When I worked in the medical devices industry, there was always that kind of unique situation requiring a response outside of the typical process-driven A-to-B-to-C operation. Instead of the standard request for products well within the anticipated demand, these situations were usually accompanied by emotional stories: patients whose lives depend on receiving expensive medical products within days, a doctor who urgently needs an "unforecasted" size and cannot wait weeks to receive the product from the US manufacturer, etc. These were the moments that defied the procedural and sterile operations mindset that predominates a function that is paradoxically committed to a level of consistency that is both necessary and frustrating. Yet they were the moments I found far more enjoyable than the daily monotony of processes and repetitive tasks. These were the challenges with real impact; not only to the business but also to the person whose life may be fundamentally affected by the product's availability in the hospital. And these were the moments that reinforced my purpose as an employee representing the operations function in a medical device company: my efforts did have an effect - albeit a small one - on a patient's life. Perhaps this has been a demonstration of the genuinely magical ways of a clever sales team in convincing their operations team to go above and beyond processes to procure products. Or perhaps this is that magical point that companies can hope their employees will be able to discover: no matter the role or job scope, how can individuals find meaning within their work?
Whatever word used - meaning, purpose, motive - all boils down to what really matters to people and how it relates to their work. And meaning is found in places both obvious and obscure. What is meaningful to one person may be deemed insignificant to another. Purpose and meaning are entirely personal and subjective, yet it is essential to onboarding, motivating, and retaining employees in any organizational system. Most tangibly, employees perform and contribute more to the company's bottom-line when they feel their work is meaningful and has a discernible purpose (source).
Existing research into meaningful work point to common themes that underlie the specifics of how employees may find meaning and purpose within their work:
Capacity to be authentic and autonomous in an environment requiring engagement with others.
Awareness of self via personal values and how it connects with others.
Feeling that one can contribute and add value to an organization.
Discovering personal purpose by identifying how disparate elements work together to form a harmonious whole.
These themes point to a common path to generating meaning and purpose in organizations:
Sharing: Many people bring diverse perspectives. Individuals all bring their sense of self (autonomy and authenticity) to groups, and the quality of engagement relies on how the groups recognize and understand fundamental differences of ideas and perspectives that can add such a rich abundance of value to a group. Diversity brings more considerable aggregated value. Diversity also brings group dynamics, giving rise to group emotions (fight, flight, dependency, perfectionism, denial). However, suppose diversity is dismissed as too "other" or different (and more uniformity of thought and perspectives are favored). In that case, groups miss a critical opportunity to embrace valuable insights from authentic and distinctive individuals.
Building: What are the links that bring diverse perspectives together? Understanding how an individual's values (beliefs and ideals) and work and life intersect (the personal life needs that drive work and vice versa) can help build self-awareness and group awareness. From a position of empathy and readiness to learn, individuals may embrace the fundamental differences and drivers that form individual needs. The human condition is in a constant state of evolution, and a group-level understanding of those unique elements and differences can produce far more benefits and productive output than the easier path of willful ignorance. Tension within a group is a very likely possibility. Still, it does not have to be the final destination (movie reference/pun intended) of groups working to identify and understand real meaning and purposes in the work they do. Instead, it is like the euphoria one may feel when consuming a spicy meal - in the moment, it may feel like a wretched process, but ultimately the thrill of discovering so many different flavors and tastes brings a joy unlike any other.
Embracing: In music, harmony describes the combination of different notes to form a pleasing sound. Harmony also refers coexistence of various factors to develop a version of a cohesive whole. From harmony, discovering real purpose is possible because consideration and reflection have been given to what contrasting and similar elements are present at an individual and group level. Starting at this point - or only looking to reach a harmonious status - would not be the wisest choice without considering the unconscious "blind spots" that linger within the dark crevices of determining meaningful work. Instead, by first sharing and building together with the positive intention of accomplishing valuable group work and uncovering true meaning, individuals and groups can embrace the differences and understand what drives the work they do.
It has been nearly six years since I last worked in the medical devices industry. My most enjoyable memories always involved a high level of engagement and collaboration between different functions. Is the mission of any company to reduce operational costs and disruptions? Most likely, the answer would be yes. But when the end-customer is a person, companies deliver real value when employees strive to serve customers as best as possible, regardless of stagnant policies that may or may not encourage delivering products to outlier "unforecasted" customers. And therein lies the meaningful work I discovered while working within the operations function of a medical device company: helping to deliver life-elevating value to people. By sharing, building, and embracing the elements that make individuals both similar and different, employees can uncover meaning and purpose within an acceptance that all employees have the potential to add value and purpose to organizations of all types and sizes.
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