The Search for Meaning at Work: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Purpose to Engage and Fulfill Your Workforce

by Steve Van Valin

Offers a path to purpose and meaning at work to engage and support employees at every level. While recent studies have shown that companies with high levels of employee engagement have 40% less turnover, half the absenteeism rate, and double the net profit compared to companies with low engagement, many firms continue to struggle with engaging their employees, and a mass exodus in under way. Business leaders are unprepared to deliver the type of culture and leadership that infuses the work experience of their employees with purpose and meaning. No surprise that a recent Gallup survey showed that only 15% of employees consider themselves engaged in their work. In The Search for Meaning at Work Steve Van Valin, an organizational culture consultant and former long-time executive with QVC, provides talent leaders and managers at all levels with a focused awareness and a robust set of actionable tools to meet the talent challenge head-on. Building on the research of Harvard professor Dr. Teresa Amabile and others, Van Valin’s model is based on eleven “Amplifiers of Meaning” that identify and describe the core purpose that gives work meaning. Without purpose, there is no meaning, Van Valin argues, and without meaning there is no true engagement. For many employees and their managers, the purpose that drives an employee’s motivation to work remains hidden; as a result, employees are disengaged, leaving managers and leaders frustrated as they search for answers. Van Valin’s approach is a confident and creative challenge to leaders to think differently – with greater empathy for the power of purpose and meaning in people’s lives. Each chapter contains personal observations, revealing anecdotes, and a playbook, which provides specific and relevant actions/steps the reader can follow to amplify meaning in ways that inspire high-performance. 1. The book is anchored on providing specific actionable ideas to promote purpose and meaning. It is a practical guide, not just a philosophical work on a lofty subject. 2. No other book fully defines purpose and meaning and brings to light the dynamics between them. Doing so provides a high level of awareness for the reader that leads to the practical application of emotional intelligence when making the “everyday” better choices. 3. The book research, model, and actionable ideas are directly transferable as content for teaching the Amplify concept via classroom, online, and webinar delivery.

304 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2022

Reviews

[Steve Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Stevo’s Novel Ideas, I am a long-time book reviewer, member of the media, an Influencer, and a content provider. I received this book as a free review copy from either the publisher, a publicist, or the author, and have not been otherwise compensated for reviewing or recommending it. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This book was Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 1/15, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet and Stevo's Novel Ideas. This book offers a path to purpose and meaning at work to engage and support employees at every level.

Generally, there are three types of employees at every company: go-getters who want to learn everything and progressively take on more roles and responsibilities, those who care about their jobs but have no desire to advance, and those who show up but are marking time until they find a different or better job.

The goal of Van Valin's new book is to motivate the workers who care (and hopefully some of those who don't) by inspiring them to form a meaningful relationship with their productive output. The most important contributor to finding meaning, he says, is feeling that their job is purposeful: that they have a personal connection to it and the activity has a fulfilling outcome.

Van Valin has devoted a chapter to each of eleven of the outcomes, calling them Meaning Amplifiers, which vary from earning respect from others, helping their family have a better life, belonging to a team, achieving personal objectives, finding spiritual fulfillment, and making the world a better place. Each amplifier is accompanied by ways managers can increase employee engagement. One example is creating incentives employees can share with their families, such as giving them tickets to a sporting event.

Though I wanted to see a discussion of managers setting an example for their employees, something that's a high priority to me, "The Search for Meaning at Work" is full of tips for giving your employees reasons to keep coming to work and finding meaning in what they produce.

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