What are some specific ways to make sure employees can make progress in meaningful work?

Gallup estimates that employee "disengagement" costs the American economy $300B annually and a new study by Teresa Amabile from HBS suggests that happy employees are people who can make progress in meaningful work. How do we create an environment where this happens?

Topics

Human Resources

Employee Development

Employee Engagement

Work

Work Life Balance

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Scott Albro

asked on Sept. 4, 2011

Kellie Auld

Employment Relationship Consultant, Simply Communicating

Posted on Oct. 1, 2011

I'm not sure I'm understanding the question completely Scott, but I think part of how we can help people find their work meaningful, is to allow them to make it their own. By that I mean, allow a certain amount of leeway in the way that jobs are being done. We don't all have to do everything exactly the same way as long as the results are there. Hear what they have to say about how their work is performed and as long as what they want to do isn't breaking any company policies, laws or safety standards; let them go ahead. Many of us have a difficult time in breaking out of our molds in the way we do work - let folks be somewhat creative in their jobs. I'm finding it difficult to provide you with a clear example at this point in time, but if I come up with one; I'll write again. I think this at least puts out what I'm thinking you're aiming at.

Bob Gately

Owner, Gately Consulting

Posted on Oct. 1, 2011

Hello Scott, meaningful work for whom, the employer or the employee? Happiness is a by-product of engagement, it does not lead to engagement. We often put the effect before the cause.

Some hiring managers believe that equally qualified applicants will be equally successful if hired. It isn't true and it leads to many bad hires.

A bad hire is an employee who does not...
1. find the work meaningful
2. enjoy doing the work
3. do the work successfully

I have ignored competence since employers seldom, if ever, hire incompetent employees.

Employers need to hire competent employees who also have a fit for their jobs so that they can become engaged quickly.

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Bob Gately Replied on Oct. 2, 2011

Hello Kellie, “I am not sure that some jobs can be found meaningful,” all jobs are meaningful otherwise employees would not be paid to do the jobs.

“take a look at some of the worst and lowest paying jobs out there.” I have.

“When we talk about enjoying work and finding it meaningful, quite often I fear we are talking about higher level 'career-type' positions and I'd like to find a way to keep all employees engaged.” Engaged employees is the reward employers receive for having all their executives, managers, and supervisors doing their jobs well all of the time. This is why engaged employees are hard to find; their supervisors, managers, and ecutives are not all doing their jobs well.

“What are your thoughts on this?”

All jobs have meaning thus they are all meaningful.

“Is it possible to gut chickens in a meaningful way or flip a burger with gusto? (Tongue in cheek - but I think you'll know what I mean :-))” Yes, since without such jobs getting done we would starve to death since we don’t grow our own food, breed our own livestock or butcher our own meat. I for one thank all the people who do the jobs that keep us fed, our streets clean, our sewers functioning, our trash collected, and our wastewater treated. We can add every job to the thank you list.

Belldon Colme Replied on Dec. 18, 2011

I did a bit of consulting with Waste Management a few years back, and it was a fascinating example to speak to your questions, Kellie. Trash haulers pick up trash and dump it. It is smelly, repetitive, dirty, hard work. Yet some of the localized teams had a lot of fun at work, and others absolutely hated their jobs.

Bob may be oversimplifying the issue a bit in stating that all jobs are meaningful else no one would pay to have them done. All trash haulers in Waste Management do the same work, basically the same way and for the same pay. What he may be getting at in tying that in to managerial effectiveness (correct me if I am wrong, Bob) is the team's ability to "see" their work as valuable. That happens as a result of a company's culture.

Belldon Colme

Owner, Human Nature Management

Posted on Dec. 18, 2011

Good question, Scott.

My experience suggests that the issue is not "meaningful" work so much as "fun" work. People who love their work inevitably describe it as fun. Even those with dirty, mundane, physical or even very stressful jobs define their work this way, as long as they are enjoying it. People in jobs that have no direction in which to 'progress' can still have fun and be happy in their work.

The thing is, fun does not require play. The best way to achieve 'fun' is by creating an environment where your team can win together. Team success, which is celebrated in a team way, creates a euphoria that motivates a person to want more.

Most of us have, at some point, experienced 'rewarding' jobs that we can't wait to get out of. Even the meaningful jobs, devoid of fun, just suck.

Together, let's put the fun back into work!
Belldon Colme
belldoncolme@gmail.com

Mark Herbert

Principal, New Paradigms LLC

Posted on Dec. 19, 2011

Scott,
I have been using and teaching a model for about 15 years that seems to work pretty well.
First step is I use a commitment rather than compliance model based on five elements: respect, responsibility, information, equitable rewards, and mutual lotalty.
Second is I build an employment brand- I hire hard and manage easy. I screen for buy in to our culture and values as part of the interview process. People "join up" they don't just take a job.
Third is I reinforce. I make sure our systems and our actions reinforce the first two. That means supervisory training, performance management, rewards and recognition, etc.
I find when I do those things employees may not be "happy", but they are engaged. They see a connection between their goals and organizational goals, they feel respected and valued, and they feel treated equitably and fairly.
If it sounds simple it is because it is.It is also hard work.
I have given you the "snapshot". I have written about my experiences and my methodology extensively, but I didn't want to turn my response into an infomercial for my firm. Much more extensive information is available on my profile here on Focus.com and my website.