So, what can employers do to help employees find meaning and purpose in their work?
We asked 11 professionals to share their methods for keeping employees motivated and job satisfaction high.
Challenge Your Employees
The enemy of purpose is complacency. Not giving your employees the resources to challenge themselves or learn new things can hinder their overall happiness within their role. People want to feel like they have a sense of forward momentum within the company, so make sure you are providing them with opportunities to grow and improve.
Vicky Franko, Insura
Embed Meaningful Work in Company Goals
My company helps employees find purpose in their work by embodying our goal of helping small businesses connect with customers. In doing so, we learn so much about the businesses we help, but most importantly, we learn about the people we are working with. Being able to have that connection makes what I do gain purpose. If through my work, I can help support the dream of a small business, then I feel I have achieved my purpose.
Tara Thompson, Local SEO Company
Find Purpose in Teams
Employees are more likely to feel a sense of purpose if they are part of a team. Making sure your employees are put into teams and departments that support, uplift, and empower one another to do their best work will not only aid in productivity but will foster an overall sense of purpose within the company.
Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional
Tell Them Their Impact
Remind your employees often of the importance and purpose of their job. No matter what their title is, their job exists for a reason. When they know that reason and when they fully understand how the efforts within their role will make your company run more smoothly they will know their purpose and will be more willing to perform.
Ryan Nouis, TruPath
Put Work in Human Terms
We stress that they know how important the work we do is. Not that they don’t know that already, we put it in more human terms when we talk about the different things we do here. Our work helps keep people’s medical charts accurate, helps murders get solved and prosecuted and helps put abusers of all kinds behind bars. The work we do affects many people and taking pride in helping our clients is what we do and talk about here. It is an honor and a privilege to be trusted to do the work we do for our clients, and everyone here knows that.
Ben Walker, Transcription Outsourcing, LLC
Find Tasks Useful Beyond the Workplace
When my employers asked me what I want to get out of life, I told them the truth and we were able to align our paths. Develop skills that will benefit both them and the company. Knowing that tasks will be useful beyond the workplace means that I give 110% in performing them within the workplace.
Alan Mitchell, Clarity Wave
Be Transparent of Where the Company Is Heading
We give them more than their KPIs. We have monthly meetings where we show them where the company is heading and how each department is contributing to that goal. In our department meetings, we show everyone how valued their work is and how much it’s pushing us all forward.
Jane Kovalkova, Chanty
Engage and Include
Our CEO encourages every employee to speak up and share their opinions, thoughts, and ideas about the work that we do. What could we do to improve? What do you like/not like? What ideas do you have to improve our customer experience? Management? He really wants every team member to be a stakeholder and to invest themselves in the work that they do. We find that when people are heard, they feel they have more purpose and therefore find more satisfaction in what they do.
Alessandra Gyben, GreenRope
Understand Their Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the ways we help people find purpose in their jobs is by having them take a personality test to figure out their strengths and weaknesses. From there, we can match them with tasks and roles which best suit them. I’ve found that people are happiest when they’re doing things that are suited to their personalities and temperament. It also makes for better business results because the employees are doing things at which they naturally excel.
James Pollard, The Advisor Coach LLC
Allow a Sense of Autonomy
Autonomy is the only way, in my view, to help employees find purpose in their work. While we do have a business culture and motto, it is up to the organization as a whole to execute on such. Purpose is not something that just shows up one day and remains the same. It is a moving idea in my mind that regenerates itself, leaving a person feeling fulfilled.
Cade Parian, Parian Injury Law, LLC
Going Beyond the Job Description
Employees create the company each day, not just when they are hired. The best experiences I had as an employee were when I felt I had a voice in the company and I was empowered to make decisions.
Melissa Blatt, indipop
