About Work On My Terms

For some people. the idea of working on your own terms may conjure up images of a celebrity lifestyle. They may imagine lying on a beach, sipping martinis, while their bosses massage their feet. Keep dreaming folks, because I am pretty sure even celebrities don’t live this way, and regular people sure the heck don’t.

For myself, working on my own terms sometimes means I have to work harder overall. It means, I may have to go the extra mile to prove to my employers (whether they are clients because I am self-employed or just regular bosses because I work as a full-time employee) that I am worth the extra concessions.

And what are the extra concessions?

For me, the extra concessions involve some of the things you may expect – a flexible work schedule and extra benefits. But, it also involves something you may not except – the fact that I can do my job at the level of integrity that is important to me AND that I work for an employer I can respect. That is a big one and for me it is not negotiable.

You see, I was raised by parents with a strong work ethic. They instilled in me the belief that nothing was worth doing unless you did it well. So, if I am doing a job or providing a service, I need to feel like I am doing it in the best way it can be done. I also need to feel like the employer I am working for is not just trying to pad their bank accounts at their customers expense. Accepting anything else will eventually become soul crushing for me.

Even in today’s Recession (with all the anxiety involving having a job – any job), I will not accept a job that is unworthy of me or work for someone I do not respect. It simply would not be worth it in the long run.

So, what does the idea of working on your own terms means for you? I would love to hear from you.