We spend the majority of our waking hours at work. For most people, that’s somewhere between 40-60 hours a week, more time than we spend with our families, pursuing our hobbies, or doing anything else. Yet when you ask people about their work, a troubling pattern emerges: most see it as something to endure, not a place to flourish.
The statistics are sobering. Only 15% of people find meaning at work, especially those on the frontline. Think about that for a moment. Eighty-five percent of people are spending most of their waking adult lives in a state that ranges from neutral to miserable.
This isn’t just sad, it’s a crisis. I believe it’s at the root of our mental health epidemic, our crisis of isolation, our collective sense that something fundamental is missing. Victor Frankl saw it coming in the 1950s when he wrote: “We have more means to live and less meaning to live for.”
But here’s the hopeful part: we now know exactly why this happens and, more importantly, how to fix it.
Recently, I sat down with Tamara Myles, author of Meaningful Work, to explore her groundbreaking research on why so many of us spend our lives enduring work rather than flourishing in it. What emerged from our conversation was both illuminating and actionable, a clear framework for transforming the way we experience our work.
The Three Cs: A Framework for Meaningful Work
Tamara’s research identified three essential sources of meaningful work: community, contribution, and challenge. These aren’t abstract concepts, they’re practical levers that leaders can pull every single day.
- Community is about belonging and authenticity. It’s the ability to show up as yourself and feel that you matter. In Tamara’s research, the question that most powerfully predicted a strong sense of community was: “My leader cares about what’s happening in my life outside of work.” Notice the word “cares,” not “knows.” It’s one thing for your manager to know you’re leaving early for your son’s soccer game. It’s entirely different for them to follow up the next day: “How was the game? Did your team win?”
These moments take forty seconds. That’s it. Forty seconds to form, what Professor Jane Dutton calls, a high-quality connection. Yet fewer than 40% of people feel appreciated often enough at work.
- Contribution is about seeing the impact of your work and feeling recognized for it. One thank you per week from a manager is enough to cut burnout and disengagement in half. One. Yet we consistently underutilize this simplest of tools.
Tamara shared a powerful framework for this what she calls “on stage, backstage, and after the show” recognition:- During meetings, you can nod, amplify, and affirm.
- Immediately after, you can offer quick, specific praise.
- And later, you can provide deeper, more structured feedback using Tamara’s BEST model: Behavioral (what they did), Explicit (the impact), Strengths (what qualities they demonstrated), and Timely (don’t wait).
- Challenge is about growth and development. Having someone believe in your potential and create opportunities for you to stretch. Tamara told the story of Sonali at Schneider Electric, a brand-new employee who was terrified when the CEO asked her to design a leadership development program. But with her manager’s support, she delivered. Six years later, that moment still stands out as profoundly meaningful. Why? Because somebody believed in her, gave her a hard task, provided support, and let her prove them right.
We all need somebody to believe in us. When they do, we want to prove them right.
The Leader’s Role: Creating the Container
Tamara’s research shows: leaders are responsible for 48% of our experience of meaning at work. We can only get halfway there alone. Leaders create the containers, the environments that either foster or kill meaning.
This flies in the face of much of the earlier research on meaningful work, which focused heavily on individual job crafting. While personal agency matters, it’s only half the equation. The other half belongs to leadership.
I think 48% is actually conservative. When I reflect on the person assembling tractors on a factory line, putting tires on all day, every day, they’re so far removed from the person using the tractor. They’re disconnected from the real impact they’re making. More critically, they’re often not seen as a full human, with dreams and aspirations beyond that single task.
If we connected as humans, if we appreciated them, if we helped them see the impact of their work, that would be transformative. Letting individuals “just find meaning on their own” means many will find it elsewhere, in places that come more naturally than a workplace that doesn’t recognize their humanity.
Small Moments, Not Just Big Transformations
One of the most liberating insights from our conversation: meaningful work doesn’t require grand, transformative moments. Yes, intensity matters and we remember those peak experiences. But frequency matters just as much. Small moments that matter every day add up to make the overall experience meaningful.
This reframes the entire challenge. Leaders often feel overwhelmed by the mountain they need to climb to create meaningful work. But you don’t need to redesign the entire organization. You need to show you care about what’s happening in someone’s life. You need to say thank you. You need to believe in someone’s potential and tell them so.
Beyond Purpose: Why Meaning Matters More
Here’s where many organizations get it wrong: they confuse purpose with meaning. Twenty years ago, when Simon Sinek told us to “Start With Why,” organizations invested heavily in defining their purpose. That’s valuable for attracting talent who care about the same mission. But having a purpose is not enough to make the daily experience meaningful.
Think about doctors saving lives, teachers educating the next generation, social workers solving society’s biggest challenges. These are highly purposeful roles. Yet burnout in these fields is epidemic. Why? Because purpose without community, without recognition, without growth opportunities, isn’t enough.
The research backs this up. When we studied sources of meaning at McKinsey, we found only 20% of people found meaning from positive societal impact. When you lead with purpose alone, “Here’s our mission, here’s our impact”, you’re potentially missing 80% of your people. For many, what matters is their own growth trajectory, their personal goals, where they’re trying to go in life.
That’s why I always ask leaders: Do you know what drives each person on your team? What are they solving for? Where are they trying to go? If you can help them get there, if you show you care about their growth beyond just making the widget, you’re showing they matter. You’re infusing meaning.
All three Cs need to be present for work to feel meaningful. They don’t need to be at equal levels, but they have a multiplier effect. If one is at zero, the others crumble. You can’t have meaningful work with purpose but no community. You can’t have it with belonging but no opportunity to grow.
The High-Potential Trap
One practice that actively kills meaning: reserving development for the 5-10% deemed “high potential.” Even when the label isn’t publicly displayed, people know who the chosen ones are. And when you’re not chosen, when you’re not given development opportunities, how are you supposed to stay engaged? How are you supposed to believe your growth matters?
It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Tamara posed a profound question in her book: What if everyone is high potential? This echoes the Pygmalion effect research: teacher expectations shape student outcomes. The stories we hold about people create the reality we experience.
When leaders believe people are lazy and just collecting paychecks, they create that reality. When leaders believe people want to achieve, want connection, want their work to matter, and that leaders themselves genuinely want to develop their people, everything changes.
A Final Reflection
We spend the majority of our waking hours at work. For most people, this isn’t optional, it’s reality. Yet somehow we’ve accepted that work is something to endure, that meaning comes from the small fraction of time we spend outside of it.
This doesn’t have to be this way. The research is clear. The tools are available. Community, contribution, challenge. Small moments. Leaders who care. Recognition that takes forty seconds. Believing in people’s potential.
“A poorly lived work life is a poorly lived life”.
The question is: will we use what we know to change it?
Want to dive deeper into creating meaningful work? Listen to my podcast with Tamara Myles on the Flourishing Edge podcast and check out Tamara Myles’ book “Meaningful Work”.
Learn more about Tamara Myles on LinkedIn.
Listen to the podcast with Ashish and Tamara Myles below, You can also listen on Apple Podcasts.
Access and subscribe to all of the episodes of the Flourishing Edge Podcast here.
Make Flourishing Your Competitive Edge.
