The past half-decade has arguably changed the workplace more dramatically than ever before. The pandemic initiated changes in how we work and accelerated others bubbling below the surface. The great resignation and economic uncertainty that followed the pandemic have continued to change our views of the workplace and why we work in the way we do. It has also changed our ideas of what makes a good job.
As part of an in-depth study, The Working Future, More Human, Not Less, Bain has outlined five themes reshaping how we look at work, including a framework on the evolving attitudes and beliefs of what makes a good job.
As society has evolved in industrialized countries, people have become more segmented in labor segments that have created unique social niches. This has, in turn, resulted in fragmented attitudes towards work. Bain built a framework of attitudes based on motivational theory and psychology to understand this evolution better. They found the following ten dimensions:
- Work centricity: How much of my identity and sense of meaning comes from work?
- Financial orientation: How much does my level of income impact my happiness?
- Future orientation: Do I prioritize investing in a better future or focus on living for today?
- Status orientation: How concerned am I about being perceived by others as successful?
- Risk tolerance: Am I willing to take risks to improve my life if I might end up worse off?
- Variety: Do I prefer change or predictability?
- Autonomy: How much do I value being in control of my work?
- Camaraderie: Do I see work as primarily an individual or a team effort?
- Mastery: How much satisfaction do I find in perfecting my craft?
- Self-transcendence: How important is it to me to make a positive difference in society?
Bain’s research covered ten countries and found considerable variation in scores across all dimensions. This means there is no singular way to effectively encapsulate what a typical worker would say makes for a good job. However, there are some patterns in the data that help define some archetypes that can be used to examine groups of workers.
Operators
The first group finds its value outside of the office. For them, work is a means to an end. They are less driven by status and are happy to just do their job and go home at the end of the day. They like the stability of a job and aren’t necessarily looking to improve their future position. This group is very team-oriented and tends to consider colleagues friends. As long as the company can keep them engaged, they become key to the organization’s workforce.
Givers
This group is the most altruistic of those surveyed. They find value in how their work helps others. Unsurprisingly, they are not very motivated by financial gain. In addition to careers that focus on education or medicine, these people gravitate towards CSR (corporate social responsibility) roles within organizations. They naturally tend towards empathy and form deeply authentic relationships at work. They are also pragmatic about new initiatives and like to spend time researching and understanding how programs will impact the organization and its constituents.
Artisans
As the name suggests, this group is driven by what inspires or fascinates them. They enjoy the process of thinking, exploring ideas, and finding a level of mastery. While not motivated by status, they do like being seen as experts and prefer autonomous roles. Artisans are the least social among all the groups identified by the research. With proper guidance and expectation setting on how their work should support the company’s goals, they can solve some of the most complex and difficult challenges facing the organization, deepening their engagement and sense of success.
Explorers
Again, the name of this group describes their approach to work. They are motivated by the excitement and variety of challenges they can solve. They do like having freedom and autonomy in how they work to find these solutions. They are less concerned with security and more focused on flexibility. This group is the most likely to be lateral thinkers, having more of a career lattice than a career ladder. Keeping these people focused on the opportunities available at the company is essential to maintain engagement, such as tiger team projects. If they are properly motivated, they will be the most prominent advocates at the company, entirely throwing themselves into any project assignment.
Strivers
This group is the most career-driven. They want to move up the ranks and find their value in their professional success. Status at the company is important to them, and their compensation is a top personal motivator. They tend to be more conservative in their approach to their work and follow a standard that they believe will lead them to success. They are competitive and often transactional in their relationships. As long as they adhere to organizational expectations for transparency and collaboration, their discipline can help build a strong organization.
Pioneers
This group sounds similar to the explorers but has different characteristics. They are fiercely firm in their belief of how things should be and will focus on bringing that vision to reality. While they are altruistic in their motivations, it is also important that their ideas and contributions are attributable to them. They identify with their work, have a future orientation, and tend to be open to acceptable levels of risk. They are also willing to invest their time and energy to move their vision forward. While they can be transactional with relationships, as long as they are open to others’ input, their energy is contagious and can bring out the best in others.
None of these groups is better than another, and a successful, healthy culture will have elements of each group. While some people can easily be classified as one of the archetypes, most employees will have elements of multiple groups. It is also fair to say that just because someone may be in one group today, that doesn’t mean they can’t be in a different group in the future. These archetypes should be considered directional rather than explicit determinants of how people work.
As you might expect, compensation is a top attribute across the groups. While more critical to some, it will always be a foundational element of what people consider part of a good job. Beyond pay, motivations start to differ. Operators and Strivers are concerned with job security (though in very different ways). Artisans are looking for interesting work. Pioneers value social contributions, while Givers seek camaraderie with their co-workers. The archetypes can help executives understand how employees find purpose at work.
Interestingly, the archetypes cross all demographic segments, but age and socioeconomics indicate differences. For example, in the United States, older workers are interested in autonomy and mastery, have a lower risk tolerance, and are less concerned about status. Thus, they are more aligned with Artisans and Givers than they are with Stivers, Pioneers, or Explorers.
Another example from the study is of more educated, higher-earning people. They are likely to be autonomous, status-driven, and future-oriented. This indicates someone in the Pioneer or Striver group rather than an Operator.
The research also shows that job roles such as blue-collar and various white-collar jobs will change how the archetype mix manifests. Blue-collar roles then tend to be Operators and Artisans. Office Administrative roles are also likely to be Operators. Service industries attract Explorers, Healthcare attracts Givers, and technical, management, and knowledge-based roles are associated with Strivers and Pioneers.
Understanding what archetype employees are most aligned with can improve their job satisfaction. For example, an Explorer will be less satisfied in an administrative role with its limited flexibility. New approaches to workforce planning, up-skilling and re-skilling initiatives, and skills-based recruiting are helping ensure people find the roles that are the most fulfilling to them personally while also providing the most value to the organization.
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