Thursday, October 25, 2007

Matt Everett: Poem

Work

Day in and day out we work
We work very hard
We work to make a living
To pay the bills
to make money
Some of us love going to work
But then there are others
They do not like going to work
We all do different things
Some of us are bankers, teachers
Others are doctors, bakers
What ever you do
You work to make money
You work all day
For what you like is
not enough money
But you have to work
So going to work every day
You may not enjoy your job
But some people love their job
They have a lot of fun at work
They do some they love to do
So day in and day out
We work to make money

By Rachel Burns



In today’s society, many people feel overworked and unmotivated. It wasn’t long ago when it was considered the norm to come to work early, stay late, and be willing to travel at any moment for your job. Now, many people have the desire to find more of a balance in their life and change their priorities. There is a high demand to successful find a balance between work, family, and a social life. One primary factor that is responsible for the shifting of priorities is there are fewer high-paying, unionized manufacturing jobs available in the United States. As a result, 67% of the workplace consists of dual-earner couples. Due to the current situation of our economy, many people find it hard to make a living based on one income provider.
The second factor is childcare. It is often difficult to have family nearby to help watch the kids while the parents work. This makes it harder to work long hours because of the high cost of day care providers. Some companies are trying to make working environments more suitable for everyone so they are incorporating day cares at the workplace, flexible hours, and parental leave. One company that is known for this in the bay area is Google. More and more companies see what Google has offered their employees and are trying to “duplicate” their same infrastructure. But this does not apply to all businesses because many do have financial constraints thus making it hard to provide services to cater to employee needs.
Our definition of success has also changed over the years. To some people, success is having a happy marriage, children, and a career they enjoy. It is about finding a balance and putting new priorities and values in action. The reason I chose this poem is because it demonstrates someone who only works to make money. The phrase “We work to make money” signifies to me that this person does not have a balanced life, and is not satisfied with their current life style. Of course we have to work to pay the bills and to overcome personal goals but we are not supposed to just “work” and only “work.” Life has more to offer than money and we should enjoy what we do for a living. If everyone thought this way then there would be less health issues and having a balanced life is good for your body, mind, and soul.

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