What makes you thrive?

Mark Horoszowski
Aug 28, 2017 · 3 min read
Photo courtesy of Imperative.com

As of July 31, 2017, Gallup will no longer measure employee engagement on a daily basis. Perhaps it’s a hopeless metric. After all, over the lifetime of this daily report, the percent of engaged employees at work hovers within a few percentage points of 34% — which is an alarmingly low number.

And why does engagement matter?

Research from Gallup and Imperative shows that people who are disengaged are actually detrimental to their teams and the business where they work. But you know what… businesses seem to be doing just fine with their profitability and stock prices, even with this “global engagement crisis”.

The real risk of disengagement is on the per-person — and personal — level.

There’s a significant relationship between work, stress, and health. In other words, if people are in an ongoing work situation that is negative or stressful, they have a higher potential for negative health consequences.”

In other words, if you’re not thriving at work, chances are you’re doing the opposite of that in your professional AND personal life. If you don’t love what you’re doing on a daily basis, chances are you overall satisfaction in life is suffering as a result.

So what does make people thrive in their professional AND personal life?

  1. Find a job with a manager you admire and team respect
  2. Do work that gives you purpose
  3. Keep learning
  4. Spend time with friends and family
  5. Exercise and eat healthy

What’s shocking here is that 3 out of 5 (or 60%) of these factors are things you do (or don’t do) at work. Which, considering the average working professional spends 1/2 of their waking hours at work, is actually not that surprising.

In other words, stop focusing on what TV show to watch, what vacation to take, who to hang out with, what house to buy, and what clothes to wear — start focusing on finding a job that makes you and the world better.

Not sure where to start?

  1. Work with your company to adopt Purpose assessments
  2. Join a MovingWorlds Impact Team to tap into your leadership and purpose drivers through cohort-based learning and skills-based volunteering
  3. Keep networking — within and outside your company — with a Give & Take mindset to identify your best career opportunities

Have other ideas? Let me know in the comments below!

Thrive Global

More than living. Thriving.

)
Mark Horoszowski

Written by

Co-founder and CEO at MovingWorlds.org. Working to empower social enterprises. Promoting @Experteering. Lectures on #CSR in free time.

Thrive Global

More than living. Thriving.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade