The Importance of Finding Purpose at Work

We’ve probably all heard the phrase “If it were meant to be fun, they wouldn’t call it work” at least once in our career. But should we challenge that assumption?

I believe we should.

And while work can’t always be fun in the same way life isn’t always fun, we can still find purpose and joy in our work. The average person will spend about 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime. Why not make the most of it?

Before we explore how to do it, let’s look at how we’ve ended up in our workplace predicament in the first place.

Why Work Isn’t Working for Most People

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us many lessons about the world we live in, not least of which was how the world of work is not working for most of us. It took a catastrophic global health crisis to reveal the extent to which our organizational systems had long been overloaded and malfunctioning. The result? We saw the Great Resignation and the rise of quiet quitting. 

When the Pew Research Center asked, employees cited low pay, no opportunities for advancement, disrespect, limited flexibility, and lack of childcare options as some of the top reasons for leaving their organizations. In Make Work Healthy, we also found that people are navigating micromanaging bosses, environments that lack psychological safety, workplace politics, and the stress of the daily grind as more reasons they’re miserable at work.

While work has created these problems, it is also - paradoxically - the solution.

Understanding Your Organization

The first step in using work as a solution to the problem that work itself has created is to take stock of who your organization is. This means understanding your organization’s purpose, culture, and environment. Who is your organization, and how does it fit into the world?

There are no wrong answers here. The important thing is to be honest about your organization so you can attract people who will thrive and flourish in your culture. Is your structure hierarchical or flat? Are you risk-averse or open to making bold moves? Is your culture calm or fast-paced? Is it a rigid environment or more relaxed?
The answers to these questions will help you gain clarity about who your organization is and the type of people who will find inspiration and purpose working there.

Knowing Who You Are

An equally important step is truly knowing who you are. What are your core principles, values, and beliefs? Like the questions organizations should ask themselves, individuals should be clear on their personalities so they can find organizations that align with them.

Are you open or private? Do you prefer to work alone or in large groups? Are you more analytical or creative? Do you like structure, or do you crave freedom?

When asking yourself these questions, think about them in terms of three key areas: environments, teams, and groups. 

Personality assessments, like The Leadership Circle Profile, Hogan, DiSC, and TKI, can be incredibly helpful in revealing your character traits and steering you toward workplace cultures that work for you.

Finding Your Purpose

I coach a lot of executives on creating or refining their personal leadership brand. Our leadership brand provides focus, grounds us in what is most important, helps to clarify our approach, and aids in decision-making. An essential prerequisite for developing your leadership brand is becoming clear on your purpose.

There are a lot of books and conferences and research on purpose. The saying goes that people work for money but live for meaning. Indeed, a Harvard Business Review study pointed to 9 out of 10 people indicating they would work for less money to do more meaningful work aligned with their purpose. In short, purpose matters.

Your purpose exists at the intersection of who the organization is and who you are. Everything falls into place when you find somewhere that aligns with your values and supports you in achieving your goals. It feels natural, like coming home. And maybe not every task you do every day brings you joy, but environments where leaders connect people to their impact are those where people find greater purpose.

To learn more about how you can make your workplace work better, check out Make Work Healthy and my coaching solutions.