No one wants to find themselves waking up each day to go to a meaningless job. Meaningless jobs leave you feeling low energy and unexcited about the work you do.
While everyone wants a job that is meaningful, too many people are willing to settle doing work that doesn’t matter. But if you want to have a long and fulfilling career, it’s important not to settle until you’ve found work that really matters.
I spoke with Costas Polycarpou, founder of Polyteck, about how doing work that matters is a priority. While speaking about his company, he said, “We’re committed to delivering social value to communities. Our goal is to bring about additional community, economic, and environmental benefits to the people we work with. I look for where I can add value to the community by using my experience in business.”
You’ll Feel Confident In Your Value Proposition
No matter which industry you are in, you must have a value proposition. Your value proposition is the thing that makes people want to work with your company. Whether you’re talking to customers, investors, or potential employees, they’ll want to know why they should work with you.
Some companies have to figure out how to spin their value prop in a way that will sound appealing. When you do work that matters, you’ll never have to get creative to convince people to work with you. You can feel confident that you really are bringing something important to the table.
Costas Polycarpou mentioned, “While Polyteck manages facilities and maintains properties, the real value we provide is in how those things build community. We develop community capacity and increase community cohesion. Those are the things that really matter, and that’s what we’re really trying to offer people.”
When you have an awesome value proposition, you’ll quickly start to notice that it isn’t hard to explain why people should work with you. The answer will be obvious as soon as you start talking.
You’ll Avoid Burnout
If you’ve never felt burnout at a job, consider yourself lucky. Many of us have felt the low energy and lack of motivation that comes with getting burnt out. It’s common for the feeling to happen when people feel like their work doesn’t matter.
That’s why doing meaningful work is so important. Doing work that matters not only helps you avoid burnout in your own career, but it helps everyone in your workplace stay motivated.
While anyone can feel burnout, even people who work in rewarding careers, it’s easier to recover when you know your work has real value. When you have a mission to make a difference, it’s more likely that when you start to feel tired, you’ll have coworkers who have enough energy to give you a needed break and help you regain your energy and drive.
It’s detrimental to a workplace when many employees are feeling burned out at the same time because no one feels like they can relax when they need to. You can avoid having a workplace full of low energy people by making sure that everyone feels like they are taking part in a valuable mission.
Costas Polycarpou explained how he maintains his energy and avoids burnout when he said, “When I lose motivation, I like to look at all the changes we’ve been able to make. I look at the communities we’ve impacted through our environmental work and our fundraising to support community groups. Any job requires energy, but looking at these things helps to recharge that energy.”
You’ll Create an Awesome Company Culture
Workplaces with meaningful missions tend to have excellent company cultures. This isn’t just a coincidence, though. When you do worthwhile work, the right kind of employees will start to seek you out. These are the kind of employees who care about making a difference, so they’re honest, kind, and hardworking. These are the kind of people who are awesome to work with.
Your mission to make a difference won’t just affect employees and potential employees, however. It will also help you attract awesome customers who care about your goals, as well.
This is good for both the culture and branding of your company, and it’s also good for growing your business through increased revenue. Nearly every aspect of your business is impacted by doing meaningful work.
You’ll Show Gratitude By Giving Back
Most people who live happy and fulfilling lives recognize a very important principle: gratitude.
When you have a successful career, it’s important to recognize and feel grateful for the ability to make a good living. When you make your living by doing meaningful work that makes a difference, you’re showing your gratitude by giving back to the community you work in.
Costas Polycarpou spoke about this principle of giving back when he said, “It’s important to me that through things like our education partnerships, curriculum support workshops, use of local suppliers, and creation of jobs, we are able to increase local skills and local household incomes, as well as increase young people’s aspirations. It’s this impact that keeps me motivated and passionate about our work.”
At the end of your career, you’ll want to feel like you made a lasting and positive impact. By choosing to do work that gives back, you can be confident that someday you’ll be able to look back and know you’ve made a difference.