A recent Hidden Brain podcast entitled “You 2.0: Dream Jobs” explored the importance of finding meaning in your work. Amy Wrzesniewski is a Professor of Management at Yale and her current research focuses on studying how employees shape their interactions and relationships with others in the workplace to add meaning to their job and change their own work identity. She notes, “People who see their work as a calling are significantly more satisfied with their jobs. They’re significantly more satisfied with their lives. They’re more engaged in what it is they’re doing and tend to be better performers regardless of what the work is.”
One finding in her research focuses on the idea of cognitive crafting, reframing what it is you’re doing and how you come to think about your work. People aren’t always in a position to change their job description or the nature of their job; however, changing the way you think about your job is perhaps the greatest power you have.
Wrzesniewski discusses three types of job crafting techniques:
- Task Crafting This is when employees change their formal job responsibilities by adding/dropping/altering tasks or the time devoted to certain tasks. Example: A tech-savvy customer service representative offering to help with IT issues, even though it is not technically in her job description.
- Relational Crafting Altering how and when employees interact with other in order to perform their job duties. Example: A software engineer collaborating with a marketing analyst about product design and market response.
- Cognitive Crafting When employees alter the way they perceive the tasks and relationships that comprise their job. Example: Hospital cleaning crew sees their job as a way to also check in on patients while tidying their rooms.
This work also ties in with research from Daniel Pink, who believes that there are three essential elements that motivate us. They include: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Most people strive to find purpose in their lives and in their work. They yearn to see how their contributions can fit into a larger picture.
Some of the key takeaways from this research are that it is often up to you to branch out and find creative ways to add something new or different to your work in order to make it more meaningful to you. Be sure to continue to do the tasks assigned to you, but if you are feeling stuck at work, then take some time to think about how you can craft your current position into one that offers you more meaning and satisfaction.
