How working for a higher purpose makes you happier.

 

Ambitions, plans, goals, and dreams are the driving forces to act in the lives of each of us. They drive us, give us a sense of meaning, and, as a result, happiness. Ambition is the goal that guides us and hangs over our heads, reminding us of its presence, and encouraging us to take steps to achieve it. Because this is what life is all about, to choose a path on which we feel good, which we want to follow, to continue with the feeling that we act in accordance with our own values, and priorities and that we are ourselves. To achieve this, we choose schools, universities, friends, neighborhoods where we want to live, pets we like, restaurants we visit, people with whom we want to spend our lives, but also work.

 

Company culture as a key to satisfaction

On average, we spend about 6 years on work throughout our lives. Therefore, it is difficult to disagree with the statement that it is an important choice that will have a long-term impact on our well-being or bad mood. He motivated and pushed them to make their dreams come true by giving them the tools, or on the contrary, introducing them to a feeling of stagnation, nonsense and sadness.

Hence, choosing a company in line with our internal beliefs ​​is the first step to saving yourself from depression, which is so easy nowadays. In the world of rushing for more, more, better, and higher, it is easy to lose yourself, your preferences, personality and dreams, waking up one day in a reality that belongs to us and seems to have nothing to do with us. Well-driven senior leadership should take care of the way we feel about our duties. It doesn’t matter if we talk about factory workers or managers or plant operators, we are all the same in the matter of feeling satisfied.

How to inspire employees to reach for more? How to put ourselves first place? We can have a strong sense of purpose-driven by a clear mission and business strategy and a positive impact on the greater good and people’s lives by doing our everyday work. Meaningful point is that by representing our personal purpose and social good we can serve a bigger purpose and focus on not only customers and our major role in the organization but private happiness.

Many organizations are these days getting more and more aware of that correlation. A common purpose means more money, so a bigger picture perspective gives employers and organizations more social status, and meaning and lets most people hired in it an answer for their personal needs, letting them find meaning.

Aware and professional employees

 

One of the dimensions of employee happiness at work is the feeling that through work contributes to the achievement of a higher goal. Personal purpose of human beings makes an employee’s purpose higher. For example, it protects the natural environment or cares for world peace.

This type of drive to choose work in organizations that have goals higher than just short-term financial goals has already been observed in many studies. Analyzes in this area have even led to the creation of a separate stream of non-financial reporting of the organization called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In 2018, research showed that only 18% of corporations find corporate citizenship and Better Business Act projects a key element of their strategy and marketing base. Harvard business review shows the same correlation. Higher purpose at a job means a benefit for everybody.

However, analyzes and research agree on one thing – a happy employee works with commitment and is creative. When we have motivated, creative employees, it is easier to manage them, allocate tasks and steer the company towards success. Dedicated employees have longer periods of service, thanks to which they know their duties better and are more valuable to the company’s interests.

Both parties pursue their goals, so it is a win-win situation, and even synergy, because apart from the parties included in the contract, minorities, ecology and society benefit from global activities.

That correlation put the company culture at the priorities shelf. Many European Union members viewed that as an opportunity to begin a cessation process of great recession in the work satisfaction matter. Thanks to that we can spend our energy and money on jobs that satisfy not only our egos but also clients of the organizations. That makes a difference in a bigger picture of meaningful contribution.

 

Here are priorities of corporate leaders, way to financial gain and satisfaction is a company culture.

 

The sense of fulfillment and satisfaction consists of five independent elements; positive emotions, commitment, relationships, meaning in life and achievements.

1. Positive emotions translate into a whole host of mechanisms that take place in our body:
   • Directly increase the perceived pleasure in life, enhancing the other effects
   • They promote openness and flexibility of functioning by expanding the scope of attention, increasing creativity and intuition
   • They facilitate empathy and develop emotional intelligence
   • Increase the effectiveness of self-control
   • Experiencing positive emotions leads to a delay in the aging processes
2. Commitment, i.e. self-determination, flow, deep concentration on action, faith in the activity performed.
3. Relationships, i.e. people who surround us. The impact they have on us, the emotional spaces we share. Caring for close relationships also means building your support network, a sense of security and a source of positive reinforcements.
4. The meaning of life, i.e. the effect of combining four ingredients:
   • The need to have a purpose that sets track of our actions
   • The need to pursue values, i.e. what a person considers to be good
   • The need for control, i.e. a sense of influence on oneself and the environment
   • The need for self-acceptance
5. Achievements, i.e. our sense of being rewarded by fate for our achievements. Feeling proud, happy and satisfied with what we have managed to do for ourselves or others. Satisfaction with who we are and the activities we undertake.

 

Above, happiness has been broken down into prime factors. A recipe with ingredients on how to act to make you feel good.

Meaning, people, values, good emotions, commitment – doesn’t that sound like a perfect job? We do not realize how important a role it plays in our lives and how much of our identity and life satisfaction is the work we do. People in the office surround us on all sides, share our values, cooperate and work together to carry out a task identical to ours.

Positive emotions, to be achieved through gratitude for how many good, small things happen to us.

Commitment, at work that suits us, makes us happy and agrees with what we think, comes naturally and automatically. Values, clearly defined plans, views and perceptions of the world, which, combined with the acceptance of the environment, give our life a rhythm. And it depends on us what environment we choose and whether it will be consistent with what we think. Meaning = goal, motivation to change, actions, belief that our actions matter and it does not matter whether our part of the work will be done or not.

So what to do to intensify the feeling of happiness?

Psychologists distinguish 4 ways of acting:

1. Adjusting activities to personal goals and values, e.g. social affiliation
2. Caring for a strong feeling of certain activities by accumulating reactions to minor events that make up everyday life
3. Formulating a plan, scheme and rhythm of action that organizes them
4. Avoiding boredom and monotony

 

So one could conclude that by choosing the right company, position and team in which we work, we can make ourselves happy on our own.

Companies around the world are guided by conscious and clear advertising of their image. Usually, the simplest element to describe the principles, rules, system and personality of a given company is to create an “about us” tab, where the brand is able to describe in detail its aspirations, goals and personality. This enables potential employees and partners to make an understanding of common needs and possible shared values ​​and priorities.

 

Below are some examples of companies that have written down their rules and goals to make it easier to get to know each other.

 

H&M

“Individually, our values ​​may seem obvious. Bring them together and our unique corporate culture is born. Our values ​​are part of who we are, what we stand for and how we operate. ”

• -We are one team – our great associates create diversity. When we share our skills, knowledge and experience, we become one team. Diversity makes us strong.
• -The spirit of entrepreneurship – on the day we stop behaving like entrepreneurs, we will be just another fashion company.
• -Straightforward and open-minded – we value a variety of people and ideas, as well as personal style.
• -Cost Awareness – It’s about keeping an eye on your expenses and making smart, sustainable choices for even the smallest of everyday things.

 

Netflix

 

• Evaluation – despite the ambiguities, you make wise decisions.
• Communication – you are concise and articulate in speech and writing.
• Curiosity – you learn quickly and willingly.
• Courage – say what you think when it is in Netflix’s best interests, even when inconvenient to do so.
• Passion – you inspire others with your desire for perfection.
• Selflessness – You’re looking for what’s best for Netflix, not what’s best for you or your group.
• Innovation – you create new ideas that turn out to be useful.
• Inclusion – You work effectively with people from different backgrounds and cultures.
• Honesty – You are known for being honest, genuine, transparent and non-political.
• Impact – You are doing an incredible amount of important work.

 

Starbucks

 

• We create a culture of warmth and belonging where everyone is welcome.
• We act boldly, questioning the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other.
• Being present combined with transparency, dignity and respect
• We do our best and feel responsible for the results.

 

The system of values ​​or the code of ethics have multiple applications in the process of people management and building effective teams. When creating a system of values ​​/ code of ethics, it is also worth remembering that it should contain rules of work in at least the following areas:

• customer relations,

• relations with contractors,

• relations within the company / with employees,

• investor / ownership relations,

• relations with competitors,

 

 

Establish the moral backbone of the company, employees and employer. They set the rules of operation and ethical boundaries. It should be noted and emphasized that the parties to this ethical contract are both employees and employers, including all representative, representative and ownership bodies in this group. Objectives in an organization usually fulfill 4 functions; they provide a guideline and give a uniform direction to the activities of people working in the organization – they help to understand where the organization is heading.

Find out how to build a purpose driven organization.

Surveys of British jobseekers showed that nearly 87 percent of interviewed employees attach importance to the company’s goal and objectives.

These are data that only confirm the benefits of having clearly defined priorities and goals. Employees show more and more attention to research in this matter. Giving meaning to work is the new mission of modern corporations. In order to attract, retain and motivate employees – a must have of today’s market realities.

Under these conditions, finding meaning at work becomes an additional goal for the employee, and for companies a confirmation that the person will be employed in the company longer and it is worth investing in their training and motivation. One of the elements of meaning is consistency between the employee and his actual work.

The goal of any company is to grow in strength. For this purpose, operating strategies are created and the paths of marketing activities are chosen. The mainstream is creating the personality of the company that has been so much talked about in recent years. The company’s personality consists of its principles, rules, priorities, responsibilities and bonuses, work patterns, company policy, actions in which it engages, attitude towards the employee and political views on social problems. Knowing the mission and vision of the company, i.e. its ambitions, you should ask yourself whether they correspond to our personality and lifestyle?

If we are to be happy and satisfied with our professional activities in the company, we should also pay attention to aspects such as the type of contract, benefits, vacation policy, management staff or the attitude to compensation.

The list of important aspects translating into our job satisfaction is long and individual for everyone. However, it is worth mentioning a few of them that are among the most common:

• Flexible working time
• Variety of tasks
• Work safety and stabilization
• High salary
• Challenges
• Possibility to help others
• Peace of mind (work without stress)
• Independence (independent position)
• Prestige of positions or companies
• Friendly atmosphere
• No competition at work
• Great knowledge of the supervisor
• Possibility to participate in trainings
• Having fun at work (relaxed atmosphere)
• High level of respect for employees
• Work – life balance (no overtime)

 

If you are looking for a meaningful job find out “Companies with vales” list.

 

Having all the data and a full picture of the company in which we would like to work, it is much easier to feel at home in it. Happiness comes by itself when we give ourselves the opportunity to surround ourselves with people who share our views and act in accordance with our views, personality and lifestyle.

The above factors are also part of the work, so it is worth doing some research on this level as well. However, let us bear in mind that the work in a corporation that we care for, and we care about the goal, is an ideal system, giving both parties power and motivation to work and further changes. What seems like a small step or an insignificant small decision, repeated by a thousand people is already strength.