Positive Psychology at Work:

Strategies for Increasing the Meaningfulness of Work

1) Individual

Fortunately, people have a strong drive to find meaning in their work. We seek always to make sense of the world, particularly in terms of ‘who am I?’ So, effectively we are programmed to find meaning in our work which contributes to our sense of our identity. We see this process in organizations. Imagine, for example, a group of people somewhere in an organization, maybe charged with some task incidental to the main purpose, who, to your surprise, act as if the salvation of the company is in their hands. They have imbued their work with great meaning, greater perhaps than that assigned to them by the rest of the organization who see them perhaps as ‘only’ managing the supply of stationery. Yet they have collectively formed a belief that, since managers are so incompetent in this area, it is only through their diligent action that the organization is saved from going under by the want of a timely staple. The ability to create such collective meaning in the face of organization indifference, or even ridicule, should be honoured rather more than it is as a very effective contribution towards greater employee engagement.

On a more individual level, some people approach the challenge of increasing their level of engagement at work in a more active way: they re-craft their job. For example, they may change the way they approach tasks to better suit their strengths. They may readjust the priorities of the job so they ...