How to Find Meaning in Your Work
A new Gallup poll found that only 13 percent of full-time employees say they feel their work is meaningful. This likely means the majority of employees are struggling with lack of fulfillment, boredom and fatigue at work, and given the typical job requires at least 40 of one’s 112 weekly waking hours, this can make for a fairly miserable existence.
Perhaps this “lack of meaning” is because most people work for a purpose. Their primary purpose at their job is to feed their family, climb up the corporate ladder and have money to live a comfortable life. They are working for the end game of a paycheck or success.
While there is nothing wrong with this (we all need to get paid), there is another approach – working for a cause.
When you work for a cause, you seek to take care of others, make a difference in the world and ultimately change lives. Employees working for a cause are invested in the process. Each day is a new challenge and an opportunity to move the ball down field toward your goal – whether that’s saving sick patients, ending pollution or educating the minds of tomorrow.
You may be thinking that because you don’t work somewhere that has cause-based mission means you can’t work for a cause. Wrong!
Working for a cause is as much about your attitude as it is the work. It’s about serving others and finding a higher calling in what you do. This is true whether you are a mailman, a teacher, an office worker, a car salesman, a corporate CEO or anything in between.
At A. Larry Ross Communications, we believe in working for a cause.
At our core, we are a public relations and communications firm, but we see what we do not so much as work, but a mission. We partner with faith-based and cause-oriented organizations, helping them share their messages with the world.
Our team members are fully invested in this mission, because each is part of these communities, not outsiders looking in. From sharing the stories of human trafficking victims in South Sudan to raising awareness of a book with a message that can change lives, we believe our clients are making a difference in the world, and we’re thrilled to support their cause.
Service is a key component of our working environment. We serve our clients because we believe in what they do, and we serve the media because we want to help them tell inspiring stories.
While you may not work at A. Larry Ross Communications, where we, honestly, get to do awesome things and work with amazing people, you can find fulfillment no matter where you work. Maybe your cause isn’t the work itself, but the light you can be to your co-workers and customers!
How can you think differently about your job and begin working not just for purpose but also for cause?