Editorial
The end of a calendar year is an opportune time for personal reflection. As we progress further into an AI-augmented world, I find myself reflecting on the value of work itself.
Along with the benefits AI brings to employees — seamless experiences, automation of routine tasks, accelerating complex analytic work — comes uncertainty about its broader impact on the future of work. Indeed, AI is already disrupting work. Companies are reducing headcount, recent college graduates struggle to find jobs, and public figures are predicting that many professions won’t be necessary in the near future.
The prospects of these changes are both exciting and threatening. But no matter what we think work might look like in the future, this pivotal moment encourages us to think deeply about the institution of human work and its inherent value.
For a fortunate few, work is a vocation. We earn an income to do work that we enjoy for a cause we care deeply about. But for many, work appears to be necessary drudgery, a currency exchange of time for money. And while the possibility of reducing or eliminating work altogether may sound appealing, work can benefit us in ways well beyond a paycheck.
Work as Chesterton's Fence
As an organizational psychologist, whose vocation it is to improve the experience of work, this pivotal moment reminds me of Chesterton’s Fence. Early 20th Century author G.K. Chesterton shared a parable about encountering a fence that’s blocking your path. Your first instinct is to remove it, as it serves no obvious purpose.
But Chesterton introduces a second person who challenges your perspective. They suggest you think about why the fence was placed there. Only after understanding its purpose should we consider removing the fence.
Let’s apply Chesterton's parable to work. The fence represents “work” and although it appears, at first glance, to be a barrier to the fulfillment we seek in our lives, let us pause and deeply consider its purpose and value.
Works Meets Fundamental Human Needs
Firstly, let’s acknowledge that for many millions of workers, work is a necessity for survival. But what about those of us who possess transferable skills and employment options? Is our work simply an exchange of our time for a paycheck? Do we engage in work only because we have to? Are we so eager to offload our work to AI because we see it as a barrier to the life experiences we seek?
Based on research we’ve conducted across millions of global workers over the years, I see little evidence for this. Although we invariably face unpleasant experiences at work, we get many benefits … if we choose to acknowledge them.
Humans have always engaged in the enterprise of work. We’re wired for it. And decades of research on human motivation have pointed to core psychological needs that work helps us meet:
Social Connection
Humans are a highly social species and have always worked in groups. At their cores, modern organizations are groups of people working to meet a shared goal. What leads modern employees to report positive experiences at work? To a large degree, the value they create for and the relationships they build with other people.
When workers build social networks and have supportive managers, they report high levels of engagement, productivity and commitment to the group. And by and large, employees are deeply driven by the value they create for their customers.
Personal Reflection: How many deep, lasting relationships have emerged from your work and what value does your work generate for others?
Growth and Achievement
One of the consequences of being a social species is that we’re driven by the recognition of adding value to the groups we’re part of. We see this play out in the importance people place on career growth — a ubiquitous driver of employee engagement and intent to stay. When people feel as if they’re making progress towards current and future opportunities for growth, they become highly motivated. Work is an excellent avenue for personal growth and development.
Personal Reflection: How much of your personal growth can be traced back to persevering through the daunting challenges you’ve faced at work?
Control and Self-Efficacy
Finally, work gives us a sense of mastery over our lives. Through the income we earn, we naturally gain more control over our future. Our work also forces us to learn new skills and pushes us to grow in ways that we wouldn’t intentionally pursue if we didn’t have to.
Personal Reflection: How often do you think back on work projects or activities you initially dreaded to eventually conclude, “I’m really glad I went through that”?
Has our deeper exploration of work changed your view of the fence in your path? For those of us privileged with options, the answer to this question is ultimately up to us. We can choose to look at our work as purely a means to an end or we can choose to acknowledge its innumerable benefits and the fundamental psychological needs it helps us achieve.
As we close the books on 2025, I encourage all of us to rethink work and enter 2026 with a renewed passion for the value we bring to others and ourselves through our work.
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Editor's Note: What else helps make work meaningful?
- Employees Crave Connection. Here's How to Build It — Connection at work can be both emotional and intellectual. Understanding what kind of connection you're trying to build is the first step.
- If AI Is Your Best Friend at Work, It Might Be Tanking Your Social Capital — AI is becoming many of our go-to collaborators, over our colleagues. What does this do to workplace relations and what can we do about it?
- Developmental Feedback Gives Employees Room to Grow — Developmental feedback focuses on the growth and progress of the recipient and is critical for the individual's advancement and long-term organizational health.
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