Why Am I Doing This Job?
Everyone wants to find meaning at work, but many don’t, as recent research shows. But why does meaning matter, and what are its sources?
Nearly nine out of ten employees in organizations worldwide don’t perceive their daily work as meaningful, as a recent study has shown. An alarming number, considering that the same research identifies meaning as a “root cause of innovation and corporate performance”. But when do people feel that their work is meaningful, and how can organizations and leaders help to create meaning?
Those were some of the questions addressed by renowned experts at the Future of Leadership Conference 2016 at the end of November. The conference was hosted by the non-profit Future of Leadership Initiative (FLI) which is dedicated to investigating modern leadership culture.
A luxury or a business factor?
Organizations whose employees see their work as meaningful are around 21% more profitable. Their employees are more engaged and more persistent.
So it’s all the more alarming that 87% of the employees in the FLI survey don’t perceive their work as meaningful.
As the research verifies, people experience their work as meaningful when they feel they’re making an impact.
A common understanding of values and goals is also critical. The more your own values tally with the company’s values, the more meaningful your job will seem. That’s why it’s crucial “to create a common understanding of the company’s strategy and vision, and to demonstrate how are you going to live this vision so that employees can see how it connects with their everyday work,” Stefan Ries continues.
But it’s not only about what you do, but who you do it with. An environment which fosters relationship building and an atmosphere of appreciation and trust creates a sense of belonging, which, according to Dr. Rajan, is another key factor for a fulfilling job.
What are meaningful corporate goals in an age where digitization is turning the world of work upside down and the exploitation of nature and the environment is advancing at an alarming pace?
John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and, in the 1990s, coined the term “triple bottom line“. Elkington, who is currently head of Project Breakthrough, a joint initiative with United Nations Global Compact, believes that the next 10 to 15 years are going to be among the most dangerous and high-risk that our species has gone through. At the same time, “if we can work out what we want to do, be very clear, engage the wider world, we can make it further and faster than we possibly imagine”, he explains.
But how can we tap the opportunities? According to Elkington, there is no time left for incremental changes. Instead, he urges exponential change, a radical mindset shift, and new business models that combine sustainability with profitability. In his opinion, the United Nations’ sustainability goals provide the framework for this.
This framework is also something that young people tend to subscribe to, he argues. “The global goals are like a purchase order from the future – as though the world of the 2030s is trying to reach back into today’s world to say, these are some of things we need,” he explains.
Profit or social engagement? Both!
In April 2016, Irina Pashina took part in the social sabbatical program, where selected SAP employees are given the opportunity to work in social enterprises and non-profit organizations in emerging markets, and help solve specific business problems there.
Irina worked at Arunodhaya, an Indian organization that strives to combat child labor and child poverty. She found three factors particularly motivating: to aim for a higher goal than meeting profit and quarterly targets, to sense the direct and tangible impact of her work, and to work independently and on her own initiative.