Why Do We Work?
What does ‘work’ mean to you? Does it give you meaning, or is it a ‘necessary evil best avoided’? Audley Senior Advisor Annie Coleman investigates how individuals and organisations create meaningful work.
“Why should I let the toad work/Squat on my life?” the poet Philip Larkin famously asked. Work is usually the last thing people want on their minds while on their summer holidays. However, as the seemingly endless days of rest and relaxation come to a close and the inevitable anxiety and apprehension about returning to work mount, might we be better off reflecting on why we work in the first place?
For writer and historian Studs Terkel, work was “a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor.” This is my preferred way of looking at it. Work can be an essential element of our humanity, a way for us to search for meaning as individuals, and a way to find fulfilment in life.
Harvard Business School found that nine out of ten employees are willing to trade a percentage of their lifetime earnings for greater meaning at work. Across age and salary groups people want meaningful work badly enough they are, in effect, willing to pay for it. The School also found that having motivated employees leads to increased productivity and enhanced profitability worth an additional $9,700 per employee per year. Building greater meaning in the workplace is not just a nice to have; it’s a business imperative.
Yet, when the ADP Research Institute surveyed 20,000 employees in 19 countries a few years ago, it found that only 16% of employees felt fully engaged at work. In other words, eight out of ten employees were disengaged, unmotivated, and certainly finding little meaning in what they were doing; they merely showed up for work.
This is estimated to cost us $7 trillion in lost productivity and a tragic amount of unfulfilled personal potential. If evidence suggests that employees expect something deeper than a pay check in return for their labour, and employers will see a return on investing in this ‘depth’, why aren’t more individuals and organisations taking concrete actions to focus their cultures on the creation of meaning?
In order to create a shared organizational purpose that reaps the dividends I’ve described, individuals must first understand their own reason and meaning for work and what they want for the future and find ways to connect that with the purpose of the organisation. And that requires that organisations interact with individuals at scale.
A great example of a company that has done this is Unilever. Unilever began a programme with its top 400 leaders to help them discover their own purpose and to use that experience to guide their work. The programme was so successful that it was expanded to all levels in the organization. In one-day workshop sessions, employees create individualised ‘future fit plans’ that chart their desired path over the next two years and how it connects to Unilever’s purpose and strategy. 92% of those who have attended a workshop report having jobs that inspire them to go the extra mile, compared with only 33% of those who had not yet attended one.
How can you begin to discover or create your purpose, in order to find meaning in your work? There are simple exercises that anyone can do:
1. First, I would also like to dispel some myths about purpose. I don’t think you ‘find it’ like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Equally, it’s rare and lucky to know from childhood that your calling is to be doctor, or musician, or Olympic athlete. I do not think it’s necessarily singular, nor do I think it’s static. Finally, and importantly, as you mature and grow older your purpose can change.
2. With that out the way, ask yourself: what is at the convergence of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for? It may be hard to answer these questions, but they are a way to start thinking about what gives your life meaning and what therefore would give your work purpose.
3. Research shows we are happiest when serving others. Searching our daily experiences for opportunities to support others can help us generate great meaning in everything we do.
Once you have a purpose it doesn’t mean that every day at work will become easy and fun. You will still have bad days and challenging days, but your purpose will provide you with the drive and direction to keep going. Whatever method you use, the goal is to find what gives you energy, what drives you, what you truly and profoundly aspire to do, and what will stand the test of time.
Don’t get caught up in the trap of thinking it has to be grand or noble meaning. It can be as simple as wanting to leave something a little better than where or when you found it, be that in your work, your life, or your community.
There is another key ingredient needed to create meaningful work on the organization side: leaders who see the benefits of putting people and purpose first. From the top to team leaders and line managers, leaders must be prepared to talk with their direct reports about what aspects of their work they find meaningful and what drives them. They must also be prepared to share their own perspectives with their employees. In a practical example, they must be able to clearly articulate the connection between current projects and the organisation’s purpose. It is so much easier for employees to perceive the meaning in their work when team project goals are also tied into the company larger vision.
So back to lying on the beach and thinking about returning to work. Why do you work, and can you find more meaning in what you do even if the priority for most of us in today’s economic climate is our daily bread? For CEOs: what can you do to ensure your organisation delivers purpose and meaning for employees, customers, and the communities in which you are based? The value of meaning to both individuals and organisation stands waiting ready to be captured by those that act, with emotional and economic benefits for both.
By Annie Coleman, Senior Advisor at Audley.