The Inextricable Link Between Work and Purpose
Sigmund Freud equated happiness with love and work. If by “work,” Freud had “purpose” in mind, then there is growing empirical evidence supporting his view. Purpose is closely tied to meaning and meaning acts as an antidote to despair. This is true even in the most difficult of circumstances.
A recent conversation with a friend of mine who has conducted research with the military drove this point home for me. He observed that mental health struggles and suicide rates are growing among military workers in logistics and support roles, rather than among frontline soldiers. It struck me that it is often the case that where the risk is greatest, the mission is also clearest — and humans thrive on that clarity.
This is also a warning sign for our current moment. During the pandemic, we’ve all become part of the war effort. Our mission was clear. Our leaders rallied in support. We helped each other get through each day. But once this mission ends, what will our next one be?
How will it feel to suddenly return to normal? Will we feel pressure to simply move on from the past year-and-a-half of hard times? Will we be able to find new purpose-filled efforts, or will we struggle with the thought that we’re back to the same grind? I think a few considerations can help each of us to find our own answers to these questions.
Question success for success’s sake
To move ahead, we need to recognize that “purpose” does not necessarily mean “success.” We have all had time and reason to reconsider our priorities, at work and at home. Many people are looking to recalibrate what it means to have purposeful days.
How we define purpose will vary and it will rarely map to a five-point performance scale. A purposeful day could mean helping another employee learn a new skill, or it could mean logging off in time to watch a child’s tee-ball game or catch up with old friends. That’s the surest way to find purpose each day, rather than pinning our hopes on sales calls and board meetings.
Reclaim your mundane Wednesdays
The reality is that lofty phrases like “find your purpose” and “live a life with meaning” often fail to capture the significance of real life that is lived on mundane days. Life and careers are long games, with unique trajectories. This means that we can get excited about the contribution that work makes to our purpose, without bearing the burden that daily success is the sole measure for achieving that purpose.
Lead by celebrating effort and empathy
Leaders can help to cultivate a purposeful outlook by recognizing efforts as well as successes, by empathizing with employees’ burdens and hardships, and by celebrating team members, even on the days where they didn’t reach a major milestone.
It’s not always easy for leaders — who bear a unique burden of risk and decision-making in their roles — to delineate between a successful workday and a purposeful life. Leaving space in your agenda to focus on efforts that are not explicitly tied to your job can help you create meaning even when despair tries to creep in.
The good news is none of us are alone in this effort. We all have opportunities to define and redefine purpose, each day, through the intentional choices we make and the purposeful trajectories we set for ourselves.