Culture Care Technologies
  Human Resource & Organization Development Specialists in Company Culture

Meaning

Making money is definitely an important part of working. But research consistently shows that it isn't the most critical; it neither attracts the best employees nor brings out the best in employees. People also work for something more important than money — they work for meaning.

Through meaning, work becomes much more than just a job. And it's through culture that work acquires meaning. When an employee finds the company's mission compelling and vision inspiring, that the shared values and beliefs required to accomplish the mission and realize the vision match their own, then work becomes a source of meaning, not just a source of money.

A culture that provides meaning can, in turn, impart significant benefits to the organization such as commitment and loyalty. Working at the organization becomes a source of pride for employees and engenders a sense of belonging to something special.

A striking example of a company culture that provides meaning is Wegmans Food Markets Inc., #1 on Fortune magazine's 2004 list of best companies to work for:

"When you're a 16-year-old kid, the last thing you want to do is wear a geeky shirt and work for a supermarket," says Edward McLaughlin, director of Cornell's Food Industry Management Program. But at Wegmans, "it's a badge of honor. You are not a geeky cashier. You are part of the social fabric." A cashier making $5.93 an hour part of the social fabric? But it's true. Wegmans employees don't work in any old supermarket. They work at Wegmans, and there's cachet attached to that. You're a culinary whiz, an ambassador of fine cuisine—even if you only stock shelves at night”. (The Wegmans Way, Fortune, Jan. 24, 2005 , p. 68)

Spending your day as a culinary whiz and an ambassador of fine cuisine, while wearing a badge of honour, has a lot more meaning than making $5.93 an hour as a cashier dressed in a geeky shirt. The “gastronomical” meaning that Wegman employees derive from their work clearly contributes to the success of a company dedicated to “Helping you make great meals easy”. ( http://www.wegmans.com/).