Purpose is a great North Star for any workforce to have. At a time when almost half (45%) of UK workers report suffering from both burnout and imposter syndrome in the past year, it’s needed more than ever. That’s because purpose can help employees come up for air in what has been a relentless era of overwork, disengagement, and competing priorities.

The average person spends over 80,000 hours of their lifetime at work, making it no surprise that workers want to make sure they count for something. Indeed, 65% of workers say the pandemic has made them rethink the role work has in their lives.

Why do people crave purpose?

If the Great Reshuffle is the super villain of our times, then purpose is the hero we need. That’s because it offers workers a way of making sense of their daily roles and finding direction while under siege from too many conflicting priorities and a lack of focus on big picture goals.

Purpose also helps to combat the growing sense of disengagement that is felt amongst employees as a result of ‘work about work.’ In other words, those time-suck activities that include communicating about work, searching for information, switching between apps, managing shifting priorities, and chasing status updates.

Following the pandemic, almost two-third (63%) of workers want their organization to provide more opportunities for purpose in their day-to-day work. Yet, individuals are wasting six weeks each year on duplicated work and unnecessary meetings which can lead to a vacuum of workplace inspiration.

To solve this, we need to cultivate the proper circumstances for purpose and engagement in the workplace. And that means connecting three elements: an individual’s work, their skills, and their company’s mission. Below, I cover three musts for companies to ensure that purpose is a holistic part of their workers’ day-to-day.

Connect employee goals to the company mission

There is a considerable disconnect between an employee’s goals and a company’s mission, with nearly a third of all employees unable to clearly see how their work is contributing to their company’s larger goals. This figure rises to almost half (45%) for Gen Z workers which is a significant concern given this is the generation supposedly fresh to their careers and establishing their footing in the workplace.

Connecting workers’ goals to the overarching mission of a company can be as simple as incorporating overarching OKRs into the day-to-day. Whether as a part of daily syncs, dashboards within their tech stacks, or going old school and having broader missions written out on the office whiteboard.

This way, employees never lose sight of how their daily work ladders up to the wider company goals. This enables a shift away from the idea that only earth-shattering accomplishments help the business, to a culture where all wins, both big and small, are celebrated as teams achieve progress and fulfills its purpose.

Allow for focus time – wherever employees work

Uninterrupted focus time is key to employees being able to concentrate on their most impactful work. The workforce is split on where they like to get their skilled work done, with nearly half (47%) of workers saying it is easier to concentrate at home. Instead of forcing one type of worker to meet the needs of another, what’s needed is investment in work management tools to help make asynchronous working a success.

This not only helps communication across a workforce, but breaks down the traditional boundaries between office work and home work. We shouldn't just see the office as about in-person collaboration, or the home about focus work in isolation. Every day holds a mixture of both and so we need to employ the proper technology to enable all employees, wherever they are.

By allowing for focus time that isn’t location-dependent, workers see the benefits of wherever they choose to work – while still managing to focus and collaborate.

Do more with less

The expectation of businesses today is that they must do more with less. Whether it’s a result of a changing workforce or steering their business through the choppy waters of yet another recession.

A great solution for this lies in integrations and building a tech stack that helps workers remain productive and save valuable time. Built right, a tech stack not only helps them alleviate the ‘work about work’ culprits from their day, but it gives them added autonomy in completing tasks and hitting targets.

To keep purpose at the centre of people’s work, companies must think hard about the digital ecosystems they are building and remain focussed on helping employees do their best work and feel productive.

Ultimately, the pandemic has changed our relationship with work – not least weakening the link to purpose. For too long, this has gone either unnoticed or ignored. The consequences of this are hugely damaging, and without proper action will only get worse. Organizations must act now to do everything they can to ensure their workforce is seen, heard, and feels valued.

Only then will employees be equipped with the tools and the culture to fight off burnout and imposter syndrome, and help them truly find their purpose.

Simon O’Kane, Head of International at Asana.