Cure to Employee Discontent? It’s Purposeful Work and Here Are 4 Solutions

Turns out, employees are still relatively miserable at work, regardless of where they work.

Employee discontent spreads across locations — in the office, hybrid and remote.

Employee engagement — the catchphrase that describes if they’re involved and enthusiastic about work and workplace — fell two percentage points to 21% in the past year, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report.

General well-being dropped to 33%, too, meaning employees are discontent with all things that affect their well-being, such as physical, mental, emotional, financial and social. They’re often burned out, disconnected and might feel underappreciated.

Employee Discontent Doesn’t Lead to Turnover

Here’s the irony. Employees are discontent, but they aren’t doing the obvious: leaving. Instead, they stay put — the phenomenon we know as job hugging — often withdrawing from work, co-workers and the workplace more.

But, here’s the good news. They aren’t leaving! You have the opportunity to re-engage employees, reignite the fire, rebuild their loyalty or just get them excited to walk in the door (or turn on their computers from wherever they are) every day.

Fortunately, researchers found ways to address the root causes of employee discontent. Here are five solutions.

1. Make Purposeful Work a Priority

Employees with a strong sense of purpose at work do really well across the board. A purpose cures a plethora of woes in the workplace, according to another Gallup study.

Consider these findings from the study, The Power of Purpose:

• Only 13% of employees with a strong sense of purpose at work reported feeling burned out often or always, compared to 38% of those with a low sense of purpose.
• Nearly 70% of people with a low sense of purpose are looking for a new job. Only about 40% of employees with a strong sense of purpose are keeping an eye out for a new job.
• 50% of those who have a strong sense of purpose are engaged in their jobs, while just 9% of employees with low purpose are engaged

But most employees don’t have a strong sense of purpose. Forty-five percent say they work to collect a paycheck and benefits. Just 18% say their job has a purpose they personally believe in, and 12% believe their job allows them to pursue purpose in their life.

Some professions lend themselves to purpose — for instance, teachers driven to educate and healthcare workers driven to heal. But Gallup researchers noted that organizations can help employees in all industries gain purpose.

“Purpose is not exclusive to any career or calling. It can be cultivated in any role when the environment supports it. Gallup and Stand Together data suggest that employees are more likely to experience purpose when they see how their efforts make a difference through actions such as helping a customer or colleague, improving a process, or contributing to an important outcome.

Purpose is also strengthened when employees see how their role connects to the organization’s broader mission and why that mission is meaningful.”

2. Remove Frustrations

Harvard researchers suggested that employers work with employees to remove their biggest frustrations.

Ask them what makes work harder than it should be. Be prepared: They may tell you it’s an unmanageable workload or inefficient processes — and you may have to dig deep to fix issues.

But you’ll want to focus on removing friction and protecting people’s time. Clarify priorities and cut what isn’t essential. 

3. Delegate More Decisions

Encourage leaders to delegate more decisions. Of course, you’ll want to equip them — through training, support and resources — to allow employees to take the reins.

If they’re holding onto choices their team could be making, they’re slowing their people in many ways. They hurt their productivity, professional growth and morale. Managers will want to be clear about what employees own.

4. Offer Flexibility

Autonomy is a powerful motivator, and you’ll want to offer it as much as you can across the organization.

Wherever possible, give people control over how, when and where they work. What matters will vary by role and individual, but offering a choice is key. 

5. Foster More Connections

Even in remote and hybrid work settings, you’ll want managers to prioritize one-on-one conversations that go beyond task updates.

In addition to that, teams need space to connect with each other through shared projects, not forced activities.