Creating a Meaningful and Happy Workplace is Science

When I was a kid, I remember loving Sunday nights. My mom made pizza from scratch, my dad made popcorn; we kids set up a ‘picnic’ area on the living room floor and we all watched a movie or TV show together. Friends and neighbors often joined us, laughing, spending time together, looking forward to the new week.

And then something changed.

I don’t think it changed all at once — but somewhere along the line, for almost everyone I know, Sunday night became a time of isolation, stress and dread.

We no longer simply look forward to weekends: We feel like we can barely get through until the weekend. We no longer simply work eight-hour-a-day, five-day-a-week jobs; our work comes with us wherever else we are.

We’re tired. We’re stressed. We’re overwhelmed. And we all keep hanging in there, hoping that something’s gonna give.

We’re working for the weekend. We’re working for retirement. We’re working because we have to pay bills. We’re working and we’re trying, and we keep showing up — but it’s harder and harder. I hear it again and again, from everyone from social workers to CEOs, teachers to sales teams, STNAs to lawyers, artists to ministers.

The ‘good’ news is that we are not alone. A 2013 Gallup poll found that only 30 percent of employees in the U.S. feel engaged at work. In a study of 142 countries around the world, only 13 percent of employees feel engaged at work. So it’s not just you — that’s good news, right?

But there’s also better news: It doesn’t have to be this way.

And THAT is what brings me to the team at Prosper for Purpose.

My entire career — maybe my entire life, really — has been about creating pathways for people to discover and live meaningful, purposeful lives. (In fact, I own and run a small company called “Meaningful Matters Incorporated.”) One thing I’ve learned is that we all truly want the way we spend our time every day to be meaningful — we *want* to look forward to our workday. We want to know that what we are doing matters. We want to believe that we contribute meaningfully to something bigger than ourselves.

Organizations, corporations, nonprofits and faith-based institutions alike exist to provide something that enhances life for others.

But somehow in the quest for efficiency, effectiveness and production, corporate cultures, the way we work, we’ve lost the practices that can create a meaningful, productive and (dare we say it) happy workplace.

So that’s what I’m doing here at Prosper for Purpose. I’m working with workplaces a lot like yours to create meaningful, productive and, yes, happy experiences. I’m bringing scientifically researched tools, practices and resources that shift and transform the work (and life!) experiences from “just getting by” to sustainable flourishing.

I’d love to tell you more about that. I’d love to have coffee with you and converse about your specific situation, in hopes of helping things change for the better for YOU, soon.

Change is possible. Creating meaningful and happy workplaces is possible. I’m here to help. Let’s talk.