Summary

It’s entirely possible to have conflicting emotions about your job and your employer. The work vibe matrix helps individuals (and their managers) assess the relationship between their jobs and their employers so they can reconcile such conflicting emotions.

As you may know, I’ve recently become somewhat cynical about the corporate world. But when I share my honest opinions about workism, corporate doublespeak, and other such topics, people often look at me aghast, saying, “But I thought you loved your job!” 

Well, “love” is a word I use sparingly. I love my wife and kids. I love photography. Time outdoors? Yep, I love that too. I can’t say I “love” my job, but yes, I “like” it. But should this liking stop me from calling out company dysfunction when I see it? I think not.

Many of us conflate our jobs with our employers; perhaps we should unentangle those two entities. The other day, I spent some time at a government office (don’t ask), where I was scribbling these thoughts on my iPad, and I came up with what I’m calling the “work vibe matrix.” It’s a simple 2x2. 

• The X-axis describes how much one likes their company. 

• The Y-axis describes how much they like what they do for a living, i.e. their “job”.

The quadrants help you (and maybe your manager) determine the relationship between your job and your company.

Anyway, the next time someone questions my cynicism and reminds me how much I enjoy my job, I’ll show them this matrix. Meanwhile, ask yourself where you fit on this matrix. If you’re a manager, you may want to guess where each team member sits on this matrix. The work vibe you get back may be insightful!