5 ways to find purpose at work – Lessons I have learnt

Work is your home away from home. It’s where you spend the majority of your day and time. So if you’re not happy at work, it’ll trickle down into your personal life. Being emotionally and intellectually committed to work has a huge affect on your happiness - at work and home - so it’s important that you find purpose in your work or other parts of your life will suffer.

Plus, people that are unhappy at work don’t make the best employees or coworkers. They don’t add much value and can negatively impact an organization. This is even worse when leaders, executives and superiors are unhappy at work. Their negativity spreads down to their subordinates, in turn making them feel disengaged, too.

So, what can be done to be happier at work?

Find purpose in your work! Don’t just think of your job as a paycheck. When you think like this, you’re not really putting your heart into your job. You think that you’ll find fulfillment somewhere else. But the truth is, after work, you’re not going to have much energy and time for anything else. Besides work, your family is the next most important thing, as well as self-care. Trying to find the time for something that fulfills you can be hard to add in to an already busy and hectic schedule.

Finding purpose and meaning in your job is good for your soul and your work. Not sure how to make your work more meaningful so that you feel as if you serve a greater purpose?

My previous employer, Unilever conducted a company-wide purpose workshop, and as one of the facilitators I was blessed with the opportunity to listen to many stories, some of which really thought me so much about life.

My volunteer work with Voices Of Asia (www.voicesofasia.org) also allows us to walk the journey to finding purpose with many of our mentees. Interestingly, there are some common themes we found.

Allow me to share a few ways I have learnt to uplift your spirits and find purpose at work:

1.    Know What’s Meaningful To You

Purpose without meaning is nothing. In order to have purpose, you need to know what’s meaningful for you. This means really exploring your passions, value and sensing what genuinely matters to have purpose with your work. If you value humor, find ways to make your co-workers or connections laugh any chance you get. If you value contribution, look for ways to contribute on a greater level at work. Your personal values will help you find purpose at work, but you just need to now what those values are. To help find them, create a list of what you value. Find the things that mean the most to you – both in others and yourself.

2.    Find Purpose In The Now

To be happier in general, you need to live in the moment. That’s also true when finding purpose at work. Don’t live for the past or the future, but for now. You’ll find purpose when you simply just live. While you’re at work, be present. A moment of purpose will present itself and you’ll be alert to be able to see it for what it is. Purpose can lie in those daily moments. Oftentimes, you’re too busy with other things to really see them. Try practicing living in the moment and you’ll notice how things start to creep up, allowing you to have purpose in the ordinary.

3.    Look For Purpose When Energized

Have you noticed how energized you are in a meeting or an interaction with a coworker? It’s that energy that makes you feel good about what you’re doing at work. It’s good to recognize that energy and fuel and try to replicate it throughout your day! Pay attention to what makes you energized in the workplace and then intentionally try and recreate it throughout the rest of the workday. It’s these moments that will add meaning and purpose to your work.

4.    Leave A Room Better Than When You Entered It

You’re probably constantly entering different rooms for meetings and such at work without ever really paying much attention to it. It’s just another day at the office! But instead of just going through the motions of entering and leaving rooms, take some time to really think about what you’re doing there. Decide to make the room better than how it was when you entered. This could be making sure that a meeting ends on a positive note or finding something you could do better for someone. It could be offering insight on something or just complimenting a colleague on a job well done. Don’t leave the room until you can find some purpose.  

5.    Engage In A Job-Crafting Experience

Job crafting is fairly new idea that focuses on the skills needed to complete the work and then dedicating yourself to perfecting these skills. So essentially, work is like a craft. You’re constantly trying to improve on that craft to make it better. This allows you to find meaning in your work. Figuring out how to focus on crafting your work into something that gives you purpose will make you look at work more positively. You’ll be happier to get to work in the mornings and you won’t dread Sunday nights. This really makes my role in Learning & Development really exciting!

With such knowledge, at Lazada, we are working hard to do the same for this 6-7 years old company, where I see so many talents who are willing to give their best. Our prayer is for everyone to come to work feeling happier, better and purposeful everyday.

In the end, most of us work because we have to pay the bills. We don’t have the luxury of working for fun. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy what you do and have purpose at work. So the next time you’re feeling drained, tired and just going through the motions at work, try these helpful tips to find purpose in how you make a living. And it doesn’t matter what sort of work you do since you can always find purpose in your field of work. If all else fails, just remember who you’re working for and that your work is an act of service for them.

Follow us at Voices Of Asia to enter a world where everyone feels safe and supported, through mentoring and learning:-

• LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/voices-of-asia-holdings/about/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voicesofasiagroup/?ref=bookmarks

?Kelvin Kong, Founder & Mentor, Voices Of Asia & Senior Vice-President, Learning & Development, Lazada Group