I love the process of interviewing people. There are so many good questions to be asked.
There are really good and unique answers to hear, too.
Consider the question posed to the hypothetical Ms. Smith. While it may appear to present only two options, there is so much territory in the middle to explore. In terms of employment, pity the poor person who views this as a black or white question.
Yes, some people do live to work. Their jobs consume them. Their jobs are their identity. Their jobs are who they are. Their jobs are the first thing on their mind when they wake up in the morning and the last thing they think about before they fall asleep at night. While that might be considered a bad thing, it's not to them.
These people know they are blessed. They love what they do. They look forward to each day.
Of course, the opposite also can be true. Their job is a curse. While it's true that their job is on their mind when they start each day and also when they end it, that's not because they love what they do, but just the opposite. They dread going to work. They may be consumed by work, but only because they have no choice.
Let's also look at the person who works to live. As the saying goes, no one on his deathbed ever wished he had spent more time at the office, right? These people have their life in balance. Work is a way to provide for their family. Work puts food on the table and wheels on the car. It pays the mortgage and provides for the fulfilling moments spent with family and friends. Don't count on these folks being the first to the office in the morning and don't stand near the door at quitting time.
So working to live is the correct answer? Maybe.
They also could work to live because they've never been fortunate enough to find a profession so rewarding that they look forward to going to work each day and have trouble leaving at night. Maybe they haven't ever found a work family with which to share their life.
The right answer? Live to work or work to live?
There is no right answer. And while we're looking deep inside ourselves, let's look closer at the person on his deathbed and whether he wishes he had spent more time at work. That saying implies he might have had some regrets about spending too much time at work. That could be the case for some, but not all people.
All this brings us back to the point of this column. Many of us in newspapers joke about "having ink in our blood." If you've never worked in this business, you might not understand. It's what brings our retirees back to visit often. It's why we want those people to continue to come back to see us. It's what gets us up every day to come to work and why we sometimes are later leaving at night than maybe we need to be. It's a sense of doing something that makes a difference. It's about passion and pride.
Maybe the strongest statement I could make is that after 33 years in this business, if I were on my deathbed today, in spite of working many long days and encountering some situations far rougher than I ever imagined, I still would not regret one minute spent at work. Instead I relish each and every minute spent doing what I've been able to do, being part of a team of people so special.
So live to work, or work to live. Guess we're back to one not being mutually exclusive of the other. If it all comes together for us, regardless of whatever our calling might be, we're fortunate people.
Rick Bean is publisher of The Herald-Sun. Contact him by e-mail at rbean@heraldsun.com
