Rockstars@Work: The Ultimate Search For Meaningful Work

At the RockStars@ Work Conference, hosted in Minneapolis on October 20, 2009, Zach Hubbell and Brett Farmiloe (both social media managers for Jobing.com) shared some of what they learned on their Pursue the Passion tour in 2007.

At the RockStars@ Work Conference, hosted in Minneapolis on October 20, 2009, Zach Hubbell and Brett Farmiloe (both social media managers for Jobing.com) shared some of what they learned on their Pursue the Passion tour in 2007.

Shortly after college, Zach and Brett both received jobs working as accountants, where they struggled to find meaning in their work. So they both quit their jobs and set out for a journey across the country to interview people in different areas about their career paths. There were many obstacles to overcome along the way, but they continued to move forward.

Jobing.com came on as their leading sponsor for their trip and Brett and Zach were able to travel 16,000 miles, covering 38 states and interviewing 300 people about why they are passionate about their work.

In piecing together all the information from their interviews, they discovered three values people need to gain from their employers and their work:

Significance

Employees need to know they matter and that their work is making a difference in society.

Trust 

Employees need to know their employers trust them.

Measurability 

Employees need to know they are making progress. Employers can aid in this process by establishing tangible benchmarks and celebrating accomplishments with employees.

Brett and Zach emphasized the important for employees to focus on commonalities and shared interest within a workplace. While each individual might be doing a different type of work, everyone works for the same place, with the same goals–and finding that common bond is crucial to a successful work environment.

People will always strive to gain a better sense that what they do really matters–and when employees pursue passion in their work, it makes everyone better off.