What does it mean to work with Purpose?

My career (outside of my first jobs like nail technician, shop assistant and nanny) has largely been spent in two industries – television and banking.

Television and banking are worlds apart for so many reasons, not least of which is remuneration. In television, if you weren’t happy, there was literally a queue of people lined up to take your job, and they'd probably do it for less money! No, you don’t work in television for the money. But I did get to meet some amazing people like the Dalai Lama, Anastasia, and Macy Gray. I even got to attend a couple of private concerts. People thought I was crazy when I moved to banking.

But I needed to branch out (pun intended). And banking, whilst not sexy in the slightest, was a lot more stable than television and certainly paid a whole heap more. Banking taught me how to navigate a true corporate environment. But because most of them are over 100 years old, you need to be fearless and determined if you’re going to initiate any change. Kiwibank was a real blessing in that regard.

I consider both television and banking to be essential. Television is still a passion - there's a telly in just about every room of my house. Without banks I wouldn’t have had a mortgage. Without working for a bank, I’d probably still be paying that mortgage off. But neither industry filled me with a genuine sense of purpose.

Cue Auckland DHB. If you know me, you’ll probably remember that my husband suffered a stroke about 18 months ago. He’s doing really well, thank you. :-) So I already had an emotional connection to Auckland Hospital – so emotional, I wondered if I’d be able to walk back in! I started here on January 10 and immediately I was surrounded with reminders of why my job is important.

Just last week, I was lining up to get my morning coffee (equally important, no matter what industry I’m in) and the lady in front of me was trying to pay for a coffee and a scone, and was getting flustered. First she used the wrong card… then she got the pin wrong… she turned to apologise to me and I recognised the look on her face. I’m pretty sure I looked like that whenever I left my husband for a moment to get something – a bit lost, a bit panicked, a lot worried.

I told her I was in no hurry at all, and to take her time. While we waited for our coffees, she told me her daughter had been in the back seat of a car, not wearing a seatbelt, when the car drove into a stationary vehicle. Her neck was broken. Today they were operating. She was scared and nervous and obviously sleep deprived.

I told her about my husband. I told her to make sure she took time to eat, and to take a couple of deeps breaths before she went back to her daughter’s bedside. And I told her I’d be thinking of them both during the day. And then I took the lift up to my office and got to work, helping to connect and communicate to the 11,000 or so people working for Auckland DHB, some of whom would later be operating on a young girl and trying to make sure she would walk again.

I’m not knocking other sectors or industries – they’re all important to our society. I’m just enjoying these daily (even hourly) reminders of why I get up in the morning. It’s the first time I’ve truly worked with purpose, and it’s a little addictive.