“The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose” — Charles Dickens
It is a natural human desire to want our contributions matter and our work to have meaning. In the last year, these efforts have been seen in a new light as AI flexes its muscles and shows off all the various ways it can do more, in better and faster ways. So how does that alter humans’ ability to drive unique, meaningful, and fulfilling impact?
Rather than joining the chorus on the ways that AI threatens humanity’s place in the workforce, we flip the script and explore how AI actually drives a more direct path toward purpose-driven work.
Purpose… It has become an overused buzzword in the post-pandemic world that is inspiring more cynicism than motivation. Companies often conflate individual purpose with ethics or social causes. Rather than understanding that employees, like all humans, just want their work to matter, companies sometimes end up engaging in insincere campaigns associated with external causes that end up complicating mission, rather than solidifying purpose.
No wonder the concept of purpose-driven work has become the stuff of eye rolls.
When looking for the more practical definition of purpose, we need not look much further than our own desires. On average, people spend 8 to 9 hours a day at work (either in an office or remote), which amounts to about 50% of our waking hours. This is 50% of time spent away from our loved ones and personal interests. People regularly report that work is one of the least happiness-inducing activities in their lives, only second to being sick in bed. Purpose is simply a way to reverse the feeling of uselessness or time wasted for this large portion of our lives. Anyone who can relate to this feeling can relate to the idea of purpose.
Several factors are often discussed in relation to the future-of-work: the global pandemic which reset people’s standards for work-life balance, and the entry of Gen-Z into the workforce which currently occupies 24% of the U.S. workforce and will overtake Baby Boomer numbers by 2025.
But now, there is a third player in the conversation: AI. An existential crisis is added to the already chaotic stew of how work is changing. The nature of what humans can, and should, uniquely contribute to at work is up for debate. Data processing, pattern recognition, repeatable tasks, generalized content creation: these are areas where AI is exhibiting significant potential. And suffice to say, many employees are wondering what portion of their jobs today with these characteristics could be taken from them and given to machines instead.
In contrast, what is universally accepted (at least for now) as areas that remain squarely in the realm of human capability are creativity and innovation. The only catch is that in order to create and innovate effectively, human participants have to believe in and essentially care about their subject matters.
Bringing these forces together, the future-of-work will hold very little space for discouraged employees to sit back and simply punch a clock. Work tasks that relied on linear logic and repeatable motion will be given to AI. Continued disenfranchisement initiated during the pandemic years and the rise of Gen-Z will put pressure on companies to motivate their employees with more than money. It will be up to enterprises that know how to attract, motivate, and retain employees through purpose to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.
To answer this question, we look at humanity’s common, inviolable desires:
1. To feel part of a community
2. To feel a sense of autonomy
3. To be able to achieve mastery in a chosen field
Contrary to popular myth, the key to driving purpose isn’t about allowing employees to work only on things that align with their personal passions. Cynics state, especially when referring to Gen-Z trends, that letting employees work on what they wish would cause mayhem in a professional setting. And that makes sense given the spectrum of personal passions that people hold.
Rather, instilling purpose at the workplace is more about giving just enough common cause and motivation to bond a group of people together. And there are no fancy campaigns, far-off retreats, or even four-day workweeks required to make this happen.
So how can leaders and managers build purpose in the workplace to rally employees, motivate Gen-Z, and build a moat around human-driven skills? What are the activities that will promote belonging, independence, and satisfaction?
As is often the case, it starts with leadership. It is up to leaders to clearly communicate the strategy and mission they are embarking on with their crew. This builds common purpose, which builds community.
Along the way, trust must be established. Communication must be frequent and clear. Accountability and transparency on progress is key. Tangible ways to track success creates more independence for both workers and managers to achieve their goals.
Establishing an equitable means by which to track individual contributions and reward and recognize achievements is what brings it all together. People want to feel satisfied with their success and be equitably rewarded — through acknowledgement, monetary impact, and career progress.
Clarity, trust, and equity: these are the things that leaders can promote in the age of AI to further develop that innately human connection and foster purpose.
Humans may set the strategy and are the givers and recipients of trust, but continued strategic success and trust-building requires a level of data-driven discipline that is well suited for an AI platform. Cooper continuously ingests enterprise data and enables leadership to make unbiased, data-driven decisions, and tracks the outcomes of those decisions for ongoing learning and improvement. Cooper drives transparency, accountability, and equitable rewards and recognition, to support the purpose-driven activities of an enterprise.
In conclusion, purpose-driven work isn’t about saving the rainforest (although that’s important as well). It’s about acknowledging what intrinsically motivates people and building a work environment that taps into that. By doing so, we not only keep our brightest talent happy and engaged, but we will also ensure humans remain a vital part of the equation in this brave new AI world.
