Generating student interest and personal relevance transcript

[Zara Rafferty - REC 100 Instructor]

Hello everyone and welcome to Week 6 - the official halfway mark. Hopefully you all got your leisure participation reports in. We're very much looking forward to reading them. If you are running a bit late, please make sure to submit to the late drop box as soon as possible. You can all expect to see your marks appear on LEARN within the next two weeks and there will be an announcement about it as well.

Next week is reading week, so there will be no weekly video; content will resume the following week with module 7: leisure constraints in part A, and the darker side of leisure in part B. The Week 7 Quiz will open beginning on February 13 and will stay open all the way through reading week and beyond, so you are able to get a head start on readings and that quiz if you choose to do so.

Ok, so this week we are going to discus the link between leisure and the work place. Last week I asked you share your vision of the ideal workplace and/or the ideal employer, and in this week's video, I'm going to share a snapshot of REC 100's ideal life of work. There are five main ideas that emerged from the portrait of your ideal jobs. These were: job rewards, job structure, leadership, nature of job, and work culture.

The first idea that emerged was job rewards. The general consensus seemed to be that a high salary was desirable - kind of a no-brainer. However in order to be an ideal job, there is more to it than simply money. As one student says, "the job should be well paying and also offer other intrinsic rewards, such as feeling as though you're making a difference and feeling a sense of self worth". Other perks, such as being able to bring your dog to work were also suggested. Here's a tip: you can do that at Desire2Learn, if you're looking for a job.

The second idea that emerged was job structure. Flexible hours and the ability to tele-commute or work from home were key pieces that emerged in this regard. In fact, almost every student mentioned flexibility in one way or another in their response. One student also suggested that the ability to create their own work plan would be an important aspect of their job satisfaction.

The third idea that emerged was leadership. Leadership meaning superiors, supervisors, bosses, etc. Bosses who are understanding, fair, friendly, and equitable were the ideal supervisor. One student noted "If I have a boss, i would like to have a relationship with them outside of work and consider them a friend, not an authority figure". Another student said, "Leadership that understands program direction, enables you, and that listens would make the best kind of boss." Finally, receiving recognition for hard work or a job well done from supervisors was cited as important.

The fourth idea that emerged was nature of the job; the opportunity to be creative was mentioned by more than one student, as well being interested and engaged in the work was critical. According to one student, "The job must be fully engaging and interesting including both work in the office coupled with work in the field. Another student said, "The job has to be something that didn't feel like work - it should be enjoyable and offer the ability to get into the flow." Several students also raised the desire to be challenged, stay busy, continue learning, and move up in the organisation.

The final idea that emerged was work culture. The general consensus seemed to be that students in REC 100 desire a workplace where they feel save, respected, and comfortable. In the ideal workplace, students are respected by both colleagues and supervisors and the atmosphere is low stress and friendly. One student also mentioned that work should only happen at the workplace with no expectation of work outside paid hours. One student also raised the issue of ethics by saying, "The company should have very high moral and ethical standards, I don't want to earn money that is made by oppression or marginalisation of other people."

As you learn in the upcoming module, the culture of the modern workplace is changing and part of that is being driven by millennial workers and their expectations. A lot of the ideas that you raise in your response to this week's poll are echoed in the literature about work culture today. In this module, we will explore how work is currently understood in a North american context. We'll recognise some of the key ways that the culture of work has shifted in the last fifty years, and we'll gain a better understanding of the relationship among work, leisure, and quality of life. In the meantime, have a great week, and a safe, fun, reading week. I will see you soon!