Why Work Matters

Those of us who have been working for a while know that work matters. In fact, it really matters. Most people spend 2,000+ hours each year at work. During the course of our entire careers, we spend as much as 80-100,000 hours earning a living. Nothing else consumes as much of our time.

Like it or not, in many ways our work is who we are, and how we describe and define ourselves. This is not necessarily a bad thing:

•  Work can provide us with opportunities to develop new skills and areas of expertise.

• It can be a source of successes and achievements that we regard with pride.

• Work can offer us progress and personal growth.

• Many important relationships emerge from our work. We spend as much time with our colleagues as we do with anyone else in our lives.

• Our work can shape our attitudes towards ourselves, our confidence and self-worth, and our psychological and emotional wellbeing.

Given the impact that work has on us, it’s important for young people to identify careers that are consistent with their strengths, interests and values that define them and develop a plan to get there.

Each young person is unique. Some academic programs and careers will be a good fit, and others won’t. We need to help our youth find the right path in a world that is becoming more complex. It really matters.

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