Six years ago, Ross Stores reopened its first retail establishment in a part of Oakland, California where all the grocery stores and other shops had left. “Everyone laughed,” said Shawn Moore, Ross’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion.

However, on opening day, “there was a line out the door,” he told NBC 6 news anchor Constance Jones, who moderated a panel titled “Making Work Meaningful in an Uncertain World.” Moore spoke alongside four other executives at From Day One’s Miami conference.

“I felt like a hero. It’s such a simple thing to just be in the space to give people an opportunity to shop and have the same access to goods that anybody else would have.”

Ross Stores also partners with charitable organizations nationwide, including local ones where its stores are located. “All our associates can feel really good about it,” Moore said. “The last thing anyone wants to do is work for the evil empire, a company that doesn’t care and is just taking resources out of the community.”

What Does Meaningful Work Mean?

People spend too much of their time at work for them to not care about why they’re doing it, says Federico Demarin, chief people officer for GroupM’s Latam division. “If you understand why you are doing it, you’re going to be happier,” he said.

Research shows that when individuals feel they belong to an organization, they are more productive and more willing to recommend the business as a great place to work, says David Bator, managing director of the Achievers Workforce Institute.

“People fundamentally want to know that they matter,” he said.

But when it comes to activating an employee in a purpose-driven way, “it’s more complicated because not everyone finds the same meaning in work,” Bator said.

Rachel Schneider, the founder and CEO of Canary, said for many people, being able to support themselves and their families is “a purpose for working that’s incredibly valuable.”

Another motivating factor is a sense of contributing to an organization’s purpose and being recognized for that contribution, says Schneider. Feeling connected to colleagues can also be meaningful.

Ideally, companies should help their employees “feel all versions of purpose,” Schneider said.

The idea of an emotional salary, or the emotional gains of working, is good, but “it’s not trading currency. It’s not something you should try to leverage so you don’t have to do other things,” Demarin said.

That’s why allowing employees to grow within the organization is crucial, says Moore. “I’m really proud that about 78% of our leaders in stores are internally promoted,” he said.

Connecting the Mission to Employee Purpose

Companies that want their employees to find meaning in their work should put that at the beginning of their interactions with potential team members, says Demarin.

Many times, a job description is “just a statement. It’s just something that ChatGPT has done,” he said. “How do you connect it with the person’s purpose when they are interviewing? How do you talk about purpose in your onboarding? How do you talk about purpose in your performance management and career development? If you really want to create meaningful jobs, you need to start embedding this idea of why into the whole journey.”

Abbe Partee, vice president and head of global certified learning for DHL, says the organization has a foundation program it sends each employee to.

“They go through it in a day, but they understand how they are connecting people and improving lives,” she said. “They understand how they’re an essential part.”

DHL also recently rolled out a supervisory academy for frontline leaders. “They go through a 15 to 18-month program where they focus on a lot of the soft skills around recognition, connection, communication, and more. But my favorite part is that they are focused on developing and training and making their hourly associates into their successors,” Partee said.

One of the best ways to help employees connect their purpose to the employer’s mission is through frequent recognition, says Bator.

“Our research shows that when someone is recognized in a meaningful way, meaning that it’s personal and specific, it carries great weight for employees,” he said.

Paying attention to individual team members’ personalities and desires is essential, says Schneider.  “A big piece of helping people feel connected to the purpose at work is knowing that there’s a lot of different on-ramps to whatever your company’s purpose is,” she said.

“If you’re a good manager, you’re going to ask people what their on-ramp is and help them see how they’re accomplishing their own purpose in alignment with the company’s purpose.”

Mary Pieper is a freelance reporter based in Mason City, Iowa.