Why Passion for and Meaning in Work May Be Even More Important Now

If you've read my posts and books, you know I have written extensively about the importance of feeling passion for and meaning in your work[1]. Now, new post-pandemic research and labor market phenomena even further support this premise.

In recent years workers have spent a tremendous portion of waking hours on work. According to the 2019 American Time Use Survey, during work days full time employees spent about 53% of their waking hours working[2]. For a full-time professional, when we factor in commuting time and even thinking about the job, it’s reasonable to conclude that a higher percentage was more typical. If you were a business owner or organization leader, the percentage was likely to be even higher! 

After the start of the pandemic, the 2020 data on waking hours working did not change significantly, but average hours spent working at home almost doubled[3]. So if you were spending more or all time working from home, then work may have even become an integral part of home life in exchange for less commuting time.

Now, new data from a Microsoft study[4] reported in The Atlantic[5] suggests that since the beginning of the pandemic the average workday has increased by 13%. Further, the increase after usual business hours was 28%, and 14% for weekends. Concurrently, meetings and chats per person have been increasing. The study, based on data from Microsoft Teams usage found that this is due to a new surge of late-night work activity for 30% of those who work at home. The increase in meeting time during the day likely contributes to that.

If this increase in waking hours spent on work is supported by other data, it further emphasizes the importance of finding enjoyment in the work being done. Although working at home allows for work-life balance to be built in by having flexibility and variety of activities throughout the day, the concurrent increase in time spent working and potential absence of any passion for it could be a recipe for anxiety, depression, and burnout. 

So are these factors contributing to the "great resignation" phenomenon that we are seeing? Studies suggest a multitude of reasons, but for many, negative job stress is a major reason for leaving a job, particularly when other opportunities are plentiful. Negative stress feels bad and drains our systems. 

On the other hand, all stress is not bad. Positive job stress such as working more hours, but loving the work and achieving meaningful successes can feel good and fulfilling. Therefore it is to the benefit of both employers and employees to sustain an environment that has more positive than negative stressors. For employers, this helps retain employees by making any increases in work interesting and meaningful, and by reducing out less meaningful activities. That could be as easy as finding ways to cut meeting time or making minor changes in work assignments, even though the work time is increasing. And for those that leave their jobs, the lesson is to search for new work which will generate the most passion and meaning, even when the workload burden is high. 

To achieve these conditions, both employers and employees should consider actions consistent with what I have called "the intersection principle."[6] This principle suggests that we will achieve the sweet spot of passion and meaning in work when we find jobs most consistent with our best skills, strongest interests, and best-fit environment. The sweet spot is roughly equivalent to an optimum level of positive stress with minimum negative stress. 

As an employer, jobs and environments can be modified for employees with elements of the intersection principle in mind. First supervisors must know their employees best skills, interests, and the nature of environments in which they do their best work. Then, when possible, minor re-engineering of jobs can be done to increase tasks that employees are most interested in, do best, and where and with whom they prefer to do their work....home, office, remote team etc. Finally, non-meaningful work (negative stress) can be reduced to the extent possible. As the well known Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule suggests, even the smallest changes can have a big impact[7]. So, you often don’t need to change much. Try changing only one thing that would be significant to each employee or to all employees.

And for those searching for new jobs the intersection and Pareto Principles can be guides on how to seek jobs for the rest of a career….small changes on the path of best skills, strongest interests, and best-fit environment. Following these simple guidelines for increasing passion for and meaning in work can be a win-win for both employers and employees.

References

[1] https://tinyurl.com/4p9tancm

[2] https://www.bls.gov/charts/american-time-use/emp-by-ftpt-job-edu-h.htm

[3] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm

[4] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/triple-peak-day

[5] https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/04/triple-peak-day-work-from-home/629457/

[6]  https://tinyurl.com/4p9tancm  (chapter 7)

[7] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/1/80-20-rule.asp