Benefits of Company Culture, Best Workplaces, Inspiring, Purpose
With workers leaving behind unfulfilling roles, employers that commit to meaning at work will dominate the market.
In the extraordinary employment reshuffle of the past year and more, people aren鈥檛 just leaving jobs. They are leaving industries.
In data from across 11 different industries, and meaningful work was a key driver of employee retention in every industry.
The outcome of finding purpose at work? Employees who say their work is more than 鈥渏ust a job鈥� are two to six times more likely to stay with their company long-term.
No business can succeed if all the best talent walks out the door.
Employees at the typical health care organization experience the strongest sense of purpose out of the seven industries measured in our July market study, with 62% reporting meaningful work. The typical retail employee has the weakest connection to purpose, with only 38% reporting meaningful work.
Yet, meaningful work isn鈥檛 solely dictated by industry.
For employees at the average company on the Fortune Best Workplaces in Retail鈩� List, 108% more workers report meaningful work than the typical retail workplace, a difference of 41 percentage points. Even compared to the purpose-driven typical workplace in health care, 23% more employees at the Best Workplaces in Retail report meaningful work (17 points more).
What purpose looks like
Purpose has been shown to be a crucial element for retention across geographic areas and age demographics, too. So, what does it look like in practice?
For AbbVie, No. 2 on the Fortune Best Workplaces in BioPharma鈩� List for large companies, it isn鈥檛 any one thing.
鈥淭here are many small factors that lead to engaged employees who are passionate about their jobs,鈥� says Tim Richmond, EVP and CHRO at AbbVie. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 one element that should remain constant 鈥� staying true to your convictions.鈥�
For AbbVie, those convictions include 鈥渟upporting well-being, operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives, serving our community, and embracing diversity and inclusion,鈥� Richmond says.
At Wegmans Food Markets, the No. 1 large company on the Best Workplaces in Retail List, connecting employees with purpose starts with a mission board 鈥� what Wegmans calls its W board 鈥� which is on display at every workplace. The board communicates the company鈥檚 values, explaining what employees can do to contribute to the grocery chain鈥檚 overall mission, and the measures every employee can help impact.
鈥淚t鈥檚 truly lived every day,鈥� says Peggy Riley, vice president of employee communications and engagement.
Brand values such as 鈥淎lways help others鈥� are constantly reinforced during an employee鈥檚 tenure. 鈥淲e talk about everything on the W board very frequently and specifically, and we integrate it into training, into their performance plans, into everything,鈥� Riley says.
It takes effort to ensure the brand鈥檚 mission is accessible to every employee. Language must be chosen carefully.
鈥淲e work very hard to ensure the W board is relatable to every employee at all levels,鈥� says Riley. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have big, fancy, complicated words, or equations. Every single employee contributes to our success.鈥�
Meaningful work is vital in every industry, but the benefits are particularly acute in the fields where McKinsey has identified high rates of employee departures, such as retail and manufacturing.
鈥淭here are many small factors that lead to engaged employees who are passionate about their jobs. But there鈥檚 one element that should remain constant 鈥� staying true to your convictions.鈥� - Tim Richmond, EVP and CHRO, AbbVie
Purpose matters in every industry
In 逸遊娛樂城 research, only 38% of employees at an average retail company say their work has meaning. For companies that made the list of Best Workplaces in Retail for 2022, 79% of employees on average said their work was meaningful.
The gap between average and great is large for manufacturing firms, too, with 48% of employees at average companies saying they have meaning at work. For the best? Eighty-three percent.
Yet, no industry can rest easy when it comes to purpose.
Even organizations in health care 鈥� an industry with a visible and potent purpose 鈥� the average is far outstripped by great organizations. Only 62% of workers at average health care organizations reported meaningful work, compared to 90% at the best.
At KSLD Laser, No. 17 on the Fortune Best Workplaces in Manufacturing & Production鈩� List for small and medium-sized businesses, demo days offer a chance to show employees the impact of their work.
鈥淓mployees can see our products, and hold them, touch them, experience them,鈥� says Amy Hilvers, director of HR for semiconductor laser producer.
The company also connects employees to purpose through its corporate social responsibility program.
鈥淥ne of our products is a laser flashlight that has a very long beam 鈥� very useful to rescue and firefighters,鈥� says Hilvers. 鈥淲e donated some of our flashlights to firefighters and then received feedback and photos of them using the flashlights in actual rescues.鈥�
Sharing those stories helped workers see how their work was helping to save lives.
The typical retail employee has the weakest connection to purpose, with only 38% reporting meaningful work ... Only 62% of workers at average health care organizations reported meaningful work, compared to 90% at the best.
Purpose requires context
On its own, purpose is not enough to prevent employee turnover. If an employee loves the mission, but feels underappreciated or even mistreated, they鈥檙e still likely to find the nearest exit.
Mission-driven industries like health care have more employees who report meaningful work, but struggle in other areas of workplace culture 鈥� such as fair pay and promotions. In health care, only 42% of employees at typical organizations report receiving fair pay for their work. Only 41% report fair promotion practices. At companies on the Fortune Best Workplaces in Health Care鈩� List, those numbers rise to 78% and 81%, respectively.
Fairness is a point of emphasis for companies like AbbVie.
鈥淲e know that there is always more to be done around pay equity,鈥� says Richmond. 鈥淎s stated in our and learn how to create a great workplace culture.
