Meaning at Work

This Penna research report concludes that meaning at work is real; it can add to the bottom line of companies. Your teams will be more motivated, loyal, creative and productive when you help them to find meaning in their work. This meaning is to be found at three levels: individual, organisational and societal. All three are important and they work together to create meaning for you and your teams.

Earlier research by Roffey Park has established that 70 percent of employees in the UK are looking for more meaning at work. If we expect them to bring more than their core skills to their jobs they need to feel valued, appreciated and have a sense of belonging. This Penna work shows that successful companies are formed around shared values as much as a shared purpose and you need to take this into account to attract, engage and retain your best talent.

This will become an acute problem for IT functions as the balance of value swings from hard technical skills to the critical soft skills such as leadership, empathy and persuasiveness. Employers who can unlock the secret of providing meaning at work can expect real rewards for it: 55 percent of respondents in all groups said that their motivation levels would increase, 42 percent said that their loyalty would be increased and over a third said they would take more pride in their work.

The report concludes with a list of ideas and tips that you can use to help you create more meaning for people at all levels in your IT teams.

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Meaning at Work