Want to Keep Your Employees Productive? Help Them Find Their Purpose. A new study looks at how finding meaning in work helps us both financially and emotionally.
By Nina Zipkin
We all want to have a job that motivates and fulfills us. But according to a recent study from LinkedIn and leadership training firm Imperative, there isn't only an emotional gain, but a fiscal one, that comes from finding purpose in your work.
The 2016 Workforce Purpose Index found that while only 30 percent of American workers say that they are enthusiastic about their work, 85 percent of companies that were able to find ways to help their employees feel more purpose-driven saw positive growth in revenue.
Businesses with "purpose" are defined by the researchers as ones with an understood mission that has a positive impact on the world, a culture that encourages individual growth and business that is done based on the strength of interpersonal relationships.
Related: Americans Are Most Confident in Their Work, But Are They the Most Productive in the World?
The study identified entrepreneurship as one of the top three most purpose-oriented job areas, coming in at number two behind social and community service and ahead of education.
Since hiring people who believe in and want to pursue your vision is a big part of building a successful startup, when it comes to hiring your staff, the study found that the three factors that contribute to an employee feeling like they have purpose at work are independence, influence when it comes to decision-making and compensation and recognition for their work.
Thirty-nine percent of purpose-driven professionals were more likely to stay at their company for three years or more, compared with 35 percent of non purpose-oriented professionals. And 73 percent of purpose-oriented workers reported being satisfied with their jobs compared to 64 percent of their non purpose-oriented counterparts.
