First day, Monday June 21st

If you are like me, you probably have not heard the work vocation used in many of your colleague’s vocabulary when they are discussing their jobs. You probably are also not too sure on the definition of it. The definition of vocation, as defined by online dictionary, is as follows; ‘a specified occupation, profession, or trade, a special urge, inclination, or predisposition to a particular calling or career’. Well, during the second part of our afternoon lecture given to us by Professor Stefano Zamagni, this is what we discussed and it really got all of us thinking about our own jobs, previous and current, and how we can possibly increase the vocation of our fellow co-workers. The three segments that Professor Zamagni focused on are 1.) Fairness, 2.) Respect, and 3.) Social commitment. These three components have to be equally focused on by your employer, to be able to increase the vocation of the staff. At Vancity, we currently are taking part in our employee engagement surveys, which unfortunately have decreased over the last couple of years. How is it that we can increase those scores along with the vocation of our staff? I want you to think about what it is that your employer can do for your out of three previously mentioned segments, that would simply make your job more enjoyable and you would feel more engaged.
In various groups of friends, co-workers and conferences, we often discuss happiness and how important it is for the whole aspect of our work-life balance. Being part of the young and emerging generation, I have strong beliefs in working for a company that follows my morals and allows me to engage and participate in the shape of the future of the company. Less of this whole rejection of hard work because all you are doing is ‘working for the man’. But I am not sure we are all on the same page. I am not naïve and I do know that there are individuals to whom money is the most important aspect of any job. I myself, just like you, do enjoy getting my pay cheque, but I don’t think I would enjoy it as much if it was a few hundred dollars more a week, but I despised the company and indivuals I worked for. This maybe a drastic example, but can you see yourself working for an annual salary of three million dollars, but your job was to produce weapons that would kill people. . .probably not.
I do want to clarify between fairness and equality, and the significant difference that stands between those two. Fairness needs to be viewed on an individual level, and applied to each person differently. Someone who may be a mother with a newborn child would perhaps need some more flexibility in their schedule, than someone whose kids are all grown up and moved out. Just like equality needs to be viewed the same all across, being if someone is young or old, Caucasian or Asian, male or female.
Moving to the second component of respect in the workplace. This has to go beyond the basic respect of co-workers, members and/or customers. You would want your employer to respect you on a higher level, by allowing you to make your own decisions, give you the tools and opportunities to grow in your role and challenge yourself in new aspects of the company. The company will need to be ready to invest in your human capital by taking risk, which most of the time would be viewed as financial risks.
The last component that needs to come together to help bring the vocation of the employee is social commitment. But not the kind of social commitment that is only present on paper because everyone else is doing it. Social commitment to our communities and planet earth. If any of you were offered two identical jobs and two different companies, with the same pay and benefits, but the only difference was that one company donated money back to the community, supported various charity projects and encouraged employees to volunteer. I do not doubt that all of you would choose the more socially conscious company because these are the times we live in. The unfortunate reason that we have become socially aware is because of all of the damage we have done to our planet by now, therefore we have a lot of work ahead of us to even reverse a fraction of that.
The last thought I want to leave with is that I hope whatever is it that you do for a living you absolutely love and enjoy most parts of it. Because if you don’t, it’s probably time you make a change, and find a job that will give you the most possible vocation, happiness and engagement. Much easier said then done.