Why are we at Simon of Cyrene so proud of what we do?
As with every start of the year, it is always good to analyze what has been done during the previous period, to become aware of those lessons and challenges that have allowed us to develop and grow, reflecting on our work and the meaning we give it as a source of purpose and meaning in our lives. Meaningful work directly influences health and quality of work life, impacting well-being, motivation and commitment, both at the individual and work team level, ultimately reflecting in the organization's results. In short, when a person perceives that their work is meaningful, they feel better and work better (Allan et al., 2019).
At Simón de Cirene, we have received the Great Place to Work® ( philippines mobile number GPTW) award in recent years, in which as collaborators we recognize our organization as a good place to work. When reviewing those dimensions most valued during 2021, the “Pride” area is repeated, in which there is a great consensus (97 points out of 100) on the importance of contributing as an organization to the community. Based on the above, it is relevant to mention that there are 3 fundamental aspects that give meaning to our work life , very much in line with the latest findings arising from research on the science of happiness (Martela & Steger, 2016), namely:
There is coherence in our history, current context and future challenges, which guide our desire for the development of a society that builds itself.
We maintain a very clear and shared sense of mission, which seeks to help people and organizations achieve their goals.
The vast majority of employees feel that their work is highly significant, contributing through what we do to improve the world around us.
Reflecting on this, an element emerges that has undoubtedly allowed us to enhance the meaning of our work at Simon of Cyrene. I am referring to the concept of kindness , which we can define as that prosocial behavior that gives us the feeling that we are contributing positively to the lives of other people (Martela and Riekki, 2018).
And if we delve deeper into this concept, thinking about how we can appreciate the kindness of Simon of Cyrene? Personally, I believe that this can be seen expressed in our motto “Without affection there are no effects” , in the multiple internal corporate volunteering that leads us to give quality time to the service of learning for the development of other people and, of course, from our commitment to accompany people and organizations throughout Chile to achieve their goals, promoting the growth and development of leaders, entrepreneurs and social leaders, as well as organizational, community and territorial strengthening, with the hope that our work, by helping others, allows us to build a better world.
The example of Simon of Cyrene surely occurs in other organizations, either because they embrace a cause thinking of the common good and a positive social impact, or when personal purposes align with the purposes of the organization, allowing employees to feel that their work gives meaning to their lives. In these cases, both employees and work teams manage to awaken passion and pride in what they do.
Then, and especially for those people who exercise leadership, it is important to understand that they have a fundamental role in maintaining and caring for the sense of purpose that their collaborators give to their work, where the key is to promote autonomy in their teams and with it the idea that they contribute to society on the basis of meaningful work. Autonomy is related to perceiving that one's own behavior is free and meaningful so that we are the initiators of our actions, which are consistent with our values (Unanue, 2022).
People, when they feel that they are capable of doing what interests them, attribute greater meaning to work. In other words, autonomy is key to feeling fulfilled. At Simón de Cirene we seek to work on this aspect from our values, particularly the one that invites us to be the protagonists of our work. Both kindness and autonomy provide well-being to oneself and to others, both are important aspects to develop within Simón de Cirene and we would love for more organizations to be able to promote them. Without a doubt, they could be part of the critical success factors to take into account for the professional development of their collaborators and the cohesion of their work teams.
Literature
Allan, B.A., Batz-Barbarich, C., Sterling, H.M., & Tay, L. (2019). Outcomes of meaningful work: A meta-analysis. Journal of management studies, 56(3), 500-528.