Meaningful employment essay

We interviewed 135 individuals in 10 very different occupations and asked them about times when they found their work meaningful or meaningless.

Employability is also defined by the Canadian government’s Labour Force Development Board as the individual’s ability to achieve meaningful employment as determined by personal circumstances and the labour market.

But meaningful work can mean a lot more than just a prestigious job or having meaning to something you do. Meaningful work can be as simple as feeding the birds in the park on a Saturday morning. It can be helping someone out or looking out for someone in need.

For example, a garbage collector explained how he found his work meaningful at the “tipping point” at the end of the day when refuse was sent to recycling. This was the time he could see how his work contributed to creating a clean environment for his grandchildren and for future generations.