Help your Employees Find Purpose or Watch Them Leave
McKinsey & Company is a management consulting firm that advises on strategic management to corporations, governments, and other organizations.
By Naina Dhingra, Andrew Samo, Bill Schaninger, and Matt Schrimper
What you need to know …
- Nearly two-thirds of US-based employees surveyed said that COVID-19 has caused them to reflect on their purpose in life.
- And nearly half said that they are reconsidering the kind of work they do because of the pandemic.
- Millennials were three times more likely than others to say that they were reevaluating work.
- People who live their purpose at work are more productive, healthier, and more resilient.
- Research found that 70 percent of employees said that their sense of purpose is defined by their work.
How to Find Your Sense of Purpose at Work
TED| Article | 10′ read
Leah Weiss a researcher, professor, consultant and author. She teaches courses on compassionate leadership at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and is principal teacher and founding faculty for Stanford’s Compassion Cultivation Program, conceived by the Dalai Lama.
Excerpted from the new book ‘How We Work: Live Your Purpose, Reclaim Your Sanity, and Embrace the Daily Grind’ by Leah Weiss.
What you need to know …
Purpose is ongoing and iterative — it’s a process of seeing what works, and what doesn’t, for you and your life.
Exercise
Pick a period of time, such as one week, and notice when you feel most on purpose and what you’re doing at the time.
Write down these associations in a journal or document. At the end of the week, review your notes.
- Do you see any pattern to your sense of purpose?
- Does it tend to come with certain categories of things?
- Can you make any generalizations about your purpose from these specific instances?
How will I know when I’m on purpose? What does it feel like?
It’s a feeling of vitality, when making an effort leaves us energized