Do People Truly Find Purpose in Their Work?
A few issues back, I wrote about work being a primary driver of purpose for people (Radical Abundance), and I received a comment from reader Mark Odegard of Measure Meant that really stuck with me. I've been thinking about it ever since.
It made me realize that I likely over-index on deriving purpose from work, and that many people – wonder of wonders! – might not think as I do. So, I'm resurrecting Mark's response from the obscurity of the Comments Section – a thoughtful counterpoint perspective to mine – so that you may give it consideration as well. I'd also love to know how you feel about purpose and work.
Godspeed, friends.
Russ
Russ – Good article.
When I hear that work is what gives people purpose, as you say “[i]t’s in the workplace where we often discover that we matter, build self-esteem, and add value to the world around us,” I often wonder how true that is. How many employees at fast food restaurants, big box stores, and Amazon warehouses feel that working gives them purpose, that their works makes them feel like they matter?
Working for a business has rarely given me a sense of purpose. As an internal consultant for 14 years with a large multi-national, I can’t tell you how many company leaders told me “great work, those are good ideas” and then never did anything with it. They were basically saying there was no purpose in my work. I wasn’t left feeling a sense of purpose, just that I had wasted my time and probably theirs. And my work as a B Corp consultant felt like it mattered for the first one or two clients and then I realized it was really just performative for 80-90% of our clients.
The HBR article (referenced in the Radical Abundance post) says that “[t]oday polls show that 30% of people report feeling invisible at work, 65% feel under-appreciated, and close to 82% of workers feel lonely.” That suggests that the majority of the workforce doesn’t feel they matter and likely don’t find a sense of purpose from their work. My take is the article is about effective leadership, not proof that people derive fulfillment and a sense of mattering from their work.
Additionally, the notion that work gives people purpose is something a certain political party often uses as an excuse for eliminating social benefits like Medicaid. It’s a bit of smoke and mirrors – they say that if you work, you will feel better about yourself and won’t need benefits even though you earn less than a living wage. They say they are really doing people a favor by giving them purpose through work. Maybe that influences my perspective too much.
Deriving a sense of purpose from work seems like it might just be a privilege for a rather small group of people.
Thanks for writing your newsletter. I look forward to it every week.
Mark Odegard
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