How Important Is a ‘Sense of Purpose’ at Work?

How important is a sense of purpose when it comes to employee engagement?

A recent report published by Gallup shows that just 40 percent of U.S. millennials feel strongly connected to their company’s mission and overall purpose. On top of that, just over a third of millennials feel like their job is important to their company.

What do numbers like this mean for the outlook of employee engagement?

According to Gallup’s research, there is a correlation between sense of purpose at work and levels of engagement. In their report, we learn that millennials are more than 4.5 times more likely to be engaged at work if they’re connected to their company’s bigger purpose.

Forbes contributor Jacob Morgan proposes that instilling a sense of purpose in your employees is only part of the battle for increasing employee engagement. He says there are three big things needed to drive engagement: having a sense of purpose in your job, being fairly valued (compensated) for your work, and being treated fairly at work.

At Harvard Business Review, contributors Lindsay McGregor and Neel Doshi researched the notion “why we work determines how well we work.” They found a sense of purpose to be one of the three key motivators which can increase work performance; the other two are play (do you enjoy your work?) and potential (do the outcomes of your work increase your potential?). While work performance and employee engagement are technically two different beasts, we know that engagement is a driver for performance, so these motivators can be seen as potential correlators to engagement.

There are countless thought leaders and authorities whom could call to mind an even greater list of factors needed to drive employee engagement. The challenge to each leader and manager is to create your own list of factors and goals which you are measuring and actively pursuing in the hopes of creating meaningful engagement within your own company.

For you, as a leader, how important do you feel it is to create a sense of purpose within your company? Have you developed your company’s culture identity and mission? Do you tie the culture and mission back to the role of each employee within the company?

We’d love to hear your take on the importance of sense of purpose at work, along with any steps you take within your own organization to increase employees’ sense of purpose with their jobs.