Finding Meaning in Work – For Anyone and Everyone!
By- Asmita Saini, intern Psychologist at Selbic
“An abundant organization enables its employees to be completely fulfilled by finding meaning and purpose from their work experience.”
– David Ulrich, a Professor of Business at the University of Michigan.
When one thinks about work, the first and foremost thing that comes to mind is MEANING!! Otherwise what is work without meaning? Have you ever heard someone say, “I want my work to be as meaningless and boring as possible?”, unless…. you are a rare researcher, researching boredom and meaninglessness at work, at an experiential level!! :D
Coming to the point, finding meaning in work is as important as anything can be. If an employee has achieved this Zen state, it means they are enriching their organization with valuable contributions and also their own life. It means that they are feeling happy and fulfilled, simply speaking.
They say success is a journey, not a destination. So let us assume that the concept of finding meaning in work is a journey and to successfully convey our take on this concept, let’s guide you using 5 mantras that relate to finding meaning in work.
So here we go.
Understand what motivates you and how you find fulfillment.
As an employee of a cool organization XYZ, you obviously chose your job because you had skills, passion and interest in your area. So you can think of further ways to scale up your deftness and expertise by wanting to keep the drive to learn, engage and create- forever alive.
For example, if you are a 20ish something Software Developer at say, Bloomberg, you can write a blog, an idea muse, to chart the journey of your own learning, on how your seniors and mentors gave you cool ideas on how they improved their programming skills. But this is only if you enjoy writing, otherwise there are equally good ways to find motivation and fulfillment. Simply socializing with like-minded people, might just be one idea on how to achieve this.
Identifying values, desires and overall vision and understanding personal and professional direction is important.
This one sounds a little tricky. But trying to simplify this here, this somewhere prods you to do a lot of reflection on your personal values, your desires, as in what do you want from your life and work, where do you see your career graph going. Your personal reflections and professional realities should align or if they don’t align perfectly well, they should be on the path to alignment.
This is possible simply with, self-reflection and also using many other well studied factors that might relate to this, for instance, Mentoring. A good mentor or even a Life/Business Coach can help you sail this journey smoothly by helping you see the situation objectively with no stress or problems at all.
Identify what you value in the workplace
Workplaces these days have a terrific work culture. And it can always be made even more tremendous, using principles of business psychology and organizational behavior. So as an individual, you can acknowledge and then work upon, to better what you value. Talking of what you can do at your personal level to find meaning in work.
For example- if you like the nature of fun activities that your HR plans from time to time, you can make it a point to enjoy them and participate. Almost always and have fun at work. You can also pitch in your ideas if suggestions are asked for.
Manage feelings and actions in the workplace
If you want to work in a productive manner, you have to manage your feelings and emotions. Your hours at work are chilled out, if your life at work is happening and cool! Whatever might be the nature of your job, you should feel good and satisfied at the level of emotions, most of the times.
Isn’t it very simple and obvious? But the point is to stay aware, mindful, calm, happy and feel at bliss. Your feelings and actions in your workplace are really important. Take good care of yourself, while at work.
Create a personal sense of fun about work
Nobody wants to feel stuck at work. The easiest and most enlivening tip to find meaning in work is to create a personal sense of fun about work. But how? Laughter and comedy (light and dark), will do the trick. Have fun and enjoy the moments during your breaks, conversations with colleagues, training sessions, idea-generation meetings - all can be potential sources of your dose of fun and extracting meaning out of your work. This is not as terse as it might be sounding, in writing. Apply it and reap the benefits!
So finding meaning in work sounds like a pretty philosophical concept- dense, intriguing and having unique connotations to people.
Selbic, in Gurgaon has lots to offer to enrich you or your organization with ways that can level up the sense of meaning that you essentially draw from your work. For more information, check out the full range of services offered by Selbic, we range from Life and Business Coaching to Training and Development. Choose and take your pick!