Figmentations

As I was telling a friend about this “Finding Purpose Series” that I’ve been writing, she gave me an interesting response.  She told me that even though she didn’t expect to be working at her current company for the rest of her working life, she hadn’t given much thought to “finding her true purpose” yet.  

Actually, she had been too busy with work to do so.  She then joked that companies probably don’t want their employees to find their true purpose anyway, because then they’d all leave. 

That comment made me wonder how true that comment could actually be.

Hypothetically speaking, if having a purpose makes people happier, and happier people are better employees, then why not encourage employees to find their true purpose?   Then, idealistically speaking, if their discovered purpose aligned with what the company offered, great, if not and they decided to leave, then that would just create room for those who would be a better fit.  Problem solved.  Right?  Wrong.

In reality, how many companies have purposes that are really that meaningful to employees?

Some small companies may be centered around a higher purpose, i.e., to create products that truly solve problems or make people’s lives better; to be environmentally-friendly; or to make meaningful contributions to social causes. 

Yet still, how many companies currently do that in ways that employees actually care about, rather than just in ways that give the appearance to look good symbolically?

Do you know of (m)any companies that have a meaningful purpose that employees truly care about?
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For a list of all posts in this series go to: Finding Purpose (actual links will be posted as each post becomes live.)