Does it seem like your company’s caught in a rut lately? Perhaps it’s like everyone is just going through the motions and has lost the energy you noticed when they first came to the firm. It’s impossible to say for sure why the enthusiasm is down, but there’s a good chance people have lost a sense of purpose. In that case, charitable giving could help workers realize they’re doing more than clocking in to earn checks.
Charitable Giving Fosters Employee Engagement
It’s common for companies to urge their companies to organize or participate in holiday giving campaigns. Some examples include collecting toiletries for a domestic violence refuge, gathering canned goods for a food bank, or filling shoeboxes of small goodies for less-fortunate kids. Research indicates that charitable giving boosts engagement at the companies participating in it.
There are several reasons why this could happen. For starters, if a company is very large and split into numerous departments, people may only interact with other people who work in the same parts of the company. But, a firm-wide charitable giving campaign urges everyone, regardless of job, to band together and focus on a common goal that goes outside themselves.
Something else to keep in mind is that charitable giving initiatives at workplaces could encourage employees to talk about things other than their jobs. At some businesses, the pace and type of work are so demanding that all the conversations center on things like corporate milestones, attracting new clients, and keeping profits high. Those things are important, of course, but should not comprise all the communications workers have.
When people discuss things other than work, they may bring up topics ranging from their hobbies to their pets. When that happens, it’s often easier to form lasting and meaningful connections than it would be if people only discussed work matters.
Volunteerism Helps Workers Feel More Involved in Their Communities
Another issue that could be causing a lack of motivation in employees is if they feel that their entire lives are consumed with work, giving them few other things that they participate in or enjoy. This reality causes some workplaces to offer employee volunteer programs. Some of them even pay workers to take part in them.
Volunteerism helps take those people outside of what they know, proving there are other aspects of the community to explore. Employee volunteerism can also serve as a type of marketing for your business, though promotional aims should never be the main focus. Consider the example of a team of workers taking part in a roadside litter clean up program or a home-building project while wearing shirts bearing your firm’s logo.
If employees are shy or simply haven’t taken independent steps to see what their communities offer, they may feel isolated. When people volunteer, they tend to also become more aware of things in the local area that they may not have noticed before.
Then, they learn about beneficial places that are nearby. One example is the Sullivan Community Space in West Oakland, California. It’s associated with Neill Sullivan, a successful real estate professional. The center offers a place for community members to meet, and it holds martial arts classes for young people.
Learning about one’s community can make a person feel more motivated by enabling them to see that the opportunities to give back are virtually endless. In that case, they can see how easy it is to have a rewarding existence outside of work, which in turn, makes them feel more energized at work because they feel more purposeful.
A business that lacks energy is more common than you may think. But, without intervention, it can become problematic since employees are typically so integral to an organization’s prosperity. The information covered here is a valid reminder of how volunteerism and charitable giving could help your workers find the spark that’s been missing.
