Blog #7
This blog is a response to Blog Topic — Spring 2021 G. Authenticity within the work field is a large concern for me. While I have never had a job/volunteer opportunity in which I felt extremely inauthentic or did not enjoy at least somewhat, I am very worried about choosing a career for my future that I will authentically enjoy and get a lot of personal benefit out of aside from monetary gains. I have always been told by my parents that choosing the right career is a very important decision and that your enjoyment of an occupation is much more important than the money associated with the position. While I do believe in this idea, it really stresses me out! I am confused as to how I am supposed to make “the right decision” about a career I will have for 30+ years when I have no real experience in life aside from school and a few short internships. However, while I may not always have the answer, I can look back to my internships/volunteer experiences to see how my authentic self connected with the work so as to hopefully provide me a better perspective moving forward.
Throughout middle school and high school, I spent my summers working at Twin Lakes Retirement Community in Burlington. I really enjoyed my position as a volunteer within their YESS! (Youth Engaged Service Seniors) program and was even able to be “promoted” to both Volunteer Mentor and Mentor Liaison. This position meant a lot to me as the service I provided felt very authentic. My job consisted of working with other students to support the senior residents through various activities and events. I felt as if I was actually providing a service that had a direct positive impact on the lives of those around me. It was also just a fun position that allowed me to connect with and meet new people, experience new things, and learn so much from the residents I served. This position, while only a part time volunteer opportunity really allowed me to feel authentic in my service and showcases how much genuine connection and service means to me and my authentic self.
My time at Twin Lakes heavily mirrors the “service work” conversations found within the Hochschild piece we discussed in class (Hochschild, 1983). This work specifically talked about the psychological distress that can arise for service workers when they are forced to act happy and “authentic” for customers, even when they do not feel truly authentic themselves (Hochschild, 1983). When companies begin to only see people as dollar signs, more problems arise, customers get more demanding, and the emotional stress placed on service workers is only increased, largely due to this pressure to portray a sense of falsified authenticity (Hochschild, 1983). While I do see this as a pressing issue, I am thankful that my service work at Twin Lakes did not reflect this mindset. I believe that this is likely due to the fact that this position was a low-stakes, volunteer position as opposed to a career where money played a huge role. However, an important point from the Hochschild piece is that while these forms of service are not always bad, they can become detrimental when the portrayed authenticity within the service loses its personality and genuine nature (Hochschild, 1983). I feel as if I was able to keep my genuine authentic personality while at Twin Lakes, thereby making it an authentic and enjoyable experience.
However, while my Twin Lakes position allowed me to feel very authentic, I have had other positions, such as my summer internship with Alamance County, that did not feel as authentic. This job consisted of me creating multimedia materials for the County’s social media outreach. While I had a lot of fun learning new editing techniques and felt that I got to utilize my creative mindset (another important aspect of my authentic self), I ultimately ended up not feeling as genuine, authentic, and/or happy in this position as others. I believe that this was the case due to the direct service, or lack thereof, being provided by my work. While I was helping others and was able to see the work that I was accomplishing, these online posts lacked the same genuine connection/impact that my Twin Lakes service had. I did not feel as if I was positively impacting others, thereby making the position as a whole feel less authentic and fulfilling.
This position connects with the concepts and ideas discussed within the Erickson & Wharton piece from our class (Erickson & Warton, 1997). This piece talks about the importance of working with others and having control over your work (Erickson & Warton, 1997). They found that inauthenticity within careers can increase when you work less frequently on collaborative and interactive work with others as well as when you have less control over the work that you do (Erickson & Warton, 1997). While I felt as if I had some creative control within my projects at the County, almost all of the work I was completing was very structured and rigid, not allowing for much discussion/control on what I wanted to do. In addition, I found myself constantly working alone on projects without the benefit of collaborating with others. These two aspects seem to have directly contributed to the overall dissatisfaction and lack of authenticity I felt (Erickson & Warton, 1997). Ultimately, I need to focus on finding a future career in which I can work with others on collaborative, service-oriented projects that have a direct impact and showcase my authentic values.
Completed on: May 5, 2021
Word Count: 931 words
Works Cited:
Erickson, R., & Wharton, A. S. (1997). Inauthenticity and depression: Assessing the consequences of interactive service work. Work and Occupations, 24, 188–213.
Hochschild, A. R. (1983). Feeling management: from private to commercial uses. In The managed heart: commercialization of human feeling (pp. 89–136). Berkeley: University of California Press.
