One of our favorite books is “The Art of Happiness at Work”, written by the Dalai Lama with Howard Cutler. There are many insights in this book that can help companies create an engaged and energized workforce. However, one particular thought really resonated with us, and we would like to share it here. Further, we highly recommend this book if you have not yet had a chance to read it.
The Dalai Lama postulates that people work in companies for one of three reasons: job, career, or cause. He goes on to say that people who are there because it’s a job typically come in on time and leave on time. They do their work, but they are working as a means to other ends, that is they are not invested in the organization they work for.
The second group is working because they are all about their career. They are ambitious, and constantly thinking about how they get promoted and move up in the organization. They can be good employees. However, if their career stalls because they are no longer moving up, or are told that they have gone about as far as their abilities will allow, they become demotivated, and may even begin to work against the company. We sometimes refer to these employees as on-board terrorists, because they can become negative forces against the direction the company is attempting to go.
The third group is the one we all want in our organizations, those that are there because they have cause or purpose. This means that they believe in their work, and the work of their company. Because of this, they are typically engaged employees, meaning that they are loyal, committed, proud to work for the organization, and will go above and beyond to make their company successful. They are also your best recruiters, because they want their friends and family to have what they have.
Obviously, we all want employees who believe in the cause or purpose of the organization. But how do we find them? Well, some organizations are doing work that has cause or purpose, like cancer research, protecting wildlife or the environment, or helping those with various physical, mental, emotional or financial needs. But what if your company isn’t doing the kind of work that in itself leads to cause or purpose? Can you still create it? We believe so. What if your cause is creating the best environment for your employees possible, so that they love coming to work every day? Or how about delivering great service experiences every day, the kind that make life a little better for your customers. Maybe it’s inventing a new product, technology or process that makes life better for people.
Cause or Purpose—can you find a way to create it in your organization, so that your employees believe they are working for an organization that is doing something really important, something that matters? What we are really talking about here is culture. Do you want a culture where people just come to work, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., because they have to, then go home? Do you want a culture where employees are simply motivated by promotions and titles? Or do you want a culture where employees walk in the door everyday knowing that they are doing something important, something that is really making a difference? If so, we encourage you to think about a cause or purpose for your organization that will help create that.