Imagine digging a pit, only to refill it. No purpose and no explanation. The job has to be done because someone higher up the corporate ladder has decided it has to. Could you do your best? Most of us cannot.
The Wise Happiness study round 1 points out that that work devoid of meaning keeps us from reaching happiness. I need to know how my eight hours at work makes this world a little bit better. You probably do too, right?
Consulting giant McKinsey have asked top managers of top performing corporations describe the factors that generate “flow”, that state where we lose ourselves in work and deliver quality on a much higher level. The decisive factor is what they call “the meaning quotient”. Is your work meaningful?
A good job without meaning is ”just a job” Susie Cranston and Scott Keller from McKinsey write. I can second that after taking a peek at the data behind the Wise Happiness report. A job without meaning does not make me happy, no matter how great it is.
The best performing groups in the best performing companies do it. It makes us happy. What more do you need? I am thinking that by now you are asking ”how do I get there?”.
McKinsey admits that no bonus plan will generate meaningfulness. Incentives work great in getting a donkey to pull water from a well, but it does not generate meaningful work. Daniel Pink has made a great job popularizing the research by Deci & Ryan which illustrates how rewards cannibalize on our natural motivators. McKinsey recommends feedback & praise.
I would like to add a perspective to that picture. Please look below. People clearly feel their work is more meaningful in companies that are led by an even mix of men and women.
This data is based on 21 companies with an average of just over 1000 employees. The gender makeup of the top management group explains some 15 percent of the variance in meaningfulness.
Many of the red companies above are in male dominated industries such as technology and IT, but there are also cases from health care and education; industries where people usually feel they have very meaningful jobs.
Another possible explanation is that men and women are fundamentally different when it comes to meaning. I am hypothesizing that women prioritize meaning higher than men do. We have seen this pattern consistently for many years in many different companies and different industries, but I have found no confirmation in gender research.
My hypothesis is that a mixed management group will have a better discussion about meaning than a management group consisting of only men can. A group of short-term money-focused men may come up with a catchy phrase, but can they deliver it credibly to thousands of employees? I think at least a minority of that management group needs to be motivated by larger values than money for this to work.
What do you think?