A Key to Unlocking Purpose

Daniel Goleman is author of the international best-seller Emotional Intelligence and Optimal: How to Sustain Personal and Organizational Excellence Every Day. He is a regular contributor to Korn Ferry. 

According to Gallup, only 31% of people were engaged at work last year – the lowest in over a decade. While it’s often older workers who can be more disengaged—many of them close to done and eager to retire—the data is flipped for the first time in almost 20 years. These days, workers under 35 are driving the decline: the younger the employee, the more disillusioned.

On the list of root causes is an unmet need for human connection. According to many surveys, Gen Z is least interested in working from home five days a week and less than a quarter of workers in their 20s want to be out of the office full time. When compared to workers in their 50s—41% of whom would prefer taking meetings from their own abode—this is comparatively low. What these numbers don’t totally account for is that anyone, no matter what their age, is likely to be more productive when connected to their colleagues.  This means that trends like ‘Quiet Quitting’ and "The Great Detachment," aren’t just connected to low pay, limited opportunities for growth, or generational preferences, but to a deeper universal need for community.

In the “Map of Meaning” —created by Marjo Lips-Wiersma, a professor of ethics and sustainability leadership at Auckland University of Technology—human connection is one of four pillars for experiencing a deeper sense of fulfillment in one’s own life. The pillar “Unity with Others” is all about belonging, mutual support, and the sense of “team” that is built through shared experience and connecting around values.

To inspire this, leaders don’t need to rely only on in-office mandates – they just need to put more attention towards the creation of shared memorable moments. While water cooler conversations go a long way in connecting people, they alone can’t build a connected workforce. In fact, there is plenty of evidence to support the claim that schedules matter less than a company’s approach to teambuilding and values alignment. Companies who are intentional in offering facilitated team-building events, company celebrations, mentorship programs, company volunteer days and other such programs, tend to have a more connected workforce regardless of where their people are each day. Just look at organizations with high employee engagement and high trust among teams – it’s not working schedules that they have in common.

From the manager’s perspective, data shows that half of managers struggle to provide ways for their teams to connect. Once again, younger employees have it worse than their senior counterparts, in part due to a lack of lived experience in leading teams. Sixty-five percent of Gen Z managers felt like it was hard to provide enough human connection while only 32% of baby boomers agreed. This points to a gap in new management training: not enough time equipping younger leaders with the skills to facilitate a sense of connection and community among their direct reports.

Most companies spend quite a lot on retention strategies like spot bonuses, compensation adjustments, and fancy perks employees may or may not take advantage of. No matter how extravagant, these strategies don’t tend to make enough of a dent on chronic disengagement or how loyal employees are over the long term.

A better in-road is figuring out how to create that sense of unity that inspires meaning and purpose among the workforce. This is about finding commonalities, having shared experiences, and remembering people are people beyond the computer screen. 

Co-written by Elizabeth Solomon

Click here to learn more about Daniel Goleman's Building Blocks of Emotional Intelligence.