Americans spend at least half of our waking hours at work. Given the role work plays in our lives, most people strive for a sense of purpose and meaning in what we do. What precisely constitutes meaning can be different for everyone. But often, it’s a desire to make a ding in the universe.
In recent years, many have anecdotally observed that, compared to other generations, millennials have a greater hunger for meaningful work. But few of these observations are empirically verified. In a review of research on generational differences, Jean Twenge examined multiple sutdies and found no evidence that millennials place a greater importance on meaningful work than other generations. Meaning is equally important for everyone, regardless of generation.
In his op-ed in The New York Times, Samuel Ware put it best, “What,” the 23 year-old millennial asks, “makes my generation so different from all prior generations and those to come? Doesn’t each generation struggle with balancing meaning and happiness, work and play, selfish interests and communal obligations?”
So, if millennials are no more likely than anyone else to seek meaningful work, what does this mean for organizations? Certainly, it doesn’t mean that companies should pay any less attention to cultivating meaning–it just means that meaning is equally important for everyone, regardless of generation, and organizations must cultivate it for all employees.
THE LEADER’S ROLE IN CULTIVATING MEANING
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Dr. Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, speaker and The New York Times bestselling author of Bankable Leadership. Her life’s work is to help organizations succeed by improving the effectiveness of their leaders and teams. With a ten-year track record in the Fortune 500 world, her expertise has been featured in outlets like The New York Times and Forbes.
