HELPING YOUR EMPLOYEES FIND THEIR ‘WHY’
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. “
- Friedrich Nietzsche
One of the first problems we tackle with worker retention and overall job satisfaction is the employee experience of connection & belonging. People long to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves; like they have a unique role to play, and that their work has meaning.
Now we all know that work is not the sum total of a meaningful life, but we also spend such a significant amount of our waking hours working that it’s important to experience meaningful connections in the workplace. The good news is that meaning can be found in almost any profession, and in almost every task.
A great place to start is to focus on the level of connection and belonging people experience at work. Is your organization’s culture one that fosters kindness, encouragement, and gratitude? Do your workers have a sense of a bigger purpose to which their small daily tasks contribute? Do they know that they are valued as unique contributors to the larger value your company is offering to the world?
The truth is, there’s still a good amount of “daily grind” that comes with almost any job. No matter how exciting the bulk of our work is, we still need to check emails, sweep floors, fill out expense reports, or any number of other mundane tasks that can suck the life out of our workforce. In those moments Nietzche might be able to help—If I can recenter my work around a bigger “why” then perhaps I can weather the particular “how” to which I must now attend.
If you are a supervisor you can use this to your advantage. Think through the ebb and flow of your organization. Maybe it’s on a daily flow—you’re in customer service and the mornings are always crazy. Or maybe you’re on a seasonal flow and every Spring things become very intense for a few months. In those times you can verbally remind your team why they are there, why you appreciate their unique presence, and what their hard work will mean for your company and for the customers you get to impact.
At the Oaks, our mission is to provide exactly this kind of space. Our team takes great pride in the content, facilities, and care we give to companies during all of our corporate retreats. Whether you are 100% in-person, online, or in a hybrid situation, gathering your team for a concentrated off-site experience can significantly increase everyone’s sense of connection and belonging.
