The experience of a meaningful workday strongly contributes to job engagement and is of great importance to an employee’s sense of belonging to the organization. In challenging times, as many companies are experiencing now, contributing to stability is high on the management agenda. If you, as a leader, wish to add more meaning to the workday, below you will find five tips from Kristin.

Five tips for creating a meaningful workplace:

Recognize differences
In this context, we are not talking about meaning as an objective concept, but rather about personal experiences. The first step is to allow and acknowledge that people can have different understandings of meaning whether it is to earn money, make a difference, help colleagues, develop their own skills for their CV, or challenge their abilities.

Create security
Employers must create enough security so that employees feel safe to express when tasks seem meaningless. This requires that the leader dares to listen, even in situations where the employee and employer have different opinions about what is meaningful.

Customize tasks
When you know what an employee finds meaningless, check if it is possible to resolve the situation practically. Is the task strictly necessary? Can it be reassigned to others who perceive it as more meaningful?

Reframe thinking
Some tasks are, however, unavoidable. In such cases, you can change the perception of the task. Map out what the employee finds enjoyable and meaningful and determine how the task can align with that. For example, recording hours can be reinterpreted as tracking time as efficiently as possible.

Ensure employee involvement
Not all tasks are best handled alone. Employee involvement has been put to the test at many workplaces in recent years with the increase in remote work. Many appreciate the freedom that remote work brings but be careful not to overdo it. To truly feel part of something larger, there is a need to occasionally show up at the workplace.