How do you increase job significance?
To help you find purpose in your work and increase the significance of your job, we asked CEOs and business leaders this question for their best insights. From understanding your role to providing people opportunities to grow, there are several ways to bring worth and significance to your job and value the contributions you are making.
Here are nine ways these leaders get to increase the significance of their jobs:
- Understand Your Role
- Write Down the Ways You’re Helping Others
- Carve Out a Niche
- Find Your Purpose Through Curiosity
- Continue to Upskill
- Figure Out What Matters to You Most
- Assist Your Coworkers in Need Whenever Possible
- Visit End-Users to Measure the Impact You’re Having
- Provide People Opportunities to Grow
Understand Your Role
Gain an understanding of your role functions within the spectrum of your company. Every job plays a role in the success of a business. It may help to understand how your job interacts with the rest of your company’s on-going’s. Also try to understand the micro aspects of your job as well. Consider how your job helps those in your immediate area – your team, other co-workers, your department and everything else you interact with on a daily basis. Don’t assume your role has no value, explore it and understand it first. You may find satisfaction once you see the depth of your role. If you don’t then maybe it’s time for a career change. Just never assume that the work you do lacks importance by definition.
Boye Fajinmi, Co-Founder and President, TheFutureParty
Write Down the Ways You’re Helping Others
Write down the ways you’re helping others. Everyone needs a helping hand at work, and assisting someone with their workload will show that you’re a team player and you can collaborate to reach a common end goal. Whether you’re splitting the work on a project or fully owning something, this creates a purpose and makes your job more meaningful. Not only does it build a connection with colleagues, but increases job significance.
Natália Sadowski, Director of Aesthetics, Nourishing Biologicals
Carve Out a Niche
You need to find your niche. Whatever job you’re doing, create something that you can offer that no one else has done. If you can convince your supervisors to take on a new task, a unique task that they agree is beneficial to the brand, you will have value. You will be a significant contributor to the team because you provide something that no one else does – and they will realize that no one else can just come in and fill your shoes.
Trevor Ford, Head of Growth, Yotta
Find Your Purpose Through Curiosity
There’s no one answer to this question – it’s different for everyone. However, there are a few things you can do to increase job satisfaction and find purpose in your work. First, take some time to assess your current situation. What do you like and don’t like about your job? What aspects of your work make you feel most fulfilled? Once you have a good understanding of what you’re looking for, you can start taking steps to make changes. If you’re unhappy with your current position, look for ways to make it more fulfilling. Talk to your supervisor about increasing your responsibilities or working on more challenging projects. If you’re feeling unchallenged in your current role, look for opportunities to learn new skills or knowledge. No matter what your situation is, remember that you have the power to create change.
Alysha M. Campbell, Founder and CEO, CultureShift HR
Continue to Upskill
When you want to take on more responsibilities with your role, the most important thing you can do is to continue to upskill. Identify skills that could be helpful if expanding your role, and then look to company programs or even independent eLearning courses to gain more knowledge. Not only will this help you stay motivated, but the management team will surely take notice of and appreciate your efforts toward both personal and professional growth.
Victor Mathieux, Co-Founder & CEO, Miracle Brand
Figure Out What Matters to You Most
Figure out what matters to you. Assessing your own values and motivations is an important part of creating purpose in your professional role. If you know what you care about, you’ll be better able to adjust aspects of your work life that don’t serve you. For example, people who value self-improvement can learn a new skill set or perfect an existing one. Those who are motivated by positive interactions can focus on developing friendly relationships with their colleagues. It’s important to understand what drives you, so you can figure out what would make you feel more connected to your work.
Brian Munce, Managing Director, Gestalt Brand Lab
Assist Your Coworkers in Need Whenever Possible
Offering your time and energy to help out your coworkers is a sure-fire way to find purpose in your work. A thriving workplace is one where every team member knows their role and has the appropriate resources and support to perform their best. When you notice someone struggling with a particular task, or not fully grasping their responsibilities, it is essential that they are guided in the right direction. A helping hand is oftentimes all it takes to get a colleague back on track. By taking the initiative to offer your unsolicited assistance, advice, or insight, you’re also helping to strengthen team chemistry and helping to foster an overall positive workplace.
Andrew Chen, Chief Product Officer, CommentSold
Visit End-Users to Measure the Impact You’re Having
To find purpose in your work, I highly recommend taking time to visit customers or end-users so you can see how the product or service that you help provide makes a difference in their daily lives. For example, if you are a factory worker that helps assemble medical devices, make it a point to visit a customer in your local community so you can visually see what kind of impact the product has. If you are a service provider, like an accountant for example, be sure to regularly chat with your clients about topics outside of work so you can get a sense of how much comfort and stress relief that you provide in their lives. The point is that without witnessing the end-result personally, you’ll never truly appreciate what you do.
Alaina Ross, Co-Founder & Registered Nurse, Sleep Family
Provide People Opportunities to Grow
Leading a business that has an impact on the entire music industry provides my team and me with all the purpose we need to drive this venture forward. From the limelight we provide newbies and stalwarts alike to the variety of information we share with those who seek it, everything we have on offer adds something more to the industry. This feeling of being able to build and sustain an influential platform that provides everyone associated with us even more opportunities to grow, is what makes my job significant and my work purposeful.
Larissa Pickens, Owner, Repeat Replay
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