Building a fulfilling employee experience

The evolution of work and the employee value proposition

We are in the early days of a new era—called by many names, from the Purpose Economy (Aaron Hurst) to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Klaus Schwab)—where a higher sense of meaning and purpose in work are sources of innovation and the core narrative of the workplace. The development of neuroscience and positive psychology have advanced this change, and artificial intelligence and automation promise to accelerate it. In this new world of work, it is fulfillment - the ability to feel a personal sense of purpose and meaning - that is the new standard for employee engagement.

Make space for employees to create meaning

While the organization provides the right environment for a fulfilling employee experience, it’s the employees who shape how to make work more meaningful for themselves. Indeed, an astounding 82% of employees agree that it is primarily their own responsibility, and 42% say that they are their own greatest barrier to finding fulfillment at work (Source: CECP, Imperative, PwC’s Fulfillment at Work survey, November 2018). Ultimately, workers themselves hold the key to understanding their motivations, and organizations can support them in unlocking this insight through tools such as digital assessments and personal exploration exercises that facilitate needed reflection. This up-front work to identify employees’ personal sources of fulfillment informs the opportunities they seek out and create for themselves in the name of meaningful work.

Don’t ignore the role of culture

It’s no secret that culture plays a critical role in supporting an organization’s strategy and purpose as well as shaping the employee experience. Evolving an organization’s culture—defined as “the way we do things around here”—can provide ongoing reinforcement and support for employees seeking greater meaning in their work. While culture is much more a matter of doing rather than saying, organizations that want to evolve their culture to be more purpose-led need to focus on a vital few elements:

• Target specific behaviors that promote relationships, impact, and growth
• Embolden leaders to model and signal these behaviors to others across the organization
• Identify influencers—or authentic informal leaders—who can energize those around them and create momentum around a purpose-driven culture

We know that a staggering number of employees—96% of survey respondents—believe fulfillment at work is possible, and they need to see and feel what it looks like in practice (Source: CECP, Imperative, PwC’s Fulfillment at Work survey, November 2018). Recognizing that fulfillment is deeply rooted in relationships and a sense of belonging, making an impact, and growing/developing, we can articulate critical behaviors that will foster and sustain a purpose-driven culture.

Leaders are critical in signaling and modeling the behaviors that enable a fulfilling employee experience. Senior leaders and authentic, informal leaders alike can be powerful allies in influencing these behaviors and providing concrete examples of what fulfillment looks like. While each organization will need to determine the right mix of top-down, cross-organization, and peer-to-peer efforts to elevate meaningful experiences, our research emphasized the need for role modeling at the executive leadership level, with nearly one third of respondents naming senior leaders as a barrier to finding fulfillment at work.

^{Adapted and reprinted with permission from “The Serious Fun of Shared Experiences at Work" from strategy+business.  © 2016 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. www.strategy-business.com}

Experiences that are new or challenging can encourage employees to show bursts of vulnerability that build trust and develop an emotional commitment to those around them. For example, part of PwC’s experience consulting team, The Difference, uses play and improvisational exercises that are engineered to create meaning, such as challenging a team that is tackling a post-merger integration to design a restaurant and perform a skit on their vision in a very condensed amount of time. Parallels between the design of the restaurant and the post-merger challenges become evident, and by taking off their professional hats through a playful activity, participants reveal a more personal, vulnerable side of themselves. This increases emotional intelligence and individuals learn more from one another. This closeness creates and deepens relationships, a key source of fulfillment.

New and challenging experiences also create opportunities for employees to grow—whether it’s building self-awareness or learning a new skill. Stress can play a positive role when such experiences are meaningful and reflect a clear purpose. An element of stress might include a time constraint or little guidance provided, but with a defined goal. The combination of growing and making a collective impact in such an environment can become a formative experience for those participating.