Studs Terkel Quotes

The things women find rewarding about work are, by and large, the same things that men find rewarding and include both the inherent nature of the work and the social relationships.

In an ideal world, nobody's work would be just about the money. People could pursue excellence in what they do, take pride in achievement, and derive meaning from knowing that their work improved the lives of others.

I don't really have a career plan. There's no joy for me to just be a personality in my work, and I feel that that's so much of what's out there.

For most people, life would be boring without meaningful work.

When you're working and making money, that's all good, but there has to be something that provides a substance, I think.

Good and productive labor is valuable, and it doesn't mean you have to have a fancy job description. You don't have to become rich. You can be ordinary. Happiness lies there. Do good work, create good work for others.

I don't want to work to make money. I want to work to work.

I do work that I feel I have something to contribute to.

Work is like the rest of life. The best parts are free.

Make sure you love what you do or it will eat you alive.

There has to be something in every role that interests you.

The most important lesson I've learned is how rich and rewarding life is when one can engage in meaningful work, whether on the job or outside of work.

The purpose of work is not to make money. The purpose of work is to make the workers, whether working stiffs or top executives, feel good about life.

I need to feel like the work I'm doing is not necessarily important, but meaningful, at least to me, because otherwise it just becomes a day job. It just becomes factory work and I get really frustrated.

It shouldn't just be about money. It should be about loving what you do.

Without work, all life goes rotten. But when work is soulless, life stifles and dies.

If the work is going well and it's something that has value with some meaning to it, it gives back a lot.

I think there's a lot to be said about just enjoying your work. It can be very contrived when people say their work is for the good of mankind.

I think it's fun to have work that you can relate to, that you can feel like is meaningful.

It is not more vacation we need - it is more vocation.

When work is not going well, it's useful to remember that our identities stretch beyond what is on the business card, that we were people long before we became workers - and will continue to be human once we have put our tools down forever.

There's no point in working if I'm not involved and interested.

To do work that's not going to be fulfilling doesn't make sense.

Some jobs you do, they're just jobs. Others are life experiences.