Is Your Work Meaningful? 4 Ways To Cultivate A More Fulfilling Career
The average person spends over 90,000 hours working — that adds up to more than ten years! It should be no surprise that the pursuit of meaningful work is not just a philosophical ideal, but a critical factor in overall fulfillment and well-being.
Viktor E. Frankl, Austrian neurologist, psychologist, and Nazi concentration camp survivor stated, “Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning. The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life.”¹
When this search for meaning is translated into the realm of professional life, it encourages a pursuit of deep engagement and a sincere sense of purpose in one's work. This pursuit is far from trivial — it is essential. Fulfillment and a sense of purpose in a career proves to be more motivating than salaries, benefits, opportunities for promotion, or even the working conditions themselves.²
Defining Meaningful Work
So, what exactly is meaningful work? Meaningful work can be characterized as work that is personally fulfilling, aligns with one’s values, contributes to the greater good, and provides a sense of accomplishment and pride. It is the kind of work that people feel passionate about and that resonates with their inner ideals and aspirations.
Younger Workers Are Less Likely To Have Meaningful Careers
In 2023, the landscape of job satisfaction in America painted a mixed picture, reflecting varying levels of fulfillment across different age groups. According to studies by Pew Research, 47% of Americans reported that their jobs were fulfilling "most of the time," and 37% felt fulfillment "some of the time." However, a significant 16% of the workforce found their jobs "rarely" or "never" fulfilling. This data underscores a critical gap in job satisfaction, particularly when dissecting the responses by age.
Among younger adults, those aged 18 to 29, only 39% expressed that their jobs were fulfilling. In contrast, a more substantial 68% of older adults, those aged 65+, reported finding fulfillment in their work. This stark difference highlights a generational divide in workplace satisfaction, suggesting that younger workers, particularly Generation Z and Millennials, are struggling to find meaningful engagement at work.³
The Role of Attention and Focus
Achieving meaningful work isn’t just about the type of job we hold; it heavily depends on how we engage with our work. Engagement here refers to the quality of attention and concentration we bring to our daily tasks. When our work environment is filled with interruptions, our attention fragments, we enjoy work less, and we lose sight of the value and purpose of our efforts. Conversely, when we manage to sustain focus, our engagement deepens, and the nature of our work begins to transform.
When we direct our full attention to a task, we activate a higher level of cognitive and emotional investment in the work. This focused state, often referred to as being "in the flow," is not just about efficiency but about experiencing our work in a more enriched, involved manner. Here’s how focus plays a crucial role in achieving meaningful work:
Enhanced Connection to Work: Focused attention allows us to connect with our work at a more profound level. This connection can reveal the significance of our tasks, showing how they fit into the bigger picture of organizational goals, societal needs, or personal aspirations.
Sense of Competence and Autonomy: A focused state helps us execute tasks with higher quality, leading to a greater sense of competence. Additionally, autonomy is felt when we can control our attention and choose where to allocate it, which is empowering and reinforces our intrinsic motivation.
Recognition of Impact: In a focused state, we are more likely to notice the effects of our work and how it influences others, whether these are co-workers, customers, or the community. This recognition of our impact can significantly boost our perception of our work's meaningfulness.
Four Ways to Cultivate a More Meaningful Career
Align Work With Personal Values: Begin by identifying what you value most. Is it innovation, leadership, creativity, or perhaps community impact? Understanding your values allows you to steer your career in directions that resonate with your personal beliefs, enhancing the meaningfulness of your work.
Recognize Your Capacity: To combat the incessant distractions of modern work environments, recognize that you can’t do it all. Say “no” when necessary. Recognize what actually makes a difference and identify how your time is best spent. Doing so allows you to engage with your work on a deeper level, which results in greater productivity and meaning.
Foster a Growth Mindset: View challenges as opportunities to grow rather than obstacles. This mindset encourages curiosity, engagement, and persistence, which are pivotal in finding significance in your endeavors and achieving professional growth.
Connect Your Impact: Reinforce the impact of your role by having a clear connection to your company’s vision. 1962, President John F. Kennedy visited NASA. During his tour of the facility, President Kennedy met a janitor, and casually asked him what he did for NASA. The janitor replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” That janitor knew the connection between his role and NASA’s vision. Knowing that connection enhances a sense of impact, purpose, and direction.
Meaningful Work Benefits Both Employees and Organizations
Engaging in meaningful work is not just beneficial for individual employees but also for organizations. Studies have shown that employees who perceive their work as meaningful are more productive, more satisfied, and have higher levels of well-being. This, in turn, benefits organizations through enhanced performance, lower turnover rates, and a more committed workforce.
Finding meaning in work is about much more than what we do — it's about how we connect with and focus on our tasks. By cultivating attention and aligning our professional lives with our personal values, we can transform our day-to-day tasks into a source of satisfaction and purpose. As we navigate our careers, let’s strive not just for success in the conventional sense, but for the fulfillment that comes from engaging deeply with our work and finding our unique path to significance.
By placing a premium on attention and focus, we not only enhance our productivity but also pave the way for a more satisfying and meaningful career. In doing so, we answer Frankl's call to seek meaning in our lives.
¹ V.E. Frankl, “Man’s Search For Meaning” (Boston: Beacon Press, 1959).² Catherine Bailey and Adrian Madden, What Makes Work Meaningful — Or Meaningless, MIT Sloan Management Review, 2016 ³ Pew Research, How Americans View Their Jobs, Pew Research, 2023