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Want to make work meaningful? Start being unreasonable!
When I run team building sessions I often get people to play what I call the value cards game. I have 58 cards, each of which has a value written on it. I spread the cards out and ask people to choose the one value they feel is the most important and which they want the team to work by. These values include hardy perennials such as integrity, success, and reward.
But do you know which one causes the most discussion and is very often in the shortlist of top values? The answer is meaningfulness.
The meaning of this, if you'll pardon the pun, will become apparent a bit later in this article. But first let me ask you a question: how do you view your job?
Is it simply something you need to do to pay the bills or does it offer you something more?
It's a particularly relevant question at a time like this when so many people are looking over their shoulder to see whether the fickle hand of fate is going to collar them and add them to the growing list of the unemployed.
Understandably when we talk about how the economic situation affects us the main point of discussion revolves around financial considerations such as paying the bills and keeping a roof over our head. But there is also a very important psychological factor to bear in mind. Sunday Times columnist and author, India Knight talks about it in a recent article entitled "We don't know what work is - until we lose it".
She argues that work gives us dignity, a sense of purpose, a reason to get up in the morning, a series of small achievements that make us feel like a useful human being. Without it we are at a loss.
She paints a memorable and poignant picture of the businessman who puts on his suit and gets the train every morning, even though he lost his job months ago. He does it because he can't bear the humiliation of telling his wife.
However my main reason for exploring this topic is not to harp on about the tough economic times. Rather it is to celebrate what work gives us beyond the pay packet.
Making work meaningful
So. How do you view your job? Does it really satisfy you?
If it isn't meaningful then the likelihood is that no matter how much you earn you will not be fully satisfied.
I hope the point of the opening two paragraphs is now becoming clear. Whether we're talking about an individual or a team, it's all about providing meaningful work. According to Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, three qualities need to be present to achieve this state: autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward. I think Gladwell has it spot on.
Autonomy. Now obviously this is a relative state. One man's meat is another man's poison as the saying goes. One thing the economic downturn has taught us is not to put our fate completely in the hands of others.
I write this as 1,000 poor souls at RBS pay the price for the choices made by their superiors. I bet they come back to the workplace chastened by their experience. Indeed, many of you will reflect on this time as being a turning point in your career when you really began to take control of your life. And that's the smart thing to do. You need to start to think of yourself as your very own PLC.
Complexity. I'm not suggesting we all need to become rocket scientists, but your job does have to be sufficiently challenging if it is to satisfy the need for meaningful employment. While it may be easier to batten down the hatches and play a safe game at the moment, beware the lure of routine.
Your work needs to challenge the little grey cells if it is to keep you engaged. Think also of your direct reports: they too need to be challenged. And you have it within your remit to give this to them.
Connection between effort and reward. This is not just about monetary reward, although money clearly helps. It also means gaining recognition for what you have achieved as well as nurturing your development for future career growth. Building on the point made under the autonomy section, there is no better time than now to take control of your destiny.
Here's a question for you to ponder. If I offered you a choice between being an architect earning £100,000 a year or working on a checkout for £150,000 a year for the rest of your life, which would you take?
I would guess you'd answer the former. That's because it delivers complexity, autonomy, and a relationship between effort and the reward of doing creative work. And that's worth more to most of us than money.
Take control
At the heart of this article is the rallying call to celebrate your job; take more control of your career, and ensure that it is meaningful.
Recent events have shown us that the one thing you can rely on, other than taxes and death of course, is the unreliability of things we once thought were rock solid. Like banks and pensions for instance.
So I urge you to do one more thing. Be more unreasonable in the future. Don't sit passively by and expect someone else to look after your best interests. Strike out and take the high ground. Challenge the status quo and be harder to please. Think of yourself as your very own PLC.
I will sign off with the wise words of George Bernard Shaw, who sums up the point better than ever I could:
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
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