What We Can Learn From The Largest Global Study Of Purpose In The Workplace

In Culture, Purpose, Mission & Values, Organization & Strengths

“Companies that understand the increasing emphasis of purpose in today’s professional landscape improve their ability to attract such employees and also their ability to retain them for longer periods of time.” – Reid Hoffman, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of LinkedIn.

LinkedIn just released their 2016 Global Report on Purpose At Work and the results make for important reading for any leader. Prior to conducting the research globally, LinkedIn conducted their own internal analysis to examine the impact of purpose on employees. their purpose-oriented employees have higher levels of engagement and fulfillment with their work. What they found was that they outperform their peers in every indicator, including expected tenure and leadership competencies like self-advocacy and comfort with senior leadership.

Reid Hoffman wrote a great article last year about The Power Of Purpose At Work and LinkedIn’s clear and singular purpose. How did LinkedIn’s internal results compare to the results of the global study which surveyed 26,151 LinkedIn members in 40 different countries and 16 different languages earlier this year?

We’ve compiled some statistics from this extensive report:

  • In the past three years, 58% of companies with a clearly articulated and understood purpose experienced growth of +10%.
  • 73% of purpose-oriented people are satisfied with their jobs vs64% who are not purpose-oriented.
  • Surprising to some, it is not just millennials who demand purpose in the workplace; in fact, they are the least purpose-oriented today at 30% compared with 38% of Gen X workers and 48% of Baby Boomers.
  • Top 3 factors that entice purpose-oriented people to accept a new job are Culture and Values, Mission and Vision and then Products and Services.
  • Purpose-driven companies get more engagement on LinkedIn with 3.5x more company followers per employee and 117% more LinkedIn Company Page views per employee.

What’s striking from this survey are the business benefits of adopting a purpose-led business strategy. In the course of our work at Storyforge, we are seeing more and more businesses embrace purpose as the driver of the business over personality, products or even profits.

Business leaders struggling with workplace issues like toxic cultures, poor employee engagement, difficulties recruiting and retaining top talent can benefit from discovering and articulating a singular purpose that creates the alignment necessary to become a business where employees aspire to work, rather than conspire to leave.

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BarryBarry Chandler is the co-founder of Storyforge, a strategy company focused on helping companies discover their purpose allowing them to achieve their vision, build preference and drive margin. Barry has been building award winning businesses since launching his first company in Ireland in 2003. His last company, a digital marketing agency, was acquired in 2012 by a California-based publicly traded entertainment company which then hired him as Chief Marketing Officer. It is his belief that the greatest brands seek to change the world, improving the lives of their associates, partners, and customers.