{"id":6515,"date":"2023-07-25T08:03:43","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T08:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/leadership\/does-your-job-improve-the-world-if-not-improve-your-job\/"},"modified":"2023-07-25T08:03:44","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T08:03:44","slug":"does-your-job-improve-the-world-if-not-improve-your-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=6515","title":{"rendered":"Does Your Job Improve The World? If Not, Improve Your Job"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Beyond obvious things like a paycheck and insurance benefits, does your work have purpose?<\/p>\n

For your sake, let\u2019s hope so.<\/p>\n

According to a Gallup study, there\u2019s a 68% probability that you\u2019re not highly satisfied with your life in general if you\u2019re dissatisfied with work. Conversely, here\u2019s a nearly 80% probability that you\u2019re highly satisfied with life if you\u2019re satisfied with work.<\/p>\n

Bea Boccalandro has devoted her career to helping people get more from their work than a paycheck. For more than 20 years she has served as president of VeraWorks, a global consulting firm specializing in workplace purpose. She\u2019s helped companies such as IBM, FedEx, PwC, and Toyota ignite purpose in the workplace. Her latest book is Do Good at Work: How Simple Acts of Social Purpose Drive Success and Wellbeing.<\/em><\/p>\n

Many (most?) jobs lack a compelling purpose. That deficiency leads to sluggish performance, disengagement, carelessness, disloyalty, and unhappiness. Aside from the human toll, all that of course has huge financial implications. For example, employee disengagement is estimated to cost the overall U.S. economy upwards of $400 billion every year.<\/p>\n

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Boccalandro believes a big part of the solution is to help people improve their own jobs.<\/p>\n

As a little girl growing up in Venezuela, she was taught a life-changing lesson by her father: \u201cListen beyond the clamor of your wants for the whisper of the world\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>I try to animate every workday with that advice,\u201d she says. \u201cIts value is not so much that it helps me be more caring and ethical, although I do appreciate that aspect, but that it drives my best performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is she saying that merely shifting work toward social purpose boosts people\u2019s motivation, performance, and satisfaction?<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, I was once skeptical,\u201d Boccalandro says. \u201cBut dozens of studies paint a clear picture: Conducting acts of social purpose, even those lasting no more than five minutes and costing no more than five dollars, typically improves attitudes and behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how does social purpose in the workplace affect people\u2019s personal lives?<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking meaningful contributions to others or societal causes at work impacts how well-rested we feel when the alarm blares, how often we argue with our spouse, and other far corners of our personal lives,\u201d she says. \u201cStudies show that work with social purpose reduces stress, improves sleep, heightens happiness, dampens chronic pain, strengthens immune response, boosts career success, supports mental health, lowers the risk of heart disease, lengthens lifespan, stabilizes relationships, and makes us more attractive to potential romantic partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do the benefits of social purpose sound too good to be true? Boccalandro expands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat something as squishy as social purpose drives substantial impacts, at first, sounds preposterous,\u201d she says. \u201cIt starts to make sense, however, if we consider our ancestry. Unlike bears, who are solitary and self-sufficient, prehistoric humans were needy. They couldn\u2019t hunt big game, fend off tigers, rear their young, or even sleep safely without a helping hand. Our forbearers had to aid each other to survive. Evolution, therefore, shaped us into creatures with a primal need to contribute to our tribe or community. Our physiology rewards us when we engage in social purpose. For example, it reduces our levels of cortisol, what is often referred to as the \u2018stress hormone.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Boccalandro frequently tells people that if their job doesn\u2019t improve the world, they should improve their job.<\/p>\n

For most people, she says, workdays are often devoid of social purpose. The solution she recommends is something she calls \u201cjob purposing.\u201d This involves making meaningful contributions to others or society as part of our workweek\u2014however we can. \u201cI job purposed by directing a small fraction of my workday to support the mental wellbeing of two workers,\u201d she says. Other examples of job purposing include:<\/p>\n