#1: So, what do you do?
The potential of purpose-driven work
Welcome to the very first issue, you early adopter. We’re delighted to have you here for the ride.
We thought we’d kick off with the not-so-small question of purpose-driven work, which, as you might expect, led us to everything from existential crises to employee engagement platforms.
You’ll be relieved to know we’ve emerged out the other side with some pearls of wisdom for you. Below we explore the need for work to be more than just a pay cheque, talk to career coach Ellen Donnelly about pursuing a ‘courageous career’, and curate a host of resources to help your journey to enlightened work be a little less dazing.
Let us know your thoughts!
Milly & Yumi
So, what do you do? The promise of purpose-driven work
‘We are a species born to work’ says anthropologist James Suzman - ‘a purposeful species, unsatisfied when we don’t have something to do.’ That ‘something to do’, however - the what, why and how, should be up for debate.
These are important questions to consider to ensure our need for purpose is satisfied. In Lost Connections, Johan Hari cites a lack of meaningful work as a direct societal cause of depression and anxiety. Anyone who’s had a bad job knows this to be true.
Unfortunately, only 15% of the world's one billion full-time workers are reported to be engaged at work. Yet we are asking more of our jobs than ever before. For many, work is synonymous with our identity. At dinner parties we twirl our wine glasses nonchalantly and ask - so, what do you do? As the opportunity to pursue more intellectually-engaging work has grown, we have come to expect our jobs to satisfy every level of our hierarchy of needs.
As Keynes explained in his famous 1930 essay - Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, technological advances will ultimately solve the ‘economic problem’. The consequence of which, allows humanity to be free to pursue a radically different way of life - one filled with a greater sense of purpose than that of simply sustaining ourselves. ‘When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals.’
While capitalist societies aren’t entirely embodying this prediction as a whole, we are beginning to see a shift towards this sentiment on an individual level. For instance, in 2018, Harvard Business Review reported that 9 out of 10 people are indeed willing to earn less money in exchange for more meaningful work.
This has given rise to what some call ‘The passion economy’ - where individuals are increasingly able to monetise their individual creativity and skills, fueled by ‘a new model of internet-powered entrepreneurship.’ Meanwhile, for all the downsides of 2020’s lockdown, it provided some people the much needed time and space away from the everyday rat-race to pursue more meaningful pursuits.
To take a fittingly ironic cliché - we must apply blue sky thinking to those three questions - what should we do, why should we do it and how should we do it. As the world of work continues to evolve faster than ever, we are presented the opportunity to consider new modes and models. Purpose-driven work promises an alternative way to spend our days, and consequently our lives. It means that work needn’t look smart-casual or taste like a Pret sandwich. It means that it can be so much more.
Ellen Donnelly, Founder & Chief Coach at The Ask
On being a career coach
I’m a coach that helps people to identify what work is right for them in this world. I try to encourage people to be more courageous with their view of work, what they might be capable of doing, and find what excites them. This often means supporting people going through the exploratory journey with their careers - helping them to work out where they want to go and map their path to that place.
On finding what you’re passionate about
Something that I bang the drum about is that when people say they don’t know what they’re interested in or passionate about, the clues are all around them. They just have to go looking for them.
It’s almost like reviewing your receipts. Sometimes literal receipts, so what someone has been spending their money on but also time receipts - where their diary’s gone, who they’ve talked to or what they’re choosing to learn about. All these things build up a picture of somebody. What I find time and time again is that the answer can often be staring you in the face.
On myths about purpose-driven work
People often assume that for work to be purposeful it needs to be targeting one of the big problems that we see in the world. On a more micro level, if you are doing something that you care about and you believe is important, that has a ripple effect. It encourages other people to pursue work that they believe is important, improving home lives, friendships, happiness, and overall, having a net positive effect on the world.
On owning your work
In recent times, there’s been an acceleration of the desire to take control over your own working life. In part, this might be because people are increasingly experiencing the lack of stability granted by traditional employment. Whole industries are being taken away and the pandemic specifically has allowed people to realise that they want to own something that can’t be taken away from them.
You could call it the rise of entrepreneurship or the passion economy - it doesn’t really matter - the overarching sentiment is one of proactivity.
On advice for finding purpose
I would look at what are the limiting factors that someone is putting on themselves, be it experience, education, or passion, and really question it. Is it true?
We often self-select ourselves out of opportunities before we’ve even had time to explore them. The advice I would give is to always select yourself in, then explore, then decide rather than pre-emptively assume you can’t do something.
On a book you should read
One that covers a lot of interesting ground in terms of work lives and personal development inspiration is ‘Tribe of Mentors’ by Tim Ferris. He’s turned a lot of interviews with world-famous experts from his podcast into a book, asking everyone the same questions. It’s almost like having access to mentors that you would never have had otherwise.
Frameworks & Actions
How to Pick a Career That Actually Suits You - Wait but Why
A framework exploring how to make sense of what we want in our careers. If you’re in the mood for some deep self-reflection, give the accompanying worksheet a try.
A Guide to Using Your Career to Help Solve the World's Most Pressing Problems - 80,000 hours
We have roughly 80,000 working hours in our careers and if we’re going to spend it on anything, some may argue that creating positive social impact should be top of our priorities. This guide outlines what those career paths might look like with advice on how to choose one.
A Framework for Figuring Our Your Values and Deciding on the Right Career Opportunity - The Ask
If you’re not sure where to even start with your career or feel a bit lost, Ellen who you’ve just met above has a bunch of useful advice in her newsletter. Going beyond personality tests, it includes a selection of tools for greater self-awareness.
Tools & Apps
A platform aiming to help you stop procrastinating - Focusmate
Focusmate pairs you with an accountability partner over a 50-minute session. No excuse to avoid that side project now!
An AI business writing assistant - Writer
To save you some time on writing good emails and free it up for something better.
A virtual personal assistant to get your important work done - Dewo
In a world of distraction, Dewo helps you maintain your sense of flow by removing unnecessary notifications and giving actionable insights on your working patterns.
And for a bit of perspective
Thanks for reading, see you in two weeks!
Have you come across any interesting articles or resources on purpose-driven work? If so, share them with us in the comments below.
Love the tools & apps provided - Dewo is a game-changer.
A stimulating read and great resources- I look fwd to next issue