HIGHER CALLING
Finding a role that suits your purpose
HAVING a sense of purpose does wonders for a worker’s job satisfaction, productivity and mental health but they do not need to be saving lives or feeding the hungry to find meaning in what they do.
Executive adviser Phill Nosworthy says in “our age of comparison” it is easy for people to feel dissatisfied and lose interest in their careers.
The solution is to find genuine meaning in what they do.
“Research has found that meaning in work has been associated with employees feeling 2.2 times more satisfied with their jobs, 2.8 times more likely to stay at the company, and 93 per cent more engaged,” he says.
AccessEAP clinical director Marcela Slepica says a sense of purpose can also significantly improve psychological health.
“Work can contribute positively to employee’s wellbeing by providing social interaction, a sense of structure, achievement and meaning,” she says.
Nosworthy, who has worked with companies such as Microsoft, Universal Music and the AFL, says people gain so much more from their work when they take a step back, rediscover their purpose, and ask themselves: “Am I prepared to do what it takes to become good at it?”.
He says there are three first steps in that process.
Take the time to consider why your work matters to you and the people that matter to you.
There are obvious reasons such as income and security, but going beyond that will infuse even the most mundane tasks with significance and purpose.
This will help you get out of bed on the days you do not feel like it and give you motivation to keep going when times get tough, Nosworthy says.
Find what you are good at and get better at it. Nosworthy says it sounds obvious but often our insecurities, the needs of the company, or small changes over time to our job description move us away from the thing we love to do and are great at doing.
Spend your time on things that matter to you and things that move you towards your goals. Be especially careful of time traps such as social media.
Nosworthy says Facebook and Instagram are incredible platforms when used well, but they are either a tool or a trap.
You get to choose.