Sustainable Entrepreneurship Purpose Over Paycheck

On 17 April 2021, Todd Dewett, PhD on Purpose over Paycheck explained it delightfully with an experience of Executives in the procurement department of US Air Force. Some employees responsible for purchasing the equipment used by the US Air Force were finding the job mundane and routine with no bigger purpose visible to them. They were finding it boring and seemingly were apathetic toward the job roles assigned to them. Sensing the mood of the workforce in the department, the head of the group thought to do something different to reinvigorate the people. One morning, two Fighter Pilots of the US Air Force in their standard uniform with helmet entered the department premises and meet these employees. The Pilots thanked the employees for the efforts undertaken by them to procure and provide the items needed by the force in order to serve the country better. This was a moment for the employees to find a ‘purpose’ in their work which was otherwise boring to them. The employees could relate to the bigger goal of serving the country through the US Air Force by just procuring items sitting in cubicles in their department. Aligning of the howsoever routine job with the holistic sense of purpose drives people to do wonders.

Purpose followed by work paves the way to greater achievements and meaning in life. Rising India's Think Tank is accepting and celebrating a world of work where sincere knowledge and conscientious intelligence contribute to give the society, first and sustain world for the last.

 Purpose is what drive us to do something. In an organization, it is understood as the employee engagement which signifies the purpose for which employees perform. Employees who are aware and have found the purpose of their work, display passion for their work and feel a deep connection to their companies. Surveys indicate that business units with employees having high-average levels of engagement achieved higher levels of customer satisfaction, were more productive, more profitable, and experienced lower levels of attrition and accidents than others.

A passionate employee is toils and strives to achieve the target. Purpose directs the life decisions, influence behavior, shape goals, and makes sense. For some, purpose is associated to a fulfilling work. Contrary to the popular view, there is no significant relationship between average pay and average level of job satisfaction once someone reaches a standard level of comfortable living as per a 2009 study by T A Judge et al.It is apt to note that what motivates people is not necessarily the same as what makes them happy. Abraham Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ theory explains the motivation levels wherein the next higher level becomes dominant once a lower need is substantially satisfied. Organizational setup must be able to understand and ensure that the needs of its employees are fulfilled, else it would lead to dissatisfaction.

In an HBR article ‘Execution Is a People Problem, Not a Strategy Problem’, Peter Bregman writes: “…organization’s biggest strategic challenge isn’t strategic thinking-it’s strategic acting. It is seen that even in well-run, stable organizations; people are misaligned, too broadly focused, and working at cross-purposes. Human Resources must be aligned exactly the way organization’s goal requires them to be.

Author Rajesh Ranjan