How to Create Meaningful Work Experiences

Last Updated September 8, 2020

Job satisfaction requires more than a paycheck and perks.

True, workers appreciate the benefits offered by employers, and most would view an increase in salary as cause for a celebration. Salary and benefits often are deciding factors when a worker is looking for a job.

But the employees many supervisors value the most are the ones who come to work each day energized, enthusiastic, and get something out of work that’s less tangible than salary and perks.

Dedicated employees find meaning in their work. Organizations that understand this seek to help employees have meaningful work experiences.

Importance of Meaningful Work

Schools training upcoming human resources leaders also understand the importance of meaningful work. The mission statement of Villanova University’s Graduate Programs in Human Resource Development describes a vision of “developing global thought-leaders in HR who drive high performing, inclusive organizations and create meaningful work experiences.”

Meaningful work experiences are an important component of Creating Better Workplaces, the theme of the 2019 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference.

Among the attendees was Helynn Nelson, JD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, an HR professional with Google who also teaches Strategic Workforce Planning in Villanova’s online Master of Science in Human Resource Development (MSHRD) program. Nelson agrees that meaningful work experiences are essential to an engaged, effective workforce.

The meaning a worker finds could be “like a little flame or a glimmer within that excites them and motivates them to get up every morning, come in and contribute. Sometimes it’s also the people around them,” Nelson said.

How important is meaningful work to professionals? A survey released in 2018 by leadership development platform BetterUp Labs found that 90% of the more than 2,000 professionals surveyed said they would give up almost a quarter of their future earnings in exchange for work that is always meaningful to them.

Furthermore, the survey found that employees who find their work meaningful are less likely to seek employment elsewhere. They also work more hours and take fewer days off.

However, according to a 2019 SHRM article titled, “The Search for Meaning,” most employees believe their work is only half as meaningful as it could be.

How do employers address employees who long for meaning in their work? SHRM provides a list of ways organizations can help workers engage on a deeper level:

Find out what meaningful work means to your employees: Workers may have different answers on what brings meaning to their duties, depending on the work they do. According to the SHRM article, a salesperson, for example, may find meaning in the fact that they are selling a piece of lifesaving medical technology, whereas a public relations professional may find meaning in promoting their organization.

Provide a strong mix of benefits: Benefits can go beyond a paycheck and insurance. Personalized growth plans and challenging work are the sorts of benefits that can inspire enthusiasm in employees. Nelson said at Google these actions constitute “more than a kind of transactional resource. We want [employees] to feel like we’re a true partner in them fully succeeding here at work and feeling like they’re fully supported.”

Facilitate growth opportunities: Employees feel supported when employers take a proactive approach to their education and career development. Tailoring training to the individual shows the employer values specific team members’ skills and goals. Offering educational opportunities also reveals an investment in employees‘ abilities as well as their futures.

HR professionals, Nelson said, must “constantly understand where folks are at and have open conversations and create opportunities within their current work – opportunities to be innovative or creative, opportunities to manage and opportunities to lead. You have to bring newness and freshness in your work to be fully engaged. I think to do that is to find meaning.”

Encourage a healthy work/life balance: Engaged workers may be happy to put in more than the standard 40 hours a week but too much time at work isn’t necessarily good for business. In fact, Nelson said a benefit of her being fully present at work is being able to “turn it off and be a great mom and wife when I leave here.”

Employers should encourage workers to take time away from the desk. Employees who are able to spend time with family, travel or recharge are more likely to work at a high level. 

Implementing all or even some of these suggestions requires dedication and patience on the part of organizations. However, these are the types of responsibilities for which contemporary human resource professionals train.

Bethany Adams, Associate Director of Villanova’s Human Resource Development graduate programs, believes human resource professionals will lead the way in the search for meaning at work.

“HR professionals have so much influence over how people feel about the work that they’re doing, whether they believe the work matters and whether it’s meaningful for them,” Adams said. “They have an effect on how supported people feel coming into their organization, and whether they feel like the benefits and the compensation that they’re offered is going to provide for them, but also that they’re going to feel like the work they’re doing means something to what they want to do later in life.”

Maximize Your HR Potential

Learn how to drive high performing, inclusive organizations and create
meaningful work experiences with this three-part series.