A Workplace with Stories to Tell

A while ago, a colleague of 10 years resigned. When I asked why they were leaving a company they'd been at so long, they answered: "I no longer have anything to say. Every meeting, I found myself just repeating the same things."

On the other hand, there's a senior who's been at one company for over 15 years. They still speak passionately at every meeting, come up with new ideas, and debate with juniors. Even after working at the same company for 15 years, they didn't look worn out.

What's the difference? How can you work at a company for a long time?

I think this: If you can repeatedly talk without getting tired about things you want to say, it's possible.

What Does "Stories You Want to Tell" Mean?

The "stories you want to tell" I'm talking about here aren't routine work reports. Not things like "Here's a progress update" or "No issues" that repeat routinely.

"Wanting to" is an active action. It's a result that comes from values important to you as a person, messages you want to convey to others, or an attitude that goes beyond trying to fulfill your role—something that stems from that.

I have that experience too. When starting a new project, I had things I really wanted to say to the team. "What if we tried it this way?", "Users find this part inconvenient, I think we should improve it", "I wish our team would pursue this value."

When I talked about those things, I wasn't tired. Even if meetings went over 2 hours, I wanted to keep talking. On the other hand, when I was just doing what I was told, even 30-minute meetings exhausted me.

What Makes People Active

So what makes people active?

The first is instinct. When cold, we layer up; when hungry, we make food; when tired, we sleep. We do these without being told. It's the same at work. If there's performance bonus on the line, we work actively; if promotion opportunity appears, we move proactively.

The second is affection for others. Like always yielding to the person you love, we've all experienced being active when we're the one who needs something. If a colleague we like asks for help, we gladly help; if a leader we respect makes a suggestion, we voluntarily participate.

The third is when we discover meaning. When we know what we do helps someone, when we feel our role is essential to the team, when we're certain we're growing through this work—that's when people move actively.

I experienced this third one about 3 years ago. When team members said about a system I built, "This is really convenient, work has become so much easier thanks to you"—in that moment, my work gained meaning. After that, I kept working on system improvements without anyone telling me to.

The Root of Being Active: Love

But there's something more fundamental that runs through all three. I express it as love.

If you can know yourself well, cherish and love yourself, you become active. You move on your own for your growth, for your value.

If you can show interest in and love others, you become active. You gladly spend time helping colleagues grow and helping the team succeed.

If you can discover meaning in your work and love it, you become active. You take initiative to make better products, to build better team culture.

The Difference Between Liking and Loving

But here many people get confused. They can't distinguish between liking and loving.

Can you keep talking without getting tired at the liking stage? With just simple favor, you can try once or twice. But in the process, you become curious about the other's reaction, naturally develop expectations, and as disappointment accumulates, you stop repeating.

I was the same. When I first joined a team, I shared various ideas. But after being ignored a few times, I stopped offering opinions. It was because I only liked the subject. It was impulsive favor, an emotion below that.

If I had loved, I wouldn't have stopped. I'd still be repeating it without getting tired now.

So what is love?

The Definition of Love

Neuroscientist Dr. Dongseon Jang explains love this way: love is when the brain's reward circuit activates while conditional expectations disappear. In other words, it's an emotion that makes you act without transactional thinking like "If I do this, they'll do that for me."

Liking expects rewards. "If I work hard, I'll be recognized." "If I help, they'll be grateful." "If I share my opinion, it'll be accepted." So when expectations aren't met, disappointment follows and you quit.

Love is different. The other person's happiness itself is the reward. "I'm happy just seeing this team succeed." "The growth of my colleague itself brings me joy." "Making users' lives easier is my fulfillment." You can continue even without immediate recognition or reward.

I realized this around my 6th year. It was okay even if a feature I made wasn't immediately praised. When someone said 3 months later, "That feature from back then made work easier"—that alone was enough. In that moment, I realized I love this work.

How to Work at a Company for a Long Time

Ultimately, the method for working at a company for a long time is simple. Love the company, love colleagues, love what you do.

Then stories you want to tell emerge. Stories you can tell repeatedly without getting tired. Even after 10 years, 15 years, you can still speak passionately at meetings.

Finding a Workplace You Can Love

Of course, you can't love every company. Some companies are hard to love. When values don't match, when you don't fit with colleagues, when you can't find meaning in the work.

Then you have two choices.

First, try to find something to love at your current company. Even if not the whole company, look for something to love among your team, colleagues, projects you're responsible for. It might be closer than you think.

Second, leave to find a company you can love. Sometimes it's better to find a place where you can naturally love, rather than forcing yourself to love.

I've been through several companies. And joining Plab, I've led the development team for a year. Not a long time yet, but there's been definite change.

At first, I was busy adapting to the new environment. But as I talked with team members one by one, solved problems together, and watched them grow, I realized: I've come to love these development team members.

And now I'm going further, trying to love the company itself and the role the company expects of me. It's not perfect. The reason I use "trying to" is that I'm still in the process. Like I came to love the team members, I trust I'll gradually come to love the company and my role more.

What about you? Do you have stories you want to tell at your current company? Stories you can tell repeatedly without getting tired?

If you do, congratulations. You're already loving. Please nurture that love well.

If you don't, I recommend looking for one. It doesn't have to be the whole company. Start small, from one colleague, from one project. Look for something you can love.

As that small love accumulates, someday you'll be a senior who's been there 10, 15 years. Still speaking passionately, still not tired, still overflowing with things to say.