One of the most radical management thinkers introduced to us during my time at TISS was Elliot Jacques. Among his various contributions, what caught my fancy was his disdain for management fads. He called them “flavour of the month”. Management thinkers and practitioners obsesses over a new idea and soon replace it with a new one.
There are several such ideas that I can think of but of particular interest to me is that of purpose. A cursory glance at the past few issues of Harvard Business Review also confirms that there is an increased focus on purpose. There’s shared purpose, corporate purpose, purpose driven work, purpose-led growth, among others. However,I will limit my observations to purpose at work – defined as the reason to work beyond the financial gains of employment. Just like corporate purpose is defined as business beyond profits.
Adam Smith famously noted that self-interest is what set the invisible hand in motion. When the butcher, brewer and the baker pursue their own good, the markets take care of themselves. However, as the nature of work underwent a change, the idea of purpose took shape. It acquired greater resonance after the 2008 Financial Crisis which evidently was driven by individuals pursuing only their interest. The entry of Gen Zs at the workplace also marks the shift of focus from pay-check to purpose. In 2019, over 180 CEOs signed the new statement of purpose of a corporation. They replaced “maximising shareholder value” with items such as “investing in employees” and “serving the community”.
Various consulting firms, including Mckinsey & Co, have highlighted the link between living one’s purpose at work and higher work engagement. However, the Great Resignation makes one question the strength of this relationship. Mckinsey also notes in an article that living one’s purpose at work is more likely possibility for senior executives than frontline workers. The successful pursuit of purpose at work for the C-suite shows what authors called a “purpose-hierarchy-gap”.
There is a clear business case for pursuing purpose at the corporate level. A Kantar study reveals that brands committed to purpose have grown twice their size in the past 12 years. This is not surprising as consumers make conscious purchases within ideas of minimalism, slow fashion and glocal goods. There is evidence to show that purpose affects innovation, employee stickiness, and overall welfare.
But purpose cannot be the sole antidote to the Great Resignation which is now being understood as the Great Reshuffle. The circulation of talent among various employers catering to the changing needs of the workforce. A cocktail of initiatives in varying quantities maybe the answer. Linkedin’s Global Talent 2022 report indicates that Flexibility, Well-Being, and Org Culture will continue to drive engagement. The fundamentals matter, such as the Herzberg’s two factor classification of factors of job satisfaction. Although, a relook at the components of both Hygiene and Motivating factors in this classification is in order.
The idea of purpose driven work, finding meaning on the job and compassionate capitalsm are aspirational ideas. They are worth pursuing for an inclusive tomorrow. But the pandemic has proven beyond doubt that there’s more to life than just work. Purpose washing on the other hand must be avoided at all costs. Finally, sustained efforts at creating purpose for all are likely to ensure that this discourse doesn’t turn into another management fad. Wonder what Jacques would say?
To read the previous edition of State of Affairs, click here.