Offering and Killing Meaning at Work: Lessons from Petra Kipfelsberger

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, we speak with Petra Kipfelsberger, Associate Professor for Leadership and Organizational Behaviour at BI Norwegian Business School.

With her extensive background in leadership research and coaching experience at the C-level, Kipfelsberger brings deep expertise on how leaders can inspire meaningful work. Her research focuses on how individuals and organizations thrive during uncertainty, with particular attention to visionary leadership, meaningful work, and coaching. Throughout the episode, Kipfelsberger shares evidence-based insights on how leaders can authentically communicate purpose and foster meaning, while avoiding behaviors that diminish employees' sense of significance.

Leaders Offer Meaning Rather Than Make It

Kipfelsberger introduces an important distinction in how leaders influence meaning.

She challenges the common assumption that leaders directly create meaning for employees. Instead, effective leaders present opportunities—what she calls "offerings"—that allow employees to discover their own sense of purpose.

This view recognizes that meaning remains personal while still acknowledging the leader's critical role in providing context and vision. When leaders understand this balance, they create environments where employees connect their work to larger purposes without forcing that connection.

Authentic Leadership Starts With Personal Meaning

Kipfelsberger builds on this foundation with a straightforward principle: leaders need to find meaning in their own work before they can help others find it. She puts it simply:

"You cannot give what you don't have."

When leaders genuinely find their work meaningful, their communication becomes naturally energetic and convincing. Their visionary leadership emerges as authentic expression rather than rehearsed technique. Employees quickly sense when a leader truly believes in the vision versus when they're just going through the motions.

Timing Matters

Kipfelsberger's research reveals a surprising insight about when visionary leadership makes the most impact. She found that a leader's vision and purpose communication matters most in the first years of working with team members—with this influence extending up to six years.

This finding has clear implications for how we think about onboarding employees. Rather than treating it as a brief orientation, effective leaders view it as an extended journey of meaning development that shapes an employee's entire experience.

During these early years, consistently communicating vision and purpose creates a foundation for long-term engagement. As time passes, employees develop their own sources of meaning and rely less on their leader's vision.

The Dark Side: How Leaders Kill Meaning

The conversation then shifts to what Kipfelsberger calls "meaning killing"—leadership behaviors that diminish employees' sense of purpose. She offers a common example: when a manager assigns an urgent task with a random deadline, then fails to acknowledge when employees complete it.

Other meaning-damaging behaviors include not providing feedback, ignoring contributions, and trying to dictate meaning rather than offering it.

This concept shares similarities with what Zach Mercurio calls "anti-mattering"—when employees feel invisible or insignificant in their workplace. Over time, these behaviors make meaningful work harder to maintain. Even inspiring visions fall apart when daily interactions communicate to employees that their work doesn't matter.

What Would Viktor Frankl Do?

The discussion explores how Viktor Frankl's ideas about meaning apply to leadership. Kipfelsberger has studied Frankl extensively, and she explains how his concept of self-transcendence transforms leadership approaches.

Frankl's view shifts focus from self-actualization to self-transcendence—finding purpose by contributing to something beyond oneself. This positions leadership as service rather than self-centered achievement. As Kipfelsberger notes, "It's not about me. It's about giving to others, and then this will help me find meaning as a byproduct."

This connects to visionary leadership, as good leaders help employees see how their work contributes to something larger. Frankl's perspective on transcendence echoes themes explored in our conversation with Scott Barry Kaufman, who similarly challenges traditional notions of Maslow's hierarchy and emphasizes the importance of serving something beyond ourselves.

Frankl's emphasis on finding meaning in specific moments also helps leaders connect daily tasks to broader purpose.

Family Businesses Show Meaningful Leadership in Action

Kipfelsberger next shares research on family-run businesses, where employees report higher satisfaction levels. She found this stems from the authentic passion and long-term vision that family leaders communicate.

Family businesses operate with a different time perspective—they make decisions with future generations in mind. This creates a culture valuing people and well-being over short-term results.

As Soren notes in the conversation, this connects to Indigenous wisdom like the "seven generations" philosophy, which teaches that decisions made today should consider their impact on descendants seven generations into the future—roughly 150 years. This principle encourages long-term stewardship, sustainability, and responsibility that extends far beyond quarterly profits.

In family businesses, this similar multigenerational thinking shapes daily operations and creates authenticity that resonates with employees.

Practical Leadership Strategies

Kipfelsberger concludes with practical approaches for leaders who want to foster meaningful work:

  • Start with authentic communication about your purpose, especially during early interactions with team members

  • Frame messages positively instead of using negations

  • Create space for meaningful dialogue, possibly through coaching

  • Connect big-picture vision with concrete, immediate actions

  • Provide timely feedback and acknowledgment

These strategies help leaders avoid becoming "meaning killers" and create environments where employees discover their own sense of purpose.

Kipfelsberger emphasizes that fostering meaning doesn't require grand gestures - simple acknowledgments and regular feedback can make a significant difference in how employees experience their work, ultimately leading to greater satisfaction and engagement.

Resources for Further Exploration

  • Kipfelsberger, P., & Kark, R. (2018). 'Killing me softly with his/her song': How leaders dismantle followers' sense of work meaningfulness. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 654.

  • Kipfelsberger, P., Braun, S., Fladerer, M. P., & Dragoni, L. (2022). Developing authenticity: A quasi-experimental investigation. Personality and Individual Differences, 198, 111825.

  • Viktor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning"

Indigenous Perspectives on Meaningful Work: Lessons from Adam Murry and Alvan Yuan

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, host Andrew Soren sits down with two researchers who are enhancing our understanding of meaningful work through an Indigenous lens.

Dr. Adam Murry, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Calgary with Ukrainian, Irish, and Apache heritage, and his graduate student Alvan Yuan, a Canadian of Taiwanese descent, offer an exploration of Indigenous perspectives in workplace settings.

Drawing from their extensive research in post-secondary institutions, Murray and Yuan go beyond describing workplace experiences. They provide a comprehensive analysis that challenges existing paradigms of meaningful work, offering practical insights for leaders and organizations seeking to create more inclusive, purposeful work environments.

Their study explores the complex ways Indigenous faculty and staff in post-secondary institutions define, experience, and navigate professional purpose, while also presenting actionable strategies for organizational transformation.

The Research Journey

The conversation begins with the backstory of their research, which emerged from a critical question posed by university leadership: How can we retain and support Indigenous faculty and staff?

Murry explains that this wasn't just another academic exercise, but a deeply purposeful investigation prompted by concerns about Indigenous employees being recruited away from their institutions.

The researchers interviewed 18 Indigenous faculty and staff from universities across Western Canada, focusing on understanding their experiences of meaningful work. Their approach was deliberately collaborative, rooted in Murry's long-standing commitment to research that genuinely serves Indigenous communities.

Redefining Meaningful Work

Through their interviews, Murry and Yuan uncovered an holistic understanding of meaningful work that extends far beyond traditional workplace metrics. For the Indigenous employees the spoke with, work is intrinsically linked to broader concepts of community, ancestry, and collective purpose.

Three key dimensions emerged as central to their sense of meaningful work:

1 Generational Belonging - seeing work as a continuation of ancestral labor and a service to both current and future generations. This perspective transforms work from an individual pursuit to a collective journey of community advancement.

2 Connectedness - not just to immediate colleagues, but to community, land, and cultural context. This connectedness is far more comprehensive than typical workplace understanding of team dynamics.

3 Job Design - finding meaning in work that directly aligns with Indigenous causes or personal cultural beliefs. The job itself becomes a vehicle for cultural preservation and community empowerment.

The Invisible Labor of Indigenous Professionals

Murry and Yuan don't shy away from naming the systemic challenges Indigenous employees face.

They describe what they term the "minority tax" - an invisible burden of additional unrecognized labor. Indigenous faculty and staff are simultaneously expected to represent entire Indigenous experiences while managing traditional job responsibilities, all while confronting deep-rooted colonial structures within institutions.

The researchers highlight a critical tension: organizations frequently seek to leverage Indigenous employees' community-driven values without providing adequate support, recognition, or compensation.

This dynamic often leads to burnout, frustration, and a sense of exploitation.

Pathways to Organizational Transformation

The research offers compelling recommendations for meaningful change. Murry and Yuan advocate for a radical reimagining of workplace structures that goes beyond surface-level diversity initiatives.

Key strategies include:

  • Providing genuine job crafting opportunities

  • Encoding community-focused work into formal job descriptions

  • Creating promotion criteria that truly recognize Indigenous contributions

  • Allowing Indigenous employees to define decolonization on their own terms

Decolonization as a Workplace Journey

The researchers frame meaningful work as a potential avenue for reconciliation - a space where systemic barriers can be challenged and transformed.

They draw on the powerful insight that decolonization is not just an institutional mandate, but a deeply personal process of reclaiming narrative and purpose.

Conclusion

Murry and Yuan invite us to expand our understanding of meaningful work.

They challenge us to recognize that career purpose is a deeply personal journey shaped by cultural context, historical experiences, and collective aspirations.

For organizations seeking greater diversity, equity, and inclusion, this research offers a transformative roadmap - one that honors the rich, multifaceted experiences of Indigenous professionals and reimagines workplace culture through a lens of genuine respect and mutual understanding.

Resources Mentioned

Beyond the Billable Hour: Lessons from Anne Brafford [Parts One & Two]

In this two-part episode of Meaningful Work Matters, host Andrew Soren explores the complex intersection of meaningful work, identity, and the legal profession with Dr. Anne Brafford. A former Big Law equity partner turned well-being consultant and researcher, Brafford brings unique insights from both her personal journey and her academic research into how lawyers find - or struggle to find - meaning in their work.

Brafford is the owner of Aspire, an education and consulting firm for the legal profession, and a founder of the Institute for Well-Being in Law. Her work focuses on the intersection of inclusion, engagement, and well-being in legal workplaces, informed by both her practical experience as a former equity partner at one of the nation's largest law firms and her academic credentials - a PhD in positive organizational psychology from Claremont Graduate University and a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania.

A Journey from Dream to Reality

Brafford's relationship with law began early - at age 11, she already knew she wanted to be a lawyer. As a first-generation college student who went on to achieve her childhood dream, becoming not just a lawyer but an equity partner at a prestigious firm, her story exemplifies both the allure and complexity of pursuing meaningful work in the legal profession.

What drew her specifically to employment law was its inherent connection to human psychology and problem-solving - themes that would later influence her transition into well-being research and consulting.

However, after achieving the pinnacle of success in Big Law, Brafford found herself grappling with questions about meaning and purpose: "After the achievement ran out… then there wasn't much left as far as meaningfulness went."

The Moral Dimension of Legal Practice

Brafford shares a powerful story about her mentor Carol, who demonstrated how lawyers could provide both legal and moral guidance to clients.

In an environment where law is often approached as amoral, Carol stood out by consistently incorporating ethical considerations alongside legal risk assessments.

Moral Leadership in Practice
  • Going beyond legal risk assessment to consider ethical implications
  • Acknowledging the human impact of business decisions
  • Building trust through consistent demonstration of care for broader interests
  • Creating space for moral reflection in client conversations

"My mentor would get involved in very tricky employment issues, like discharge issues always have a lot of moral weight to them," Brafford explains. "You're taking a person's livelihood away from them. But sometimes our clients forget that.

This approach manifested in practical ways, such as advising clients not just on legal risk but on moral implications - like the impact of terminating an employee just before their pension vested. Carol's example gave Brafford "permission and courage to develop more of that moral sensibility" in her own practice.

Identity and Gender in Legal Practice

Brafford's research illuminates patterns in how gender shapes career motivations and experiences in law. While law schools have maintained gender parity for decades with roughly 50% female enrollment, only 20-30% of law firm partners are women. This dramatic drop-off points to deeper systemic issues around how different identities experience and pursue meaningful work.

Her research reveals that women lawyers consistently cite meaningful work as a primary motivator for their careers, while men more frequently emphasize financial success and provider roles. These differences reflect broader societal patterns and expectations that shape how men and women approach their professional lives.

"When work gets hard, men can find more value in their provider role of this is hard, but I'm doing this for my family," Brafford notes. "Women who have not been socialized into that role... when it gets hard and meaningfulness is being drained, there's a bigger question of why am I doing this?"

Positive Changes in Legal Organizations

The conversation reveals encouraging developments in how law firms are evolving to create more meaningful work environments.

The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with broader societal movements, has catalyzed significant cultural shifts. Law firms are increasingly taking public stances on important social issues and articulating clear organizational values - a dramatic departure from their traditionally neutral positioning.

Brafford highlights one particularly innovative example: a law firm's groundbreaking parental leave policy that challenges traditional hierarchies by offering expanded leave options that apply equally to all employees - not just lawyers. This approach recognizes that meaningful work environments must address both the professional and personal needs of their people.


In part two of our conversation with Dr. Anne Brafford, she delves into Self-Determination Theory (SDT) - a framework for understanding human motivation and flourishing that has profound implications for creating meaningful work environments.

Understanding Self-Determination Theory

At its core, Self-Determination Theory proposes that people share three basic psychological needs essential for optimal functioning and motivation: relatedness, competence, and autonomy.

As Brafford explains:

"We either need to figure out how to satisfy these needs ourselves, or even more so, our context needs to help support those needs."

Relatedness encompasses both close interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging within significant groups or communities.

Competence reflects the need to feel effective and see that actions impact the environment.

The third need, autonomy, is often misunderstood. "Under self determination theory, autonomy isn't about independence," Brafford clarifies. "It's more about volition and authenticity - do I feel like I'm doing this because I'm being compelled, or do I feel that I am self-authoring, doing it because I am choosing to and because it aligns with my values and identities?"

The Quality of Motivation

Beyond identifying these core needs, SDT revolutionized our understanding of motivation by moving away from simple "on/off" models. Instead, motivation exists on a continuum of quality, ranging from amotivation (complete lack of motivation) through various forms of external motivation to fully autonomous motivation.

"What the theory proposes is that when our needs are satisfied in our context, we are more likely to be autonomously motivated in that context," Brafford explains.

This quality spectrum includes:

  • Amotivation: No motivation or connection to the task at hand

  • External motivation: Acting due to force or external rewards

  • Introjected motivation: Partially internalized but driven by guilt or ego

  • Identified motivation: Actions aligned with personal values

  • Integrated motivation: Full alignment across all aspects of identity

  • Intrinsic motivation: Acting from pure enjoyment or interest

Creating Conditions for Meaningful Work

The research shows remarkable connections between autonomous motivation and meaningful work. "What the research has found is that autonomous motivation is really strongly related to meaningful work - like 0.83 in one study," notes Brafford. "You're just not going to get meaningfulness at work unless you have autonomous motivation."

This insight has profound implications for leadership. Rather than relying on command-and-control, effective leaders focus on understanding what matters to their people and helping create conditions where they can connect their work to their values.

Supporting Psychological Needs in Practice

For organizations and leaders looking to foster meaningful work environments, Brafford emphasizes several key practices:

  1. Get to know people as individuals - understand their values, interests, and priorities

  2. Help frame the significance of work in ways that connect to what matters to them

  3. Structure work to support feelings of competence and growth

  4. Create opportunities for high-quality relationships and belonging

  5. Allow appropriate autonomy in how work gets done

Individual Agency in Need Satisfaction

While organizational support is crucial, Brafford also highlights the importance of individual "needs crafting" - proactively shaping our work to better meet psychological needs. This requires self-awareness and mindfulness about values and needs, along with the psychological flexibility to pursue them effectively in the moment.

Looking Ahead

The implications of Self-Determination Theory extend far beyond individual workplace satisfaction.

When organizations create environments that support basic psychological needs, they see improvements in engagement, wellbeing, performance, and retention. This science-based approach offers practical pathways to make work more meaningful for everyone involved.

Resources for Further Exploration

Harmonizing Culture and Purpose: Lessons from Gitima Sharma

In this episode, Dr. Gitima Sharma, Associate Professor of Counseling at California State University, Fresno, and Founder of CoachInspire, shares her remarkable journey from navigating family mental health challenges in India to becoming a leading purpose researcher and coach in the United States.

Drawing from both Eastern philosophy and Western psychology, Sharma offers a unique perspective on how purpose and meaning shape our work and lives.

With over 30 published research articles and a deep commitment to mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds, she brings a cross-cultural lens to the transformative power of purpose. Her approach blends Buddhist principles of human revolution with evidence-based practices in positive psychology, creating a holistic framework for personal and systemic change.

The Buddhist Roots of Purpose

At the heart of Sharma's perspective lies the Buddhist concept of Human Revolution - the idea that lasting positive change requires inner transformation of hearts and minds.

As she explains:

"Presently, we are facing, as humanity, unprecedented struggles that include war in our global family, violence, hate crimes, division... However, even if these struggles are unprecedented, they are not unique in any way, because as humanity, we have continued to undergo these cycles... The reality is that until people's hearts and minds do not change in the direction of good, nothing substantial can be achieved."

Unlike mainstream Western mindsets that often focus purpose towards individual fulfillment, this foundation informs Sharma’s definition of purpose as something that transcends individual satisfaction, requiring both personal growth and contribution to collective wellbeing.

The Five Phases of Purpose Development

Sharma shares her research-informed model for cultivating purpose that includes five interconnected phases:

  1. Explore: Examining who we are in the context of our strengths, passions, family history, and cultural identity

  2. Engage: Taking action with causes we care about and challenging ourselves through concrete goals

  3. Reflect: Creating dedicated time and space to process our experiences and their meaning

  4. Articulate: Finding ways to express and share our purpose with others

  5. Actualize: Setting specific goals and accessing resources needed to fulfill our purpose

"It's like when you're climbing the mountain," she explains, "the higher you go, the view becomes clearer... We are not always aware of the underlying meaning and purpose when we are amidst the struggles. But if we get the right support, we tap into right strengths, and we overcome that one struggle, the view or the meaning and purpose becomes clearer and clearer."

Cultural Context and Identity in Purpose Development

Much of Sharma's research has focused on first-generation and minority students, revealing how cultural context shapes the experience and expression of purpose.

Her studies found that many students:

  • Frame their purpose in terms of gratitude and repaying their parents' sacrifices

  • Seek to create pathways for others from similar backgrounds

  • Need support around believing in their own potential before they can fully explore purpose

  • Value mentorship and community encouragement in their purpose journey

Practical Applications for Leaders and Organizations

For educators, managers, and others seeking to foster purpose in their organizations, Sharma emphasizes two key approaches:

Lead with Humanity:

"If we don't have the humanity to believe in other people's potential and really believe in the fact that the student, client, employee whom I'm serving is this unique person with their own unique life's journey... then we won't even make a genuine effort to help them to reflect upon their purpose."

Create Authentic Spaces:

Focus on "creating spaces where people can authentically share about themselves, bring their whole selves into work, their intersectional identities, and then reflect upon the value they bring to our work or our educational environments and just society and our world's future at large."

Conclusion

By weaving together Eastern wisdom, rigorous research, and practical application, Sharma offers a unique and valuable perspective on how we can cultivate purpose in ways that honor both individual wellbeing and collective flourishing.

Her work reminds us that meaningful work isn't just about personal satisfaction - it's about contributing to a larger vision of positive change while staying true to our authentic selves and cultural roots.

Resources for Further Exploration

Tiny Moments Matter: Lessons from Zach Mercurio

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, host Andrew sits down with Zach Mercurio, a researcher and expert in the psychology of mattering at work. As a Research and Teaching Fellow in Colorado State University's Department of Psychology's Center for Meaning and Purpose, Mercurio brings both academic rigor and practical wisdom to the conversation, drawn from his extensive work with organizations worldwide.

What makes Mercurio's work particularly valuable is his unique position as a "pracademic" – someone who bridges the gap between research and real-world application.

His insights come not just from theoretical understanding, but from hands-on experience helping organizations like American Express, the U.S. Army, and Delta Airlines create cultures where people feel truly significant.

The Mattering Instinct: A Survival Need

At the heart of Mercurio's research is a profound truth about human nature: mattering is an instinct as basic as survival itself. He shares a touching personal story about the moment his first son was born, watching as the newborn reached up and grasped his finger with surprising strength. Scientists call this the grasp reflex, one of several innate behaviors that newborns exhibit from their first moments of life. As Mercurio explains,

"The first thing we do as human beings is search to matter to someone enough to keep us alive... You would not be listening to this podcast if at some point in your life you did not procure mattering to another person enough to keep you alive."

This primitive survival instinct evolves throughout our lives into a sophisticated psychological need. We develop an ongoing desire to be cared for, seen, and heard by others. We seek validation that we are valued members of our communities and that our presence makes a difference. This evolution from basic survival instinct to complex psychological need helps explain why feeling significant becomes so crucial in our work lives – it's woven into the very fabric of our human experience.

Understanding Mattering in Practice

Mercurio's research reveals three essential components that leaders must address to create a culture of mattering:

1. Feeling Noticed

Being noticed goes beyond simple recognition. As Mercurio explains, "I can know you, but not notice that you're suffering." True noticing requires deliberate attention to the ebbs and flows of people's lives and responding with meaningful action.

One leader Mercurio studied kept a simple notebook where she wrote down personal details about team members' lives each Friday, reviewing it Monday morning to check in on specific concerns or life events. This practice led to exceptional team engagement and loyalty.

2. Feeling Affirmed

Mercurio distinguishes between three important concepts:

  • Appreciation: Showing gratitude for who someone is

  • Recognition: Acknowledging what someone does

  • Affirmation: Showing specific evidence of someone's unique significance

3. Feeling Needed

When people feel replaceable, they tend to act replaceable. Mercurio shares that some of the most powerful words a leader can say are: "If it wasn't for you, this wouldn't be possible."

The Dark Side: Anti-Mattering

While much attention is paid to the positive effects of mattering, Mercurio also explores its shadow side through the concept of "anti-mattering" – the experience of feeling invisible or insignificant. This phenomenon, studied by researcher Gordon Flett at York University, carries as powerful a charge as mattering itself, but in the opposite direction. Like antimatter in physics, which possesses an inverse powerful charge to matter, the experience of anti-mattering can have profound negative effects on individuals and organizations.

When people don't feel they matter, their responses typically manifest in one of two ways. Some individuals retreat into withdrawal, choosing to isolate themselves, withhold their contributions, or ultimately leave their organizations entirely. This withdrawal can be seen as a form of self-protection – if one's contributions aren't valued, why continue to offer them?

Others respond to anti-mattering through what Mercurio calls "acts of desperation." These individuals might engage in complaining, blaming, or gossiping – behaviors that Mercurio suggests are often misinterpreted as personality problems rather than symptoms of a deeper organizational issue. He points to research showing that workplace gossip, for instance, is frequently predicted by psychological contract violations, such as lack of fair treatment or respect from supervisors.

"If I don't matter to someone else," Mercurio explains, "I'm going to find somebody who will listen to me."

This understanding of anti-mattering challenges leaders to look beyond surface-level behavioral issues. Instead of asking "What's wrong with this person?" Mercurio encourages leaders to ask, "What's wrong with the environment?" Often, he notes, the employees labeled as "difficult" are actually the ones feeling most unseen and undervalued in the organization.

Creating a Culture of Mattering

Mercurio emphasizes that mattering isn't just about individual leadership behaviors – it's a systems issue that requires organizational commitment.

He shares the success story of American Express Global Business Travel, which saw a 50% reduction in attrition over eight months after implementing a comprehensive mattering initiative.

Key organizational strategies include:

Making Mattering Behaviors Possible
  • Creating time and space for human connection
  • Removing barriers to meaningful interaction
  • Building systems that support relationship-building
Making Mattering Behaviors Inevitable
  • Training leaders in specific mattering practices
  • Measuring and evaluating mattering behaviors
  • Creating accountability for fostering significance

Making Mattering Behaviors Possible

  • Creating time and space for human connection

  • Removing barriers to meaningful interaction

  • Building systems that support relationship-building

Making Mattering Behaviors Inevitable

  • Training leaders in specific mattering practices

  • Measuring and evaluating mattering behaviors

  • Creating accountability for fostering significance

Practical Applications for Leaders

Mercurio offers several concrete practices leaders can implement immediately:

  • Practice Intentional Noticing

    • Keep notes about team members' personal situations

    • Follow up on previous conversations

    • Pay attention to changes in behavior or engagement

  • Provide Specific Affirmation

    • Move beyond generic praise

    • Connect individual actions to meaningful impact

    • Highlight unique contributions

  • Demonstrate Essential Value

    • Clearly communicate how each person is relied upon

    • Share specific examples of indispensable contributions

    • Use language that reinforces necessity: "Because of you..."

Connections to Broader Social Movements

Mercurio draws fascinating parallels between the concept of mattering and recent workplace phenomena. He notes that both the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting can be understood through the lens of mattering - or more precisely, its absence.

In August 2023, more workers went on strike than at any point in the 21st century, which Mercurio sees as "mattering in disguise" - a collective expression of feeling unseen and undervalued.

These movements reflect what Mercurio calls "the language of the unheard," reminding us of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s observation that "protest is the language of the unheard." This perspective helps reframe workplace challenges not as individual behavioral issues, but as systemic responses to environments where people don't feel significant.

Future Directions: The Evolution of Mattering

Looking ahead, Mercurio sees mattering becoming increasingly crucial as workplace choice expands.

His upcoming book, "The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance" (May 2025), promises to provide a comprehensive framework for building organizations where everyone feels significant.

The book will explore how leaders can scale mattering practices across entire organizations, making them part of the cultural DNA rather than isolated initiatives.

Key Takeaways

  1. Mattering is not just a psychological need but a survival instinct that evolves throughout our lives

  2. Anti-mattering manifests in predictable ways - either through withdrawal or desperate attempts to be seen

  3. Creating cultures of mattering requires systematic approaches, not just individual leadership behaviors

  4. Simple practices like intentional noticing and specific affirmation can have profound impacts on people's sense of significance

Final Thoughts

In a world where 30% of workers feel invisible and 65% feel under-appreciated, Mercurio's research offers hope and practical direction. By understanding mattering as a fundamental human need and implementing systematic approaches to foster it, leaders can create environments where people thrive, contribute meaningfully, and feel truly significant.

As Mercurio powerfully concludes:

"It's very difficult for anything to matter to someone who doesn't first believe that they matter."

Resources for Further Exploration