People wanna work at places that give them free food, and swag, and it’s a prestigious organization, or I have a prestigious title, where I can make a best friend at work— the things that we are told over and over again go into making a good work culture. In reality, those are some of the least prioritized things for the majority of workers in America today. To the extent that leaderships of companies are under these illusions, they will continue to incentivize and design environments that are no longer a very good fit to the true trade-off priorities of the workforce. What people want is work to be a positive part of the rest of their life. They wanna be trusted to be able to make decisions about how they do their work, and they are expecting more meaning and purpose in their work. The thing that will hold us back from a good life, rather than just working to work, are these illusions that keep pulling us back to conformity to something for which the group no longer actually values. We all don’t have to quit our job and go somewhere else to find fulfilment. That it is closer than we think, and a lot of it is just subtle changes particularly, around giving more control to employees, trusting them more, listening to the things they care about.
A number of factors including free food and prestigious title are the least prioritized things for the majority of workers in America today. What people actually want is work to be a positive part of the rest of their life, they want to be trusted in deciding how they do their work, and they are expecting more meaning and purpose in their work. Employees should be given more control and their voice should be valued and appreciated.
