The Downside of Purpose

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

There is much talk about the importance of purpose at work.

Purpose leads to engagement, wellbeing, productivity, etc.

And yes, this is true.

Purpose can provide people with feelings of fulfillment, motivation, passion, empowerment, and gratitude.

But not on its own.

Because a strong sense of purpose can also lead to frustration in the face of struggles and obstacles.

Anxiety because of the weight of responsibility.

Overwhelm if there are too many goals associated with it.

Disappointment if someone feels they are falling short or not making the impact they want.

A study by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence found that 1 in 5 highly engaged employees are at risk of burnout.

These are the engaged-exhausted.

They are doing purposeful work that motivates them.

And they are still burning out.

They are more likely to leave their companies than disengaged employees.

Because purpose needs to be supported with:

• Enablement to do what needs to be done - good processes, strong leadership, training and skill development, etc.

• Time to rest - at work, in the evenings, on weekends, and vacations

• Material resources such as time and money

• Intangible resources like empathy and friendship

Check in regularly with all your employees to see how they're feeling. Your most passionate employees may be the ones who are most in need of support.

Ask questions like:

• What is getting in your way right now or causing you frustration?

• What do you need more of?

• What do you need less of?

• What are you still thinking about (or stressing over) when you're not at work?