“Restorative organizations and leaders strive to create environments where people develop a more sustainable level of engagement.” -Rum

Recent data from Gallup suggest that in the minds of workers, only 30% of people strongly agree that “the mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important,” which is a significant drop from its high of 38% in March of 2021.

We know that when people connect their work with what they value, they become more energized and make deeper emotional investments in the work, team, and larger organization. So, the fact that only 30% strongly agree with this statement suggests that for many workers there is a disconnect in the meaning and purpose of their work.

The potential disconnect can be in three places:

The first is that the mission and purpose of the company just may not be clear to the worker. If the mission and purpose of the organization hasn’t been articulated in a clear and concise manner, it’s nearly impossible for workers to understand it let alone derive any meaning from it.

The second is that the mission and purpose of the company may be clear, but it is not compelling to the worker. For example, if the company’s mission and purpose is made clear that it wants to dominate the cheap sunglasses market, then workers may not buy into the mission and purpose because they in fact hate cheap sunglasses and prefer something more durable and environmentally friendly. 

The third is that the worker feels their job is not connected to the mission in a meaningful way. So even though the organization may have articulated a clear and compelling purpose and mission, there is something about the job itself that is causing the disconnect. Oftentimes it is because the job is not valued (or perceived as not valued) by the organization this person supports.

Restore® is a framework that leaders and organizations use to create greater connection to the mission and purpose of the organization by energizing people and promoting emotional investments in the work and organization. Restorative organizations and leaders strive to create environments where people develop a more sustainable level of engagement, coupled with a stronger drive to thrive and sense of control. 

Take Action!

Three actions you can take:

1. Assess: Take a moment to answer Gallup’s question “the mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.”
2. Reflect: Consider your own answer and how you imagine other colleagues would answer this question. Where do you think the disconnects are?
3. Take Action: Find one thing that you can do that brings more meaning and purpose to others around you. What should your organization and team do to help address the disconnects.

About the Research:
This research supports the Restore® Initiative, LRI’s campaign to encourage you to take a critical and constructive look at your own engagement (your Engage® Battery), and to learn about restorative leadership behaviors that help to recharge your own and others’ engagement (your Restore® Battery). For more information, email credible-leader@lri.com or click on www.credible-leader.com.

Disclaimer The text in this article was not AI-generated.