Most people say they work for the money. That is rarely the whole story.

In this lesson you are reflecting: sorting real reasons people work into what comes from inside the work and what comes from outside rewards, then writing honestly what you currently expect work to do for you. That half-page stays in your Strand 1.2 folder. You will reuse it later when you build a pathway plan in ALT 2, so write it so future-you can still recognise what you wanted.

Three terms you will use in the sort and in your write-up. Read the middle column carefully: each one ties straight to the half-page you are about to write.

First, meet one person whose reasons changed.

Aoife, now 34. At 18 she took a hotel front-desk job in a busy Irish tourist town purely for the wage and a staff meal. By 24 she had moved into events coordination because she loved the problem-solving on a live night. After her first child she switched again, this time for predictable hours and a permanent supermarket contract nearer home rather than temporary agency shifts. Same person, three different drivers: pay, the craft of the work, then security and family. None of those reasons was wrong. Each fitted the life she was in.

Part 1 (about 12 minutes): the sort. Drag each reason-card into Intrinsic or Extrinsic. Some cards are borderline (for example "I feel useful when a customer leaves sorted", "Friends and family are proud of what I do", and "I add something my community genuinely needs"). Still put each in Intrinsic or Extrinsic: choose the side you would defend and be ready to say why. Explore mode does not mark you wrong; the argument is the teaching.

Part 2 (about 20 minutes): your half-page. Create or open your Why I Want to Work document in the Strand 1.2 folder. The half-page in that portfolio document is the only kept artefact from this step.

Think about: name one intrinsic and one extrinsic reason that would both be true for you in a first full-time job, then get them onto the page.

Write half a page on what you currently expect work to do for you. Cover:

• at least one intrinsic reason (something inside the work or inside you)
• at least one extrinsic reason (pay, security, status, or another outside reward), named plainly if it is real for you
• whether job security matters to you right now, and why
• one line on what might shift your mix by age 25 (use Aoife as a prompt, not a script)

Write for future-you and for the pathway work you will do in ALT 2. Vague claims like "I want a good job" do not count: name what "good" would actually do for you.

Talk these through with the person beside you, or sit with them quietly. If a line is worth keeping, add it to your Why I Want to Work document after class.

• If the same half-page still felt true at 23, what would that say about your hours, money needs, or who depends on you?
• Pick one adult you know well. What do you think work mainly does for them now, and what do you guess it did for them at 18?

Today you reflected on why people work, and on what you currently want work to do for you.

• Reasons for working go well beyond pay: skill, meaning, contribution, status and security all show up in real working lives
• Intrinsic motivation comes from inside the work or you; extrinsic motivation comes from outside rewards such as pay, praise or security
• Job security is about how stable the role, hours and pay are likely to stay
• People's reasons shift across a career as life changes (Aoife's three stages)
• Your portfolio now holds Why I Want to Work: a half-page on your current expectations, ready to inform the pathway work in ALT 2

Optional stretch: ask one working adult what work mainly does for them this year, and add three lines of notes under your half-page.