KEY POINTS
> Fulfillment at work is now the new norm.
> Having these three things – impact, relationship, and growth – could provide the sense of fulfillment at work.
> Creating something gives us the sense of fulfillment.
> Trying out different things until you find what brings you satisfaction may help in achieving fulfillment.
Fulfillment at work
Finding fulfillment at work has been a desire that every working person has been craving for. The pandemic has brought to our attention the importance of the purpose of our work and the feeling of being fulfilled. Spending time at home with our family made us realize that there are more important things in our lives than busting out long hours in the office without a sense of fulfillment.
Satisfaction with our careers and jobs had been questioned. It is not about earning to live anymore. It is not also about living life comfortably. We have achieved these. It is now about being fulfilled with our work. It is creating a work-life balance. It is now a question of impact, meaning and purpose.
Companies struggle to keep employees. It became more difficult during and after the pandemic. Employee engagement has never been more critical and various approaches such as virtual team buildings and company events, and the push for more interconnected people were implemented to keep employees engaged and motivated. There were some who implemented mental health breaks to tackle the issue around employee well-being and mental health.
But, what really is a meaningful work? How do we find fulfillment in what we do, or is it not even with our current work and do we need to search for it? Does a purpose-driven work enough to feel fulfilled? What can we do to find fulfillment at work?
There are ways, according to researches. Well, I would beg to disagree.
The three things to have to feel fulfilled at work
Impact. Relationship. Growth. These are the three things that a person should have to have a sense of fulfillment at work. This is according to a post on Big Think written by Kevin Dickinson. It was a conversation between him and Aaron Hurst who is the founder of Imperative and Taproot Foundation and author of The Purpose Economy.
I. IMPACT
Simple enough. When we know the gravity and the value of what we do to others, we feel fulfilled. We realize that our work is meaningful and has a significant effect on other people’s lives, we see that our work is purpose-driven instead of menial tasks that we must go through every day. But, is that even enough?
Businesses strive to make this known to employees to ensure that quality of work is there and clients receive the service that they need and deserve. By making people understand the purpose of what they do, it somehow creates a sense of passion and dedication in the work they do.
Although, when our work does not directly translate to an impact, this can be very difficult to feel. An example would be in a contact center where your daily task is to answer calls, emails or chats. Doing it repetitively for people you don’t know or even care about disconnects you from the impact. Makes us ask ourselves, “What am I doing here? Is this something I really want to do?”
II. RELATIONSHIP
We are highly social animals. We strive to belong. We wanted to be accepted by the community we are a member of. It is a product of our survival instincts. Our ancestors needed the help of the tribe to survive. With our primitive minds, we brought this need to the present. Therefore, our desire to be build relationships, be accepted, and become a valuable member of the community we are members of has become a need for us.
This is why most successful organizations strive to ensure there is a good working relationship in the workplace. Aaron Hurst mentioned that in his research, people tend to stay in the company when they feel they belong. With a sense of belongingness, we feel secure and thus we create work for the benefit of the member of the organization effecting the people outside.
However, does relationship really help us become fulfilled? Would that be enough to find our purpose in life? Can it create the passion at work?
III. GROWTH
This is a cliché. We all know this. Being stagnant with what we do leads to boredom and a feeling of senselessness. Repeating the same work over and over again for a long period of time will make us feel useless.
This is the reason why company leaders provide more challenging tasks, trainings, seminars, and opportunities. Of course, the main reason for this is to ensure competitiveness and stay relevant in their industry. Without such, an organization has spelled it’s doomed. With people being the most important resource of a company, it is imperative that they grow and always ready for any potential opportunities.
But, ask yourself, do you feel fulfillment when you grow? In terms of doing more, do find fulfilled with more responsibility and accountability? Or even when doing something else, have you found the fulfillment that you are looking for?
Fulfillment at work from creating
While it is good to have impact, relationship and growth in the organization, fulfillment can be achieved by focusing on our personal goals first. These goals are not the results of our work such as living in the beach, traveling the globe and having money in the bank. Particularly, these are by-products and/or tools for us to achieve our personal goals.
Some may call it doing what you love. And some may say love what you do. But to me, it is more than that. Ever had that moment where even though you do not get any feedback from what you have done but you feel satisfied with what you created? Have you ever had that feeling that you just did not care what other people said about it and you just kept going and creating? Or better yet, you felt irritated with someone who criticized your work after you have put all your heart into it?
I think this is it. We are all looking to be fulfilled at our current work and the strategies that companies implement to give that to us are more aligned in keeping us as employees. In one company I used to work for, they boast of extensive free training given to all employees to spur growth and maximize the potential of everyone. I personally do not need it even I enjoy going through training classes and seminars, I rather read books and blogs to keep my mind working.
Now, in my line of work, I do not consistently get feedback. My work does not have a direct impact on our clients. But, I like what I do. I am more focused on what I create and deliver that to our internal team for them to use. If they use it or not, I honestly do not care. I felt fulfilled because I created something that I want to.
The same with my blogging. I want to write. I want to share. Even if only one person reads it, that is enough. But it does not stop me from writing and publishing. I always have a senses of fulfillment when I am able to write and publish what I have in mind.
Find you fulfillment at work by trying different things
That is the old-age advice. Find your passion. Do what you love to do. It was also said that you can not earn a decent life if you keep doing what you love such as art and music but that is besides the point.
Putting passion at what you do is also another approach to keeping employees and force them to do what the work requirement is which leads to depression and unhappy people. This in turn loses the sense of fulfillment.
By trying out different things, you may find what makes you tick. Focusing on creating that you want to will give you a sense of fulfillment. It is not just about impact, relationship and growth. I think these are also by-products of what we do. If we start with creating something, without any care of the feedback, then I would say, we will have the sense of fulfillment that we are looking for.
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