Employees who find meaning in their work are more engaged and loyal. Here’s how to connect your team’s daily work to what actually matters.
People want their work to have some meaning.
That’s not a new insight. But organizations continue to underestimate this, especially when they confuse mission statements with what they actually mean.
A framed values poster is not the goal. A company-wide email about influence is meaningless. Purpose and meaning in work emerges on a personal level, in the daily experiences of people who understand why what they do matters.
Why purpose drives engagement
Something changes when employees understand how their work is tied to a larger mission: the direct benefit of others. They are willing to go the extra mile. They are more resilient in the face of hardship. And they are significantly more likely to stay.
Research supports this pretty clearly. A McKinsey study found that employees who report achieving their goals at work are more than three times more likely to report high levels of engagement. You’ll also be healthier and more satisfied overall.
Organizations that do this well aren’t necessarily doing anything dramatic. They’re just being intentional about helping people see the connection.
Where most organizations fall short
The most common mistake I see is treating purpose as a communication problem. Leaders announce their mission, put their vision on the wall, and assume the job is done.
it’s not.
The purpose must be personally meaningful. In other words, it has to be something that connects not only to companies but also to individuals. Customer service representatives understand that a quick and accurate response can be the difference between being able to resolve a customer’s problem or not. This is the real meaning. A project manager who understands that his work directly reduces stress for three other teams, that’s what it really means.
Top-down mission statements are rarely achieved in isolation.
What a leader can do
Help people draw the line. If you’re one-on-one, ask questions that connect work to results, such as, “What did you complete this week that you’re proud of? Who benefited from it?” It’s not complicated. It’s just done intentionally.
Share your story. One of the surest ways to create meaning is to give employees direct, even indirect, contact with the people their work impacts. Share your feedback. Read letters from real customers during team meetings. Show your impact.
Give people choices in how to contribute. When employees have a say in how their work is done and what issues they tackle, they feel a sense of ownership. Ownership and meaning are cousins.
conclusion
Purpose is not something that can be set from above. However, it is the leaders who shape the environment that makes this possible.
If your team can’t articulate why their work is important to you in a truly personal, rather than corporate, sense, start there.
Article 3 of 16 · Pillar 2
Source: gothamCulture – gothamculture.com
