Working for Good
Today’s workers seek out careers that allow them to have an impact—and smart, adaptive employers are doing what they can to meet this demand.
By WP BrandStudio
Not long ago, the main purpose of a career was to help people pay their bills and feed their families. One poll found that older Americans—those who had been working for a long time—listed making money and learning new skills as their main work goals.
But the emergent generation of workers have different priorities. On top of a salary and benefits, they seek out jobs and employers that allow them to have a positive impact on society. This emphasis on social value within the workforce is known as purpose-driven work, and it’s becoming increasingly important for today’s employees.
Nate Wong, executive director of Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, has observed this growing appetite for purposeful work firsthand. He said that recent graduates and experienced workers alike are seeking positions with companies that aim “to play a more integrated role” in society. People “want to bring their authentic selves to work,” he said, and they “want to have clarity [in] the type of work they do. They want integrity from the organization.”
As workers become more interested in purpose-driven positions, many employers are responding by integrating these principles and ethics into their operations, and shifting to a model wherein employees and leadership develop a mission together. This fosters engagement among teams and signals to workers that their ideas are integral to the direction of the business—whether the organization is brand-new or a half a century old.
Authenticity in action
Plenty of companies have been mission-driven for decades, but the renewed desire among employees to do meaningful work has encouraged these employers to shine a brighter spotlight on purpose, which has become a magnet for great talent. And AARP is leading the way.
The nonprofit strives to reflect the values of its founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, a high school principal who saw the struggles that retired teachers faced living on small pensions and created AARP in 1958 to advocate for older adults. Senior Vice President of Programs Jean Setzfand says that all of her colleagues at AARP operate from the common goal of “wanting to improve the lives of older adults so we can all live with purpose and dignity.” She said that this is a view shared from leadership on down, and that everyone at the organization works hard to ensure that they’re making an impact.
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Colleagues at AARP operate from the common goal of wanting to improve the lives of older adults so we can all live with purpose and dignity.
Jean Setzfand, Senior Vice President of Programs of AARP
Marjorie Powell, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, said that these values “are woven into our performance and work streams.” In fact, AARP relies on its employees to ensure the organization doesn’t stray from its commitment. Powell said that the organization does this through employee feedback surveys that ask workers to share their thoughts on the organization’s operations, ethics, integrity and transparency. If the results demonstrate a slip in any of these values, “we would be able to isolate that to find out what’s going on and where we might need to put more effort in.”
According to Wong, this emphasis on clarity and intention is vital to maintaining a purpose-driven workplace. For example, “if a company really cares about the environment, they should state that explicitly,” he said. “Because the more amorphous an organization’s values are, the harder it becomes to manage expectations between employees and corporations.”
One AARP employee, writer and editor Kenneth Terrell, who works on AARP’s publications like “AARP The Magazine” and aarp.org, appreciates that because the nonprofit remains true to its ideals, AARP members respect the work that its employees do. In turn, Terrell knows that what he writes will actually inform the decisions people make in their own lives.
“I think that really adds another layer for employees, feeling appreciated and knowing that you’re really making a difference,” he said.
Putting purpose into practice
Wong noted that many mission-oriented companies recognize there are different ways employees can have an impact—and not only when they are on the clock. This drives some organizations to give employees “access to a pool of money that you can donate to your favorite charity” and time off for volunteering, he said. Employers often offer these options with no stipulations or additional cost to the employee, and Wong suggested that these practices are becoming more integrated into companies’ day-to-day business operations. Many are even including mission-driven impact when measuring their own success.
AARP has structures in place that allow employees to engage in purposeful work, both internally and externally. It has a “robust professional development program” that offers numerous workshops designed to foster innovation and develop leadership skills through coaching and mentoring, said Powell; the workshops are open to all employees, from entry-level workers to senior management.
Moving beyond AARP’s walls, Setzfand said, “we have a program called Community Builders, where employees are given paid time off to volunteer.” Setzfand said she took advantage of the program to volunteer at a local hospital and prepare PPE for frontline workers.
Additionally, Powell touted AARP’s annual Meal Pack program, where the organization closes for a day to prepare a million meals for local seniors in need. Seventy percent of organizations say that these kinds of employee volunteer programs boost morale, and they are directly meeting employees’ desire to volunteer through work—which 82 percent of workers want to do.
A mission-driven employee is a happy employee
There’s no doubt that corporations can highlight social missions to attract talent. But organizations that actively prioritize purpose also do a much better job of retaining their staff. One study found that millennials who feel a strong sense of purpose at their job are 5.3 times more likely to stick with the company. Perhaps even more surprising: Half of today’s workforce said that they would take a 15 percent pay cut if they had the opportunity “to work for an organization with an inspiring purpose.”
Additionally, one study found that purpose-oriented employees are more likely to be happier in their jobs and more likely to be promoted. And another study that looked specifically at mission-driven companies have 30 percent higher levels of innovation and 40 percent higher levels of retention.
Those statistics don’t shock Setzfand. AARP’s “turnover is extremely low,” she said, and based on employee feedback, “satisfaction rates are very high.” Her own experience reflects this. Prior to working for AARP, her longest tenure with any organization had been three years. She’s now been at AARP for 18.
Kenneth Terrell understands her appreciation for the organization. He said that while AARP has evolved the way it delivers on its mission over the years, everyone here knows that they’re “working at a place that is really trying to help people. And as an employee, that makes you want to work that much harder to do your best, so that you can help people as much as you possibly can.”
Learn more about careers at AARP.org.
Sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/heartland-monitor-america-economy/433938/
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/
https://cdn.imperative.com/media/public/Global_Purpose_Index_2016.pdf
https://www.charities.org/facts-statistics-workplace-giving-matching-gifts-and-volunteer-programs
https://www.jimstengel.com/purpose/
https://hbr.org/2020/04/build-a-culture-that-aligns-with-peoples-values
https://advisory.kpmg.us/content/dam/advisory/en/pdfs/purpose-driven-work.pdf