freedom

I once did extensive career / skill testing (IDAK) that included 40 hours of counseling and critique. In the end, one of the clarifications is that to be happy I must make freedom and flexibility a higher priority in choosing a position than to have a high salary. Freedom, for me, is a higher value than money, and routine is the ultimate killer.

The sad thing is that the experience of most people working lower paying jobs is that they have little freedom. Unless the work is philanthropic, it is likely that the low paying position is a 'slave' job ... something controlled by another person. And sadly, supervisors tend to need to wield control over others - maybe it is the only place in their lives that they feel important. And so the hired hand gets pushed down.

Personally, I have quite a lot of freedom, and I also have people working for / under me. So one of my goals is to make this one office that accomplishes good work in an atmosphere of freedom. Freedom is soil for creativity and energy.

That being decided, it is Friday and we are not working until five.