For the past year and a half, the pandemic has forced us to reevaluate the values and priorities that bring us the most fulfillment in our day-to-day lives. And because most people who work full-time spend the largest chunk of their waking hours at work, workers everywhere are closely examining how their career paths align with their other priorities.

So if you’re a business owner or manager, this means that your employees are currently evaluating how their job at your company fits into the overarching vision they have for their lives. 

As the phenomenon of The Great Resignation has revealed, millions of people are finding that their jobs or careers simply aren’t worth the sacrifices they’ve had to make for their families and overall well-being. In other words, their careers are not aligned with their true purpose.

Employers who care about their employees – and the overall health of their business – are looking for the best ways to keep their people happy. To prevent costly and morale-depressing worker shortages, employers want to do everything they can to motivate their teams to stay and work for them. 

One of the most effective ways to motivate your employees and retain their talent is to help them discover their purpose. Among other things, employers who help employees discover their purpose should do so for the following four reasons:

• Purpose-driven employees are less likely to experience burnout
• Purpose-driven employees are more motivated problem-solvers
• Purpose-driven employees contribute to a healthier work environment
• Purpose-driven employees are more likely to stick around for the long-term

1. Purpose-Driven Employees Are Less Likely to Experience Burnout

Employee burnout levels are on the rise, and the pandemic has only exacerbated this. When employees feel burnt out, they experience extremely high levels of emotional and physical exhaustion. They feel depleted and discouraged about their day-to-day life. And it’s difficult for employees experiencing burnout to rekindle their motivation and passion to thrive in their work.

The single biggest cause of burnout is feeling a lack of control. When employees feel they aren’t in control of their work hours, workload, or assigned work – especially when these things don’t align with their purpose – they’re more likely to experience burnout. 

You can help employees feel more in control of their work by helping them discover their purpose. When people discover their purpose in life, they realize that they are in control. They’re in control of whether they want to stay in their current job or look for something that better aligns with their purpose. 

And if your employees discover that working for your company allows them to live out their purpose, they’ll be less likely to experience burnout.

2. Purpose-Driven Employees Are More Motivated Problem-Solvers

Forward-thinking companies want to hire problem solvers. Problem solvers aren’t afraid of a challenge, and they think outside the box to find creative solutions. Every company in every stage of its maturity will face problems, which is why employees with problem-solving skills are in such high demand.

But when employees don’t see how solving problems at work contributes to their sense of belonging to a larger objective, they’re not as motivated to work through the problems that come up. They’re not as motivated to find the best solution for everyone.

Employees who have discovered their purpose are better equipped to see the bigger picture. When employees understand their purpose, they’re able to see how solving problems allows them to have a more significant impact in their work and their own sense of fulfillment.

3. Purpose-Driven Employees Contribute to a Healthier Work Environment

Most everyone has experienced an unhealthy work environment at one point or another. A single employee can drag down the entire team with a negative mindset and toxic workplace behaviors. And unfortunately, managers often feel like there’s nothing they can do to improve the work environment except to let the negative person go.

There are two main benefits to helping your employees discover their purpose. For one, helping employees discover their purpose might naturally weed out those who negatively impact the work environment. Antagonistic team members may come to realize that working for you doesn’t align with their purpose in life and that they would be better off working somewhere else. 

Secondly, employees who discover that their purpose does align with their job are less likely to engage in unhealthy workplace behaviors. When your employees see how their job aligns with a larger part of themselves, they’ll be happier and more fulfilled while at work. Fulfilled people don’t need to complain or bring others down, thus contributing to a healthier work environment.

4. Purpose-Driven Employees Are More Likely to Stay for the Longterm 

It’s no secret that purpose-driven companies show higher rates of employee happiness and engagement. But what if you could maximize your purpose-driven company culture even more intentionally to not only boost your company’s revenue but also to enhance your employees’ experience working for you?

Studies have shown that workers (especially millennials, currently the largest generation in the workforce) are more likely to stay at their current jobs when they have a strong connection to their employer’s purpose. 

It’s not enough to simply post your mission statement or your company’s greater purpose and expect employees to engage with it. Your employees need to see how their own values and purpose align with your company’s values and purpose. 

What better way to foster that bridge than to help employees discover their unique purpose in life?

But Wait, What If My Employees Realize Their Purpose Doesn’t Align With the Company?

Some employers and managers fear that employees who have been empowered by the discovery of their purpose will then be unmotivated to stay at the company. This fear may speak to a larger issue regarding your company’s culture and hiring process.

Of course, helping your employees discover their purpose makes it easier for not-so-great fits to move on to jobs that better align with their needs and values. 

While this can be frustrating in the short term, this is actually one of the goals of helping your employees discover their purpose. These employees would have eventually left anyway, and they aren’t doing your company any favors by remaining in a job that makes them unhappy.

When a small number of not-so-great fits decide to leave, they make room for other talented people who do align with your company’s culture, vision, and purpose. Plus, current employees who are great fits for your business will feel more connected and fulfilled at your company, which is ultimately better for you and the business. 

Help Your Employees Discover Their Purpose With Go Beyond™

Helping your employees discover their purpose is good for both your people and your business. As a business owner myself, I can understand the tendency to fixate on revenue at the expense of other considerations, one of those being employee happiness. 

But the truth is, investing in your employees’ well-being and deep-seated, closely held values by helping them discover their purpose has a significant impact on your revenue and the long-term success of your business.

At Go Beyond, we’ve developed software and coaching programs that forward-thinking employers can use to help their employees discover their purpose in life. To see if we can help you and your team, or if you’d like to learn more about what we do, send us an email at hello@trygobeyond.com, give us a call at 678-680-3985, or simply fill out our online contact form today.