How to shift from meaning-LESS to meaning-FULL work

Working with our diverse community from different industries, levels, and nationalities, I’ve never heard the complaint, “I spend too much time with my family!” Instead, I hear worries that individuals aren’t getting to spend enough time with friends and family, or doing what inspires them. This article shares how we can make work more meaningful so that it’s an investment and contribution, and not a sacrifice.

What is ‘meaning at work’?

'Meaning at work ' refers to someone's work in terms of their team or the organisation’s Purpose.?

At Breakthrough, we define Purpose as “What you stand for, where you come from every day, and where your Intentionality is leading you.” And Purpose matters to individuals and businesses. According to EY , “Purpose forms values, transforms behaviours and shapes the goods and services an organisation provides”.? Having a clear, well defined purpose empowers and inspires employees and drives success.?

70% of employees said their sense of purpose in life is defined by their work . Therefore, organisational purpose significantly drives an individual’s sense of meaning, value and contribution to their community and planet.

Yet, meaning is a matter of perception. What one person finds meaningful, another can find meaningless. Jing Hu and Jacob Hirsh have released a number of papers investigating the impact of meaning on individual choices and life outcomes. Their research found that 55% of the jobs that were listed as meaningless by one participant were listed as meaningful by someone else. This demonstrates that the extent to which a job is considered meaningful is subjective. It’s good news! This means that we can find meaning in many places and also adapt our communication to provide meaning for our teams.

Shockingly, although research shows that 79% of business leaders believe that purpose is central to business success and to an organisation’s existence, only 34% agree that purpose is a guidepost for leadership decision-making . When so little of an organisation’s purpose actually shows up in the strategic direction and execution in the business, you produce a “cynicism gap”. This is where individuals and teams don’t believe that the organisation truly is purpose-driven, damaging that individual’s sense of their own meaning at work.

ACTION: As leaders we need to recognise this issue and work to advocate for purpose-driven decision-making. We need to challenge our long and short-term goals, and how we are going to achieve them, to ensure that they are authentically aligned with our organisational purpose. When we fail to do this we cap and even harm our ability to perform at the highest level.

Why is it important to find meaning in your work??

Do you feel that your job lacks meaning? If so, you’re not alone. In the UK, a YouGov poll found that only 37% of people were sure that their work made any meaningful contribution to the world. This puts me in the minority - I find huge meaning in my work. The motivation and passion that meaning in work generates, for me, makes work a pleasure, not a chore. I believe that I make a difference to people’s lives, that I contribute to unleashing individual and collective potential, and make the world of business a kinder, more sustainable, more inclusive place to thrive.?

Finding meaning in your work has a variety of benefits for you both professionally and personally, alongside benefiting a wider circle. For me, the sense of meaning I gain from work makes me more passionate and intentional. It motivates me to achieve more, support my team to the best of my ability, and to take care of the people we work with. It’s the fuel that keeps me going when I meet challenges, and makes me proud to be a custodian of our brand, our history, and our future.

Those who find meaning in their jobs are often more engaged and committed to their work. They also have a higher chance of being promoted and occupy leadership positions. When you find meaning at work, it enables you to give your full potential by working in the Stretch Zone, where growth happens.

Finding meaning in your work also benefits your mental health. Studies have shown that when someone believes their work has meaning, it provides a sense of fulfilment and purpose which produces a psychological sense of well-being. This perception flows into other areas of an individual's life, which connects with the bigger question: what is the meaning of my life? If you are unsure what your life meaning or purpose is, finding meaning in your job is a great place to start.

ACTION: Use the Japanese concept of Ikigai to ensure you work on what’s right for you. ‘Iki’ in Japanese means life and ‘gai’ describes value or worth. Ikigai relates to what brings you joy and inspires you to get out of bed everyday; your life purpose. This concept has been adapted in the West to help people find their perfect career. It includes four qualities:?

• What you love
• What you are good at
• What you can be paid for
• What the world needs

Reflect on these questions and ask yourself: does my current role embody these four qualities? Alternatively you can use these questions as a framework to help you in a job search.??????????

Alternatively, you can reflect on what your core beliefs, values and passions are. Also shifting your perspective can alter how you view your job and its value to you.?

Am I building or damaging meaning for my teams?

We work on average 90,000 hours over the course of our lifetime. Working globally, with thousands of people from different industries and levels, I’ve never heard the complaint, “I spend too much time with their family”! Instead, I hear concerns that individuals aren’t getting to spend enough time with friends and family, or doing what inspires them. Our time is precious. Choosing to spend that time away from loved ones or doing what we love can be a sacrifice. But it doesn’t have to be.?

When people find meaning and purpose in what they do, they feel that they are contributing and investing in the greater good - which makes them feel good, does good, and makes business more profitable. It’s a virtuous circle that we can all tap into.

When someone finds meaning at work there is a knock-on effect of benefits at the personal and corporate level. As leaders, each day we are either building or damaging our team’s sense of meaning. This responsibility can become lost in the business of everyday life. It’s up to us to foster meaning and to ensure that our behaviour, mindset and language help to build meaning across the organisation. Here’s how you could be damaging meaning for your teams without realising:

Communication

Often sense of purpose and meaning is damaged by a lack of communication and effective leadership and coaching to understand how individual actions contribute to the bigger picture.?

Stress

Stressful work environments where people are overloaded, focused on the short term, with too many priorities, damages our sense of meaning. Overload and overwhelm affects the joy that we can find in work, driving lack of engagement.

Inequality

Significant and obvious equality gaps in organisations can damage the social contract between employee and organisation. For example, when share prices skyrocket, but those on the ground don’t own shares or aren’t invested in themselves, it’s hard for those individuals to find meaning in their work.

ACTION: Ensure that you effectively prioritise with your teams and work with laser-focus towards a limited number of clearly defined goals. Support them to work in Stretch and not fall into Overload with effective coaching. Nurture psychological safety in your teams so that people are able to ask for support and are empowered to flag issues and problems when they occur. And invest in your team's development so that you provide a win-win for being part of your organisation.

How You Can Create A Meaningful Workplace For Your Team?

Research shows that companies where workers feel their jobs have purpose and view their work as meaningful are more motivated, happier and more productive.

A team member finding meaning in their work not only benefits the individual but also the wider business. When a team member finds meaning in their daily work tasks they are able to work Full On.?

Team alignment and cohesion is another positive effect. When a team member feels a sense of meaning in the work they do they are more likely to want to support their colleagues so they can feel the same. Team members like this will be committed to cultivating a positive work environment so the business can thrive. This is possible as they understand how they contribute to the company's greater purpose.?

Are you struggling with employee attrition? It’s a challenge all businesses we work with face right now. A key driver of this is lack of meaning. When your team members have meaning at work they are less likely to want to leave your organisation, and employee retention increases. Team members who find meaning at work experience a greater sense of job satisfaction. Moreover, research has proven that higher levels of job satisfaction incentivise people to work longer hours and take fewer sick days. This equates to productivity gains for the company that averages out to $9,000 per employee per year.

ACTION: Over-communicate your purpose and the impact and contribution that your organisation makes. How does your existence improve the lives of others? Your teams; your consumers; your stakeholders; your communities; your planet? Then as leaders coach teams and individuals to understand the direct impact and contribution that they make every day to work towards that purpose.?

1. Explain how each role connects to the business' mission and values. Such as showing employees the impact their daily tasks have on their customers or clients through testimonials or face-to-face interactions.?
2. Encourage team members to get to know one another better by providing resources and time. Gallup research shows that employees who have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be highly engaged at work than those who don’t. Read our blog post on how you can develop healthy work relationships here .?
3. Clearly communicate the aims and values of the company.
4. Shape your culture or it will shape you. Curate and develop team bonds through group rituals such as weekly lunches or cooperatively defined ways or working. Studies have shown that performing a group bonding activity led to a 16% increase in how meaningful employees judged their work to be. By carrying out these rituals, employees are also more likely to go the extra mile. Research has highlighted humans are fundamentally hard-wired to connect collectively because our ancestors depended on each other for survival.?
5. Involve your teams in as much decision making as possible for them to feel like valuable contributors. Authentically including them in the strategic and planning process ensures they own it.

Take action today

In the era of the great resignation, it’s good business sense to build and nurture meaning at work across our organisations. Yet, this is about so much more than the bottom line. It makes our lives and the lives of those around us more enjoyable!

It is possible for all of us to have meaningful careers and discover meaning in our jobs. With time, commitment and reflection for ourselves, and communication and coaching for our teams we all have the power to make the world of business more meaningFULL.?

Ask yourself:?

Does my current job provide me with a sense of meaning??

Does my company's purpose and values align with my? own??

Do I feel my contributions at work make a meaningful difference in the world??

Am I building meaning for my team every day, or inadvertently damaging it?

What actions can I take today to build meaning for my team?

Who can I share my actions with to influence them to build more meaning across the organisation?

Finally, be the most inspired version of yourself you can be by connecting with what inspires you in life - it’s positively infectious and will help your teams to be inspired through your example.

Want to find out more? Reach out to me on LinkedIn or email [email protected]