Every person desires meaning and purpose. But can fostering an individual’s sense of purpose at work be a win-win for that person and their employer? A new Gallup report says the answer is yes — there is mutual benefit when businesses help their workers identify what gives them meaning in their lives.
Why?
Because when employees find purpose in their work, they are more likely to be engaged.
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. Additionally, 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.
Gallup also found 45 percent of employees with a strong sense of life purpose say they are engaged at work. That number is 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.
“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,” Charles Koch Foundation Executive Director writes in a Salt Lake Tribune op-ed featuring the Gallup study. Indeed, 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, Stowers notes. 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.
Want to learn more? Read the Gallup study and Stowers’ op-ed.