Work is meaningful when it develops, exercises the talent, capabilities and skills of workers

Peter works at Infosys. Last year, his suggestions of flexible work schedule and options to work from home were implemented by the company. This yielded a total annual savings of 1 billion $ to the company. Peter feels not only more satisfied but more committed to work at Infosys. It is often argued that work is worship.

If we analyse this and find out why is work compared to a sacred affair such as worship, we find out that work is something which should be able to yield us increased satisfaction, a sense of acceptance and contentment. Instead of being something we worry about, work should prove to be an essential component of our life. Not MONDAY BLUES or JOB BURNOUTS rather a Work Life Balance. Work environment in the 21st century has undergone a transformational change marked by automation and globalisation. For some it has brought new opportunities and strengths but for some it is posing a very existential challenge of survival, constant upskilling - a PERFORM or PERISH situation. To lead a meaningful life, it is crucial that the work we do is also meaningful because an average individual spends around 50% of his day at work. Also, work life has a ripple effect on your other interactions as well. But the question then arises, what is meaningful work? It's a subjective realisation. For some great leaders like Gandhiji and Swami Vivekananda, the only meaningful work will be one that brings good to the most vulnerable sections of society and therefore they worked for emancipation of the untouchables and women. For a person under abject poverty, being able to feed two meals a day to his family is meaningful work. For a millionaire, even minting billions of dollars a day may still not be meaningful. So we now realise that there are multiple facets to a meaningful work.

But despite this, a general understanding suggests that for work to be meaningful, it should be able to develop and exercise the talent skills and abilities of the workers. Moving forward in this essay we will explore how. When does work become worship for workers? Attrition Rate of a company is particularly useful in understanding the overall worker sentiment and conditions of work at workplace. Companies like Google, Apple, TATA and Infosys have labour turnover as low as 10-15%. An analysis into the reasons makes us understand that attrition is low because workers in these companies are satisfied, happy and motivated because they derive meaning out of their worklife. It is because for example Google exercises and develops the talent of people. There are Cafeteria Compensation Plans which means customised incentive & payment plans. Payment & compensation depends upon the talent of employees and not a strict Human resource budget of the company. Apple's mantra is Hire A grade people because A attracts A, B attracts C and C attracts D. So it understand & exercises the talent of people. Suggestion plans & schemes like SCANLON exist in organisation through worker's inputs in increasing the productivity of the company are roped in. Through mechanisms like Worker Participation in Management, worker is given an opportunity to take part in Decision making, in crucial decisions. His actual on group experience, skills are put to use. Recently Maruti through implementing suggestions of workers via its Sujhav Sangrahika was able to reduce accidents at workplace. When workers are given due credit for their skills & abilities they feel more valued and their commitment for their work increases. It gives them a sense of purpose & meaning. Workers don't feel like fence sitters but active boardroom members. This also helps in instilling a sense of ownership and responsibility. Modern organisations like Accenture are heading towards merit based promotions as compared to seniority based which is still widely practiced in government organisation. Such a practice creates a positive Pygmalion effect that there exists a fair opportunity to rise up the ladder based upon their skills & abilities. Even in family owned enterprises, there is a fair opportunity for individuals to hold positions of CEOs bypassing their family candidates. Such as Vishal Sikka, Satya Nadella have been CEOs at Infosys. All these organisations value the talent and reflect qualities of equality & democracy. This makes life and work of its employees more meaningful.

At PepsiCo, Indira Nooyi got the prestige of holding the coveted CEO chair. The perception that women can never make rational decisions and therefore existence of a GLASS CEILING was broken. She was promoted based on her capabilities. All of this adds more value to the life of its employees. Also, organisations that develops the skills and capabilities of its workers are always preferred. They invest in workers as their assets. Their goal is that workers' development is their responsibility. For example refresher training modules at Google., constant upskilling at TATA, flexible and learning organisations at Apple. To develop talent of workers, companies are providing wide range of exposure to its workers by assigning them cross cultural teams, cross functional departments. This develops a new set of skills which not only helps them perform better at the current set of job but also in any future engagements. Today organisations like Mckinsey, JP Morgan are providing autonomy, flexible work schedule and focussing on Quality of work life of its workers. There has been a shift from earlier approaches of treating workers like a cog in the wheel to a human relationist approach of treating workers as the only innate and most valuable asset of the company. Even spiritualism at workplace has been used to let workers exercise their skills and develop their potential to the fullest. For example CISCO gave a separate time slot for its employees to work for cyclone relief activities. This would help workers see the real impact they're able to make. When does work not prove to be meaningful? We all hear of our friends and colleagues for whom Monday mornings are a nightmare. They don't derive any meaning/value out of the work they do. Apart from financial security, no other element of the job excites them. When companies don't value their workers' talent, skills and capabilities, they feel there is no development in their skill set, they loose interest in the work. For example at Amazon and Uber, attrition rate is very high. The payment mechanism which is based on consumer feedback, is unable to instill a sense of security in the minds of its workers. They feel their skills are not being properly exercised. Similar is the case of Disguised unemployment be it in family owned businesses, In the agriculture sector there is no exercise or development of full potential of the workers. In such cases work doesn't remain meaningful. For gig and platform workers at Zomato, Swiggy, there are facing structural unemployment. We meet delivery partners who are highly qualified but are not able to utilise their talent & skill effectively. Apart from this there is lack of social security mechanisms available for them -> all of this reduces the meaning they derive from their work. Workers working at small, local and unorganised establishments like construction workers, caterers, waiters are all not able to utilise and develop their skill set. Almost all of them suffer from emotional dissonance because of this. Any workplace where worker is discriminated, faces harassment of any kind - mental, physical or sexual is also unable to utilise his skills and capabilities effectively. In family owned businesses which lack transparency and professional ethics, where top positions would always be occupied by family members irrespective of their talent and skill also loses out on talented workforce because they fail to find meaning in a work that doesn't treat them as equal; where genes are valued over talent. For any economy to grow and prosper, it is essential that its workplaces are able to attract and retain the best of talent.

India suffers Brain Drain also because of practices in its organisation which are not able to develop and exercise the skills & talents of its employees. In such a scenario, we must take cues from professional practices worldwide. It is time we implement strategies of companies operating in USA, Japan, Scandinavian countries etc. In this pursuit of ours, international cooperation and agreements can be helpful. Employer & employee exchange programs can help in imbibing democratic and holistic developmental values. An attitudinal change is needed. Taylor called this a MENTAL REVOLUTION. Recently Infosys started with its Inclusivity Campaign wherein it highlighted how Infosys equally values transgenders, LGBTQ+ and recognizes workforce based on their talent and skills. This is a step in the right direction. Democracy within helps strengthen democracy outside. Indian companies, even government PSUs and organisations should consider merit based promotions, lateral entry, skill development programs. Focus on autonomy and quality of work life. Modern workers are choiceful, aware and career oriented. In order to tap their full potential and enhance productivity they should be made a partner in baking the cake. Only those organisations which are able to develop & recognise talent & skills of its workers well will be able to make their work life meaningful and therefore attract & retain them. It is said that modern problems require modern solutions. In this spirit, workers should be motivated through developed practices.

In this spirit, workers should be motivated through developed practices.