Unfortunately, research indicates that potentially 70 percent of workers today are not engaged in their work and giving their best effort. 

But how can we boost engagement? Give people purpose. 

Researchers led by Steven Cole at the University of California at Los Angeles studied the gene expression profiles of people who experienced happiness from seeking pleasure and those who experienced happiness from seeking meaningful purpose in life. The profiles of the purpose seekers exhibited low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong levels of antiviral and antibody genes. What does this mean? 

People who seek purpose in their lives feel they make a difference. They experience greater energy and enthusiasm. They are more likely to give their best efforts and persevere through the inevitable challenges and difficult seasons in life that everyone experiences. In other words, it’s likely they might actually live longer, which is what this new genetic research suggests. 

Most professionals in the talent development and learning field report to love what they do. They find purpose in developing the skills and careers of those working in their organizations. Why? 

Talent development professionals serve a cause greater than themselves. 

Work is typically meaningful when it brings beauty, goodness, and/or truth to the world. Beauty can be found in the technology product designer’s work that exhibits aesthetic beauty or functional excellence or the administrative assistant’s work that organizes important information so it is easily accessible. Goodness can be found in the nurse’s work that reduces suffering and promotes healing, or the engineer’s work that promotes safety and environmental responsibility. Truth can be found in the trainer’s work that promotes acquisition of knowledge. 

Talent development professionals connect with the beneficiaries of their work**.** 

People who work on the frontlines of learning and development generally see how their work helps others. Those who work behind the scenes often look for ways to interact with learners and raise awareness of the value of their work. 

Bottom line: Talent development leaders can set the example for finding purpose—and boosting engagement in their organizations.**** 

For a more in-depth look at how to boost employee engagement in your organizations, please join me on October 17, 2014, for my webcast, 7 Best Practices to Boost Employee Engagement, and on November 18, 2014, for ATD’s Essentials of Driving Results Through Employee Engagement workshop.