14 Mar Find purpose at work – even in the most mundane of tasks
We spend so much time at work it’d be great if we could be happy and enjoy it.
But enjoying happiness at work isn’t just a “nice” think; it’s also good for productivity and collaboration and a whole bunch of other important variables.
Part of happiness at work (and, for that matter, outside of work) is finding or creating meaning and purpose.
Which is why, if you’re interested in happiness at work and beyond, you should read this Harvard Business Review article…
by Valerie Keller and Caroline Webb
More and more companies are embracing the idea that they might have a purpose that goes beyond their balance sheet, one that makes the world a better place in some way. Perhaps you’re proud to count your firm as one of them. But a noble corporate mission can feel quite distant from the realities of everyday working life. How are we supposed to feel a higher sense of purpose amid the daily scrum, as we wade through tedious meetings and endless to-do lists — perhaps with less-than-inspirational managers breathing down our necks?
It turns out that a lot of executives are wondering the same thing. In a survey conducted by EY Beacon Institute and Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, 90% of executives said their companies now recognize the importance of having “an aspirational reason for being which inspires and provides a call to action for an organization…and provides benefit to society.” Almost all those leaders also said that having this kind of larger purpose boosts company performance, driving higher employee engagement and stronger capacity for innovation and adaptation. And yet fewer than half the executives surveyed said their organization actually operates in a purpose-driven way from day to day.
At a Beacon Institute breakfast roundtable at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, in January, there was a widespread concern about this gap and what to do about it. As one CEO said, “If you woke up one of our people in the middle of the night and asked them what our purpose is, you’d get a sincere but generic answer: that we have to look after our clients. But the wider purpose of doing that isn’t yet articulated, much less instilled in the soul of the business.”
Luckily, behavioral science research suggests that it really doesn’t take much for each of us to reconnect to our sense of purpose — and reap the benefits of doing so. Many studies have found that even a brief moment of reflection on a “personal why” can help us rise to a challenge by immediately boosting our performance and resilience…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE