“Why do you work for this company?”
We were in the middle of a well-known exercise called “Five Why’s”, looking to get to a deeper understanding of motivations. My co-worker Nicholas had just asked me the second “Why?”, and things were already getting pretty intense.
“Why do you work for this company?”
I have to acknowledge upfront that there is an element of inertia that keeps me in my job. I’ve been with Domain7 for over seven years now. It’s familiar territory for me, and that familiarity is comforting. But, truthfully, that’s only a small factor, and it isn’t that motivating in any case. I certainly don’t want to stay at a job simply out of resistance to change.
So, why do I work here? The answer just came out:
“I work for this company, because I want my children to have the chance to see polar bears.”
The puzzled look on Nicholas’ face confirmed it: I had to explain this a lot more.