Giving sense to cooperation.

It has long been established that individuals feel a greater sense of connection to their work when they perceive that their contributions are meaningful, when they have sufficient autonomy, when they have the opportunity to grow and develop, and particularly when they are able to collaborate with others. The feedback, dialogue, and peer observation that occur in these contexts imbue work with a sense of purpose and coherence. In the absence of such interactions, the work loses its direction and coherence.

Finding each other beyond the daily grind

And yet, in practice, we see that it often does not go well. US anthropologist and activist David Graeber brought this into sharp focus with his 2018 publication on ‘bullshit jobs’- work that contributes little or nothing to society and is often perceived as pointless. His website crashed due to the sheer volume of responses. Graeber was one of the forerunners of the Occupy movement, which counterbalances the fact that our prosperity reaches only 1% of the world’s population and sees consumer society as the cause of this problem. His message was clear: we need a radically new view of work, one that focuses on the well-being of others and improving the world around us, rather than just making money. This idea has led to a growing movement towards a more meaningful economy, in which more and more people are asking why they do the work they do.

Individual check-in with work

Flemish philosopher Jochanan Eynikel calls this an ‘individual check-in’ with work. Here, he distinguishes between the economic and social motivations for working, and what he calls ‘spiritual capital’: the ability to find each other on a deeper level than the daily concerns of making money and satisfying customers. Only when people can find each other at that deeper level are they able to create real value within the organisation. It’s about not just working for the paycheck, but making sure your work contributes to something bigger-something meaningful for yourself and others.

Starting the real conversation

And how do you achieve such deep connection and engagement? According to Jochanan Eynikel, a powerful way to create this connection is to share meaningful stories. Stories about the ‘why’ of the organisation-about what the organisation is trying to achieve and how this contributes to people’s well-being and conservation. These kinds of stories help employees feel the soul of the organisation and identify with it. It is not natural for everyone to start these conversations, and that is precisely what makes it one of the most important skills for people who want to be successful in organisations in the future: the ability to have the real conversation. When, as an organisation, you take that step and share meaningful stories, together you form the narrative identity of the organisation. This means not just defining the organisation’s goals and values, but actually living and expressing them through the stories you share.

How you approach this depends on the specific context of your organisation or team, but there are a few recurring elements that are often successful. One is the personal check-in, where each participant shares something about what is on his or her mind. This is followed by a conversation about the relationship between those personal experiences and the mission or meaning of the organisation. In these conversations, as a group you look for the factors that made these experiences meaningful moments. In this way, you build together a collective story, which ultimately shapes the culture and identity of the organisation.