If we have a job that gives us meaning the benefits can be profound, even lengthening our lives. But what traits make a job meaningful?
Decades of research have gone into finding the answer, and when sociologist he found six characteristics that can help. That means almost any job can be meaningful, with different people finding meaning in different ways.
How to win at work
Make your work work better for you 鈥� from dealing with pesky colleagues to taking the perfect break and doing less for more money
1. Authenticity
Going to work makes you feel like you are accessing your 鈥渢rue self鈥�. You might work at a company with a vision that is aligned with your personal values or 鈥渃alling鈥� 鈥� a person who loves nature working at a conservation charity, for example. Or the authenticity might come from social interactions 鈥� your job gives you the perfect platform to 鈥渂e yourself鈥�, such as an extrovert who works in sales.
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2. Agency
You are able to be proactive at work, making significant decisions and feeling like you 鈥渕ake a difference鈥�. This feeling taps into our desire to believe we have free will. For instance, when employers offer support programmes in which employees can help each other out with anything from advice to childcare, people who gave . Perhaps this works because people see themselves as having an impact.
3. Self-worth
Your job makes you feel valuable. If you can see milestones of achievement, no matter how small, you are more likely to feel like an asset. This suggests that a job that鈥檚 too stretching won鈥檛 be meaningful. On the other hand, it doesn鈥檛 have to be all about an individual: people can find significance by being part of a team that they perceive as valuable.
4. Purpose
You see your work as moving you closer to a strongly held goal. The downside is, you鈥檙e more likely to sacrifice pay and personal time for its sake. In 2009, two US researchers talked to zookeepers from 157 zoos and found that those who saw the work as a 鈥減ersonal calling鈥� 聽(see 鈥渁uthenticity鈥�). But this was even more true for the zookeepers who had a feeling that their work moved them closer to a goal or purpose.
5. Belonging
It鈥檚 not what you do, but who you do it with. There are two subtle ways this can play out. Either you work with colleagues in a group that has a sense of shared identity and fate, which produces a 鈥渨e鈥檙e all in this together鈥� atmosphere. Or your team is particularly close-knit, which produces a work environment that feels like a family.
6. Transcendence
Your job is about sacrifice to a greater cause. Instead of drawing meaning from control (see 鈥渁gency鈥�), here meaning is gleaned through dependence on something else. Perhaps you follow a dazzlingly charismatic leader, for instance, or are dedicated to a spiritual cause.
