Remember Nadine from last month? Nadine has now shifted into the second gear of her corporate detox program. After learning to differentiate urgent from important, she developed a strategy for finding meaning in her professional and personal life. Above and beyond the traps (the relapses and guiltiness she still experiences), she has slowly regained control. She found a quotation from Candice Carpenter’s book “Chapters” especially helpful: “Don’t act—wait! When invitations to walk back into your old life arrive, be flattered, but hold your ground. Somethingimportant is currently happening in your life, and you need time to achieve it. The issue (of change) is too important to quit and return to your comfort zone. . . Think of it (going back to work) as a lease, not a sale.” This path, leasing, appealed to Nadine. Through it, she achieved a balance between feelings of guilt, the fear of change (by remaining anchored) and the fear of having no income while she reinvented herself. Leasing out her services as a consultant gave her time to prepare for the next step. And that, she knew how to do. Negotiating contracts, terms and conditions, planning activities, and so on—but never any long-term commitments, and always an exit door. What a great safety parachute! She carefully blocked off time in her agenda, reserving three days for consulting work and keeping two days for her project. She can now devote herself to finding a career or job that makes sense to her.
“Regiving meaning, finding meaning in one’s work” are very topical right now. We have been hearing about these issues for a few years now. A dozen or 20 years ago, such questions were never asked. You started working for an employer after graduation and you stayed there. Today, the reversed “employer-employee” balance, loss of employee loyalty and absence of guaranteed jobs have provoked profound changes in ways of thinking. What is striking today is the increasing number of mental health conditions reported, and the new mental health issue for employers is the need for people to find meaning in work. A job that does not fulfil this fundamental need may plunge employees, supervisors and senior managers into depression or even burnout. So what then should we do—search for meaning in our work as though on a quest for the Holy Grail?
According to a study by Estelle Morin, HEC and Charles Gagné, IRSST (http://www.irsst.qc.ca/media/documents/PubIRSST/R-644.pdf), six characteristics make work meaningful: social purpose/utility, autonomy, learning/development opportunities, moral correctness, the quality of relationships, and recognition. Although the study is not recent, it is still relevant. Loss of meaning is what brought Nadine, like other managers, to experience a malaise. Malcolm Gladwell, author of “The Tipping Point,” “Blink” and “Outliers,” explains that there needs to be a correlation between effort at work and what you get out of it (e.g. recognition, performance). For each effort made, there must be an equivalent benefit.
I think there are more than these six characteristics. Above and beyond that, there is the need to contribute to a larger project, the need to feel that you have made a difference. What do you want your legacy to be? This is a good question to ask yourself as a recruiter or HR manager, as well as something to ask candidates during job interviews. I’m not sure about the answers, though, because many of us don’t have them.
What also counts is making a difference. How many opportunities do we have to make a difference for someone in our day? A great opportunity arises by giving someone the chance to do something for the first time and watching them learn and develop, a bit like a seed that you plant and then watch grow. But how many of your managers take this risk? How many people dare exit their comfort zone? Entrepreneurs are often the happiest, because they combine the six essential characteristics for providing their work with meaning (autonomy in particular) and have struck a balance between effort and recognition. Surveys have found that 69% of entrepreneurs describe themselves as “very happy,” on average, and 61% believe they are happier than their peers (http://www.entrepriseglobale.biz/2010/10/20/les-entrepreneurs-sont-des-gens-plus-heureux-de-les-autres-une-enquete-le-confirme).
The “freedom” factor definitely makes a difference. But are entrepreneurs really so free? Perhaps not, but at least they feel as though they are—perhaps a bit like living by the ocean but never going to the beach. Employees, for their part, can feel restricted and “stuck.” This reality is probably the reason that gen Y is so insistent on autonomy and flexibility, because they have understood that to feel fulfilled professionally you need to be yourself and feel free.
Nadine has chosen freedom, which, while not being the easiest or most restful path, will allow her to once again find meaning in her work. Just like the quest for the Holy Grail, it is a voyage of discovery. Good luck on your quest!
Nathalie Francisci,
Board Director, Speaker and Colomnist
www.nathaliefrancisci.com