impact in the world, the thrill of being challenged and finding purpose & meaning.

But these weren’t the main reasons.

And once I’d brushed the cobwebs off my abacus and totted up the votes, it was clear that 3 reasons appeared over and over again.

The first:

Fun. 

One of the top reasons for working (at least, according to my tiny corner of t’interwebs) is to have fun.

Second up was freedom.  Responses talked about money leading to freedom and about working in way which enables more daily flexibility and freedom.

And the third reason was to help others.

Interestingly enough, these are all big ones for me too.  And a complete 180 for me.

If you’d asked me this question 3 years ago, I’d be clear. 

The ONLY reason I worked was for the money.  

I sure as hell wasn’t working for any other reason.

But that’s changed.

Nowadays, I do value other aspects of work more than I used to.

Of course, money’s important.

But I’m increasingly noticing how fun, freedom and helping others via work is important to me too.

I can see this through how I act and feel.

When I worked in banking, I’d often slog away on evenings and weekends.  I felt like I had to.  And it was gloomy and bleak.

Nowadays I hold coaching calls in evenings.  I prepare LinkedIn posts on the weekend.  I draft emails while I’m on holiday.

But none of this feels gloomy and bleak.  Instead, it feels spacious, playful and engaging.  And I do it because I want to, not because I have to.

To my mind, this is a clue that something’s shifted.  That it’s not all about the money for me anymore.

And it's interesting to reflect on this.

In case you'd like to do some reflecting too, let me ask you the same question:

Why do you work?  Is it just for the money – or are there other reasons?

I don’t think there are any right or wrong answers.  

But I do think it’s a great question to ponder.

That’s all for today.

 - Tom

p.s.  Over the next few weeks, I’m going to prod and poke my LinkedIn crew with some other, similar questions

If you'd like to check out these LinkedIn threads for yourself, here’s the link to my profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/itstomgrundy/

Feel free to shoot me a connection request while you’re there