3 Ways to Find Meaning in Your Work Right Now

• 43% of employees in the American workplace report feeling bored regularly
• The majority of American employees are disengaged at work
• 9 out of 10 employees are willing to get paid less to do more meaningful work

With so many career opportunities in the world today, it’s staggering how few people find meaning in the work they do on a daily basis. People wouldn’t report feeling bored or disengaged in the workplace if it weren’t for something that so many of us find missing in our lives - a purpose. 

Many people would assume that the desire for a purpose is outweighed by a desire for income, but it’s actually the opposite. According to a study done by Harvard Business Review, 80% of people would rather have a boss that cared about them finding meaning and success at work than a 20% pay increase. 

So that begs the question: if so many people desire a meaningful job, why are we settling for less?

The problem is, most of us are satisfied doing “meaningless” work and blaming our job for our misfortune, rather than taking action where we are right now. We claim to want meaning in our job but think that there is little we can actually do to make that happen. In reality, it’s our responsibility to take proactive steps toward a meaningful career path, and it starts with a few realizations about where we are in the present.

1. You’re part of something bigger than yourself

In 1962, JFK visited the NASA headquarters. In the years leading up to the lunar landing there were hundreds of people contributing to the research and science behind getting to the moon. But one NASA employee stood out in a unique way. During his visit, Kennedy encountered a janitor and asked him what he did at NASA. The facility worker simply replied, “I’m helping send a man to the moon.”

How crazy is that?

Though hundreds of people were contributing to the lunar landing, most people wouldn’t attribute the work of a janitor as having any significance at all. But this janitor found meaning in his work. Instead of looking down on himself for the level of his position or the title of his job, he understood the part he played to something bigger than himself. 

That is the power of purpose and perspective. 

I would argue that the first step to finding meaning in the work we are doing right now, is changing our perspective. Once we start to change our mindset on the work we are doing, focusing more on the opportunity rather than the drudgery, we can find a much greater purpose in the work we do.

I have always loved the illustration of a stonemason laying building blocks to represent this idea. Now we could either view the work we are doing as simply laying a brick next to dozens of other similar bricks, or we can view it as building a cathedral. It might not change the difficulty of the work we are doing, but it will definitely give us a greater sense of purpose in the day to day. 

I don’t know about you, but I want to be the cathedral-builder, and I want the people around me to be those people too. 

2. You’re title is unimportant, what you bring to the job is what matters

Whether you are a CEO, a teacher, a cashier, or anything else in between, you are in a unique position. Sure, the job itself might not be unique but the spirit you bring to it is unlike anyone else. 

The title of our jobs does not give us dignity, it’s what we bring to the job that truly matters. 

As mentioned in the janitor example, we have to understand that the work we are doing matters. Whether we are saving someone’s life or simply mopping the hallway of the hospital, every single person has the ability to impact the people and circumstances around them for the better. 

Whatever you do, you have the opportunity to establish a place for human connection, and that’s pretty remarkable. 

3. Find a way to serve other people where you are right now

It’s so easy to make excuses for not enjoying your job. You don’t like your boss. You don’t get along with your co-workers. The work you do is boring. 

But the problem with this mindset is that it’s all about YOU. Even if your job requires you to interact with other people, which most jobs do to some extent, that doesn’t mean you have made a positive impact in another person’s life. So often we focus on our own needs and completely neglect the needs of other people around us. 

But there is something amazing that happens when we humble ourselves and find a way to serve the people around us better. 

For starters, the joy we bring to others gives us an even greater sense of joy as well. 

My friend Shawn found meaning in his time volunteering with hospice patients, many of whom had days to live, and some who even died while he was with them. Despite the intensity of the situations he walked into, Shawn found joy in being able to simply come alongside these people who needed companionship. He was able to look beyond himself and fulfill a need for other people that many would never consider. 

The crazy thing about finding personal meaning in what we do, is that it often involves doing something outside of ourselves. It’s a paradox of humanity that when we stop obsessing over ourselves and take up the cause of others, we inevitably add value to our own lives. 

It’s hard to do, but when we finally achieve it, we’ll find more purpose than we could ever imagine. 

And the best part about it? You can start RIGHT NOW. You don’t have to wait for a job change or a new boss or a raise. You already have all the resources at your disposal and it’s totally up to you whether or not you are going to use them. 

For more information on this topic listen to the Created for Experience podcast episode: Becoming a Wounded Healer with Shawn Askinosie.