Why Meaningful Work is an Essential Part of Life
Why Meaningful Work is an Essential Part of Life
By Matt Spillar · MAY 4, 2020
Last time we talked about some of the lessons I’ve been reflecting on during this coronavirus pandemic. I’ve been trying to use this time for extra reading and learning. The more I learn and grow, the more clear it becomes to me that two essential components to living a fulfilled life are meaningful work and quality relationships. This post will cover meaningful work, and then I’ll cover quality relationships in an upcoming post.
With so many people finding themselves unemployed, those who are still working should be thankful to be in the position they’re in. However, to me it’s important to live a life with intentionality. We are responsible for the decisions we make and the path we choose. Rather than drifting through life we should make choices consciously, that align with our values.
What are the components of meaningful work?
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell defines meaningful work in this way:
“Those three things – autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward – are, most people will agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying.
It’s not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It’s whether or not our work fulfills us. Work that fulfills those three criteria is meaningful.”
Gladwell says the three qualities that make up meaningful work are:
Autonomy – the desire to be self-directed, we don’t like others micromanaging us
Complexity – we like to work on challenging problems
Connection between effort and reward – the harder we work, the more acknowledgment we get for our efforts and the better our results are
In Drive, Daniel Pink talks about the three intrinsic motivators we’re all wired with, and it matches up very similarly to Gladwell’s theory:
“It turns out there are three factors that the science shows lead to better performance, not to mention personal satisfaction: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.”
Autonomy – again, we want to be self-directed
Mastery – we want to keep improving in areas that are important to us
Purpose – the sense that what we do is making a difference in the world, beyond ourselves
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://www.spillsspot.com/finance-blog/2020/05/04/meaningful-work-essential-to-life/