7 Characteristics Needed to Have a Meaningful Job

When we look at the most desirable characteristics of a job, having meaning in our work always comes up in the top three. That is because it is human nature to want to belong to something bigger than ourselves. As we start to come out of the hot employee market, it’s important to remember that money alone is not enough to push us to do our best. We feel personally at our best and most motivated to contribute when we feel that our work has meaning. 

Doing meaningful work is important, not just for your mental health, but also your physical well-being. The opposite is also true. Working at a job you hate will take years off your life. But, what if you don’t feel excited about what you’re doing, or don’t feel that what you’re doing matters or is meaningful? This is where you must take action. Based on our work with employees over the years, we’ve put together six common reasons why people love their jobs:

Belonging: Belonging has been linked as a top driver of engagement, well-being, and retention. Although belonging may be the newest component added to DEI, the need to belong is not new. Like the need to eat, belonging is a basic primal human need. The need to have a strong connection to our colleagues and workplace is very important to our well-being. We gain a sense of belonging through our shared values and goals with colleagues, as well as our connection with our manager. We can also gain this when our goals and values align with the organization’s mission and vision.  

Purpose: It’s in our nature to want to make a difference. People who love their jobs have a belief that they are doing meaningful work that makes a positive difference, not just in their company, but in the world.

Autonomy: Having a job that allows for thinking, decision making, and seeing the outcomes of those decisions, brings joy to a lot of people.

Challenging: Work that challenges people, helps them set high goals, and sparks a fire within them to attain those goals. Most of the people we’ve worked with who love what they do could be described as hard workers since they thrive on finding solutions to problems and continual improvements.

Mastery: Challenging work, passion, and the amount of time individuals are willing to put in gives them the ability to gain mastery over their work and their environment.

Recognition: People who love their jobs feel that they are recognized and valued by the people their work supports. This recognition may come from a boss, peer, direct report, or even a client and proves that their work would be missed if they did not show up.

Relationships/Teamwork: People who love their job and gain mastery over their environment, tend to gain joy in being part of a team. The ability to gain joy in autonomous work and teamwork sounds counterintuitive, but surprisingly, it’s not. When people are able to help other individuals and the team wins, it only reinforces the positive feelings one receives from the work they do.

As a leader, the more successful your employees are, the more successful you and your organization will be. When you and your team are engaged in something meaningful that matters, you’ll find more purpose in your work. Money is important and motivates us to get to our jobs, but it doesn’t keep us there – meaningful work does.