Copyright Salt Lake Tribune
In uncertain economic conditions, there is a reliable way businesses — from small mom-and-pop shops to large corporations — can drive innovation, increase productivity, and reduce turnover: help employees find purpose in their lives through their work. A new Gallup report unveiled at this week’s Human Potential Summit in Utah concludes, “Building a workforce with more employees who feel a strong sense of life purpose has the potential to shift both the culture and performance of an organization.” When economic anxiety is high, purpose is easy to dismiss. But centering this idea as part of a business strategy is a win-win for employees and organizations because it deepens workforce engagement and commitment. In particular, it is a way for employers to unlock new talent pools and generate better results from existing workers. According to data Gallup collected from more than 100,000 teams, business units in the top quartile of engagement are 23 percentage points more profitable than those in the bottom quartile. High engagement means lower absenteeism, fewer safety incidents and stronger productivity. Nearly seven in 10 employees with low life purpose say they are actively looking for another job. That figure drops to 43% among those with strong life purpose. Purpose helps people understand who they are, where they are headed, and why their life matters. Desiring this meaning is not limited by background or circumstance. We all want to feel like we spend our time in ways that matter, and that includes the one-third of our lives we spend at work. Among employees with a strong sense of life purpose, 45% are engaged at work, more than double the rate of people who say they have a moderate life purpose, and nearly four times the rate of those with low life purpose. But even those who do not connect their work with their life purpose can find more meaning in their work in ways that benefit their organizations. Many companies are doing an excellent job cultivating purpose. JoAnna Shaw, vice president of operations at Olympus Pines, says “companies are getting better at understanding their customers; just as important is taking that same mindset with our people—our greatest asset.” Shaw has been using Vocation, an AI-powered platform that helps managers better understand their teams, to deepen those insights with her directors. She says the platform helps her understand what gives them energy, what drains it, and what gives their work purpose and meaning so she can build high-performing teams. Her employees are now not only more likely to stay at Olympus Pines; their productivity, engagement and eagerness to contribute will also rise. The clearest and most scalable way to make work more purposeful is to ensure employees understand how their contributions positively impact the lives of others. According to Gallup, workers who strongly agree that their employer’s mission makes them feel their job is important are 3.7 times to find purpose at work. Employers also can help workers find purpose through personal growth and development. Gallup found workers are nearly three times more likely to experience strong purpose at work when their employers offer a clear path to achieve their growth and development goals. Through lifelong learning programs and other talent development tools, employers can provide opportunities for their workers to find new avenues to contribute in ways that feel exciting or meaningful. In a world where fewer workers are entering the workforce and more people are retiring, employers will face diminishing returns on their current talent practices if they do not focus more on purpose. But despite its value, purpose remains an afterthought in most workplaces. When asked what matters most in evaluating new hires, Gallup found business leaders place purpose low on the list. Organizations like Vocation and Human Potential Network help change this sentiment by giving employers a chance to work together to build purpose-driven talent practices from the ground up. To gain a competitive advantage in a tough economy, employers must help workers find roles that connect to their own talents and motivations and give them purpose through the value they create for others. By supporting all paths to meaningful work, employers will create a loyal workforce equipped to contribute, innovate and evolve. Ryan Stowers is senior vice president at Stand Together, a philanthropic community that helps America’s boldest changemakers tackle the root causes of our country’s biggest problems, from education to the economy, broken communities, and toxic division, among dozens of other pressing issues.
