Finding Meaning in Work

    Finding meaning in work has been the mantra of my generation, the generation that included the first Peace Corps workers, the first American soldiers to die without the whole-hearted support of the folks back home, the first Civil Rights workers; and the first computer geeks, the first junk bond traders, the first everyday millionaires.

    As an information-based society replaces a manufacturing-based society, workers question how their work matters, much the same as displaced agrarian workers sought meaning on the assembly line two generations ago. Keystrokes, screen blips, bits and bytes of data do not have the satisfying look and feel of accomplishment.  Just-in-time inventory theory has drifted into labor acquisition philosophy.  The Personnel Director has become a Manager of Human Resources.  The de-personnel-ized millennium is here.

    My work in the job placement field puts me at the intersection where job seekers meet business' priorities at cross purposes.  My job is to pave the on ramp for my clients, people with disabilities.  For most of the people I see, getting to the point of being ready to look for work has been a major journey.

    The younger workers have struggled to obtain an education while learning to accommodate a physical or mental disability.  They have encountered discrimination, both malicious and ignorantly well-meaning.  Some of them are entering professions where they have already been told, "You can't do that." Some will fail, but most will succeed.
Older workers I see are coping with a disability that has developed gradually with age or suddenly in an accident.  For many of these, the paradigm shift from being able-bodied to being "one of those disabled people" is arduous.  In addition, they may have recently acquired new job skills to use their new working abilities on the job.  They may be adjusting to reduced economic potential.  The stress on them and their families is incredible.

    For these workers, today's robust economy is a godsend.  Employers are often willing to take a moment to consider the benefits to hiring workers with disabilities.  Some real education is going on in the human resources office, and I am excited when I am involved.  When an applicant has an opportunity to showcase his or her abilities and to demonstrate to an employer how those abilities match the employer's needs, hiring often occurs.  It is no different for applicants with disabilities.

    One of the reasons my job is so satisfying is that I have the chance to stand beside my clients while they go through their transformation from dependence to independence.  For some, the first steps are tentative, filled with wonder, like Mary, who said, when we had finished her resume, "You make me sound so special, like someone they would want to hire."  For others, that first meeting can be difficult, as we feel each other out and they make the decision to trust.
Most of my clients do succeed in finding employment; some even find meaningful work with the first job.  Part of the work we do together is designed to discover, in the pros and cons of the new position, what meaning the position may produce for my client; and to set the client up to expect and to recognize the job's intrinsic rewards.

    The fun part is the celebration, when my client calls to say, "Guess what?"  Even when there is no call, when I hear later that the client told someone, "I got this job all by myself," I am satisfied, because that is the sound of independence.