The Single Hack to Regaining Purpose in Your Work
You may lose passion for the job you have, even after it had burned so brightly before. There are many reasons why this may happen, but I have one solution that could help you regain that passion.
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You have integrity. You give your best at work. You want to help others while improving yourself. You feel invigorated by the work you do. It is all so new. You’re learning a lot. Leadership and coworkers are really pleased with your work. You love that feeling you have.
But time passes. Projects come; projects go. You notice you begin to lack passion for the work you are doing. You don’t see any real value in what you are doing. It all feels so dull. All you see is that your efforts are making more money for shareholders. You’ve become just another cog in the wheel. Frustration builds up. You still try to give your best, but you’ve become numb; apathetic even. It becomes hard to give your best when you don’t see the point. It is not the life you want to live. You feel stuck; enchained.
You start looking for other jobs to help you get that spark back. Eventually you find one. You jump ship for greener pastures, and the pastures do seem greener. You’ve got your spark back! You find meaning in your work once more. You give your all, and leadership and coworkers are happy with your work. But slowly, the process repeats itself all over again. You’ve found yourself in a repetitive cycle.
You think to yourself: “What’s wrong with me?”
I’m here to tell you: NOTHING is wrong with you. But I have a suggestion on how to help.
Talk with Customers
Companies are in business to serve customers’ needs. Unfortunately, many companies have forgotten this, and it shows.
The product evolves; it no longer serves the customer. The focus changes from how can we help our customers, to how can we help our shareholders. Product quality decreases, fees rise, and customer service goes out the window, all in an effort to increase margins and profitability.
I won’t give any examples; I am sure you already have a few companies just like this in mind.
These environments can be very tough to work in. Leadership gives orders and you are expected to deliver. Posturing and politics become the focus of meetings. You spend more time fighting to deliver value than you do working to deliver it. Work is exhausting.
But what I have found is that when I set all of these business problems aside, and I reconnect with the customer, my attitude and focus change.
The customer has pain points and frustrations. They look to you to help them overcome those difficulties. Often times, they are literally incapable of solving the problem on their own, and it can be devastating for them.
Let me give a few examples I have run into in my own life:
A grandfather who spent years researching his family history, gathering documentation, and building out an extensive tree only to lose it all when his computer crashed.
A family securing an auto equity loan to be used as the down payment on a home, only to have the system, due to their high credit score, automatically qualify them for a ‘better’ loan that didn’t require them to hand over the car’s deed, legally changing the type of loan they received and invalidating the money as a legal source for their down payment two days before closing on their home.
An overworked single mother who recently changed jobs, but her previous 401(k) provider is requiring her to find time in her busy day to print, fill out, and mail back documentation before she can roll over her 401(k) to her new employer’s plan.
A customer that needs help finding a solution to their problem, but after an hour of researching Reddit, Quora, the company’s forum, social media, and the company website still has not found an answer to their question or a way to get in touch with a customer support representative.
Feeling angry yet? The list could go on.
In just a few short bullet points, you empathized deeply with these customers. Perhaps you found yourself wishing to know who they are so that you could reach out and offer your own personal expertise.
This is the value of empathy. Empathy is created when you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes and experience what they are experiencing. It is a powerful driving force. It helps to give direction, purpose, and meaning.
When you find yourself without meaning in your own work, talk to customers. Reconnect with reality. Understand their problems. Build empathy. Regain purpose.
My Employer Won’t Let Me Speak with Customers
I have heard this many times; I have experienced it myself many times. However, it can be overcome.
Perhaps you are not able to speak with a customer in the formal capacity of a representative of the company. But you can speak with customers in your every day life.
Are you a user of the product in your own daily life? What problems or frustrations are you seeing?
Are your coworkers users of the product? What problems or frustrations are they seeing?
Do you know target customers in your family? Among friends? In your neighborhood?
If you look for them, you will find customers and potential target customers that you can talk to. You can begin to understand their frustrations. It will give you perspective. It will help you look at your work differently. You will become an advocate for your customer, when they may not have an advocate otherwise. It will restore meaning to your work, giving you greater purpose.
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