The Real Rewards of Work

I’m Ichiki from Sync Logistics.
Today, I’d like to share some thoughts about what makes work meaningful and rewarding.

Our team members who are responsible for recruiting new graduates often receive questions from students about this topic. Of course, the way people experience fulfillment in their work varies from person to person, and I believe each perspective deserves respect.
That said, there are three kinds of fulfillment that I hope employees at our company will come to experience: gratitude, being chosen by name, and self-efficacy. The first two usually come from recognition by customers, while the third is something that grows from within. I would like to reflect on these three points based on my own experience.

■ Gratitude

The first is gratitude — simply hearing someone say, “thank you.”

It may sound simple, but I believe this is at the core of what work is about. When you realize that your actions have helped someone else, your work gains real meaning. Without that sense of contribution, work can easily become nothing more than routine tasks. That is why I believe it is important to approach work with the mindset of acting for the benefit of someone else.

■ Being Chosen by Name

The second is becoming someone others specifically choose — someone they say, “I would like you to handle this.”

Trust like that cannot be built overnight. It comes from consistently keeping your commitments, approaching others with sincerity, and thinking carefully from the other person’s perspective. At the same time, it also requires continuing to deliver results that go beyond what is expected.

When someone chooses you by name, your work begins to feel personal. It becomes something you genuinely care about and take ownership of. I believe this experience can create a very strong sense of fulfillment.

■ Self-Efficacy

The third is the feeling that your work is making a real contribution.

In internal support roles, such as administrative or management departments, there may be fewer opportunities to receive direct words of appreciation from customers compared with other teams. In many cases, success in these roles means that problems are prevented before they occur. Because of this, it can sometimes be more difficult to recognize the value of the work being done.

However, the fact that a business operates smoothly is never something that should be taken for granted. I hope that employees in these roles can feel that their work helps move the company forward. Recognizing that the organization functions because of our efforts — and acknowledging that contribution ourselves — can become an important source of motivation.

Finally, I believe that no matter how much we discuss fulfillment or communicate our values, it cannot truly be understood unless it is experienced firsthand.

As I mentioned earlier, fulfillment in work can take many forms. However, they all share one thing in common: they can only be gained after taking responsibility and seeing something through to completion. I hope that our company continues to be an organization where every employee can experience that kind of fulfillment.

Thank you for reading.