Happy at work: Purpose

or, why it's important to do something that matters

One of the most common questions I’m asked is: “How can I be happier at work?” And for good reason. We spend a large portion of our lives at work, and our society is full of conflicting messages about what we should expect in terms of our happiness at work (“do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” vs. “work isn’t supposed to be fun—that’s why it’s called work”).

This is the first in a three-part series on what drives happiness at work. Over the next few weeks, I will dive into this issue in greater detail. This week, I’ll explore key drivers of work satisfaction, according to the organizational behavior literature. Future issues will cover autonomy (November 10) and the importance of relationships (November 17).

What’s the purpose of having a purpose?

Since the beginning of time, humans have felt an intrinsic drive for connection to something bigger than themselves. We want to know that our lives—and our work—matter. Yes, everyone needs a paycheck, but the vast majority of people feel compelled to do work that is meaningful to them.

I talk about values A LOT. In fact, my entire coaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that making choices that align with your values will result in greater personal and professional satisfaction. Yet, we often take our values for granted. We know we have them, but we rarely spend time intentionally reflecting on them.

As I’ve written before, “values are the principles that we hold most dear, and they are at the foundation of who we are—they guide our behavior, inform our choices, provide the cornerstones of our character, and shape how we parent our children.” Leaders who embody their values create better relationships and build more effective teams.

I recommend taking some time to really reflect on your personal core values (use this exercise to help guide you). And then asking yourself whether you’re able to live your values—or at least some of them—through the work that you do.

Finding meaning

Sometimes our purpose at work comes from a deep connection to our organization’s mission and services. For example, many healthcare professionals derive significant meaning from helping and healing patients. Teachers talk about the pride they feel in educating young learners. Charitable activists are motivated by advancing meaningful change in the world. Of course, not all workers in these roles feel a deep connection to the mission, but workers in these (and other) fields often describe their work as a “calling”, more than a “job”, meaning that they find their work to be intrinsically motivating and inherently meaningful.

But you don’t necessarily have to be curing cancer to feel a sense of purpose in your job. Business school professors Amy Wrzesniewski and Jane Dutton interviewed hospital janitors (a job not classical viewed as particularly glamorous) about their experiences at work. What they found surprised them. Some of these custodians were deeply connected to their jobs. Those with the highest levels of satisfaction viewed their work as impactful and noble—they contributed to the healing of sick patients, and they took that very seriously. As one Forbes article on the study summarizes:

“They got to know patients and families, and offered support in small but important ways: A box of Kleenex here or a glass of water there. A word of encouragement. One housekeeper reported rearranging pictures on the walls of comatose patients, with the hope that the change of scenery might have some positive effect.”

Wrzesniewski and Dutton termed this process “job crafting”, wherein people expand or redesign their job expectations to better suit their individual means and to make it more meaningful to them. Specifically, they encourage employees to focus on how they can change their tasks, relationships and perceptions to find greater satisfaction in their jobs.

How to ignite a sense of purpose

As the idea of job crafting suggestions, if one’s sense of purpose isn’t immediately apparent, all hope is not lost. In her book How to Be Happy at Work, Annie McKee suggests the following practical suggestions for fostering a greater sense of meaning in your work:

• Fix the problems you can control and contribute to the greater good. You may not be able to overhaul your organization’s culture, but consider what you can improve. McKee suggests asking, “What’s the problem? What do I have some control over?” What piece of a big problem do I touch directly? Where can I take action?”

• Find purpose in relationships. I have one coaching client who struggles with feeling connected to the mission of her tech job (i.e., convince people to spend more time online), but she’s deeply connected to her role as a manager. The relationships she has with her direct reports motivates her and provides her sense of purpose in her job.

• Set and achieve learning goals. Growth and development can be inherently motivating. Are there ways that you can develop skills or knowledge that are meaningful to you in your current job? If your day-to-day work is monotonous or uninspiring, is there a way to expand a project so that it challenges you? Are there professional development opportunities (either formal or informal) that you can take advantage of? Finally, who is going to keep you accountable as you develop these new skills?

---