Let’s start with a question, shall we?
How much time do we spend at work?
It’s an individual number, influenced by a whole host of circumstances, but a commonly quoted figure is in the region of 90,000 hours over a lifetime.
Just stop for a second and consider the magnitude of that number. 90,000.
It’s pretty mind-boggling, isn’t it?
So, here’s my next question. Given the size of that number, what might we want to consider about making that time as personally productive and fulfilling as possible?
This is where I’d invite you to consider who you are at work, what your work and your role mean for how you see yourself, and what function work and a career fill in that large portion of your existence.
To be clear, we know that work helps us to meet certain needs, what Abraham Maslow called deficit needs: food, shelter, security. These are central to our survival and to basic wellbeing. Their absence causes real problems and contributes to stress, anxiety and a whole host of physical and psychological impacts.
But once those basic needs are met, what else comes into play?
Given the time commitment we’re talking about, I’d suggest we would hope work fulfils more than survival. With 90,000 hours, there is clearly an opportunity to consider what other role work could serve for us. How could that time support and grow a sense of thriving, of fulfilling core parts of who we are and who we want to be?
I’m not talking here about a specific role or title, but something deeper: the parts of our psychological wellbeing that relate to feeling balanced and satisfied, to feeling that we are thriving. For that, I’m talking about understanding our purpose, how our values link to it, and how it supports a solid sense of identity.
When you hear the word purpose, you may gravitate to existential considerations and assume I mean deep philosophical contemplation. That’s certainly one interpretation, but I’m actually talking about something much more grounded and everyday.
In psychological terms, understanding our purpose anchors what we’re doing and why. Purpose informs our direction of travel, our choices and how we act. It links with our goals and our motivations.
Given that we spend 90,000 hours at work, I’d suggest understanding and fulfilling purpose is well worth the time it takes to bring it to life.
So your next question may be, well, what is purpose? How do I identify it?
Let me answer that with a question of my own. Who are you?
I don’t mean your name, or your situation at this moment in time (family, marital status and so on). I mean something deeper, from a psychological perspective. Who are you, really? How would you define yourself? What is it that makes you, you?
This is a harder question than it first appears, because it’s very easy to go through life looking out at the world without paying much attention to what’s going on internally.
Self-knowledge, insight, understanding what makes us tick: this is something I consistently come across as undiscovered country when I’m working with clients, individually and at team and organisational level.
What I’m talking about is how our personal values relate to our identity, and how they create stability in our psychological world.
Let me explain. If we are being true to ourselves, we feel balanced and settled. If we act against how we want to see ourselves, it leaves us unsettled and can open the door to self-doubt and self-critical thinking.
A classic example is wanting to be confident (who doesn’t?) but avoiding public speaking because of the powerful internal perceptions and thinking processes it activates. The result is that we feel relieved at avoiding something we perceive as unpleasant, but we criticise ourselves for not being confident.
That’s a very simple example of a much more complex issue, and one I help clients to explore in a managed, evidence-based way.
Even when we understand our values, the challenge doesn’t stop there, because bringing them to life is not straightforward. An overplayed value, one held too tightly (as we talk about in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), can actually become a barrier and create problems rather than supporting vitality.
But bringing these considerations, how we fulfil important aspects of who we are, into our working lives is, I would suggest, a vital consideration. The research backs this up, by the way.
Why? Because the research tells us that meaningful work promotes positive psychological outcomes: positive affect (how we feel), wellbeing and life satisfaction.
Given that we’re going to spend 90,000 hours at work, who wouldn’t want their work to provide those outputs? And from an employer’s standpoint, I could draw you the equation from these factors through to profit and productivity.
So the final question might be: where do I start to understand my purpose, and to identify the parts of my identity I could fulfil through meaningful work?
It’s pretty simple.
Stop and reflect on your own behaviour. Identify the times you were content with how you acted. What does that tell you about what was important?
Then identify the times you were unhappy with how you acted. What does that tell you about what was important in that situation?
And if you’re looking for an outside perspective, try asking your friends: what makes us friends? Inevitably they’ll say something like “because we like each other” or “you’re funny”. I invite you to dig a bit deeper. Ask the question properly. What is it about me that makes us friends? What is it about me that makes you want to spend time with me?
These are harder questions than you might think, and ones I’ve spent a lot of professional time and energy learning to explore at depth, helping others understand themselves, their values and their purpose in a sustainable way. But for now, consider this.
Whatever you uncover, whatever insight you develop, how could you bring it to life?
And what would that mean for the 90,000 hours of work we’ll each experience on average? How could building in a sense of purpose, and fulfilling core aspects of who you are, help those hours become something that supports you to thrive, grow and sustain your wellbeing? And if you need support to understand this, trust me, you’ll thank yourself for it.