Beyond the Clock: How Declaring Your Work Sacred Can Ignite True Engagement

You've probably heard that 85% of people aren't engaged at work. But did you know that 67% of the disengaged are actually doing the bare minimum?

That’s not just bad for business; it's bad for humanity.

I've been studying this trend for 20 years, but more importantly, I lived it.

There were times, especially early in my career when I was apart of the 67%. Going through the motions, trying to get by.

I’ve sat in the seat watching the clock. I’ve had the pit in my stomach on Sunday night.

I get it.

Now maybe you’ve decided work isn't meant to be the center of your life and so you’ve resolved yourself to getting through.

You decided your identity isn't going to be defined by what you do.

If that’s where you are, that’s OK. You don’t have to live to work.

With that said, at our core, I do believe we all crave to do and be apart of something meaningful.

We all yearn to contribute something significant

The challenge is, we often wait for others to invite us to contribute, feel appreciated, or join in something meaningful.

What I learned as I waited for someone to offer me more meaning and purpose, was that deep sustainable engagement wasn’t found in external programs or reward systems; it had to come from within.

I had to realize that meaning and purpose weren’t going to be found in the work. Meaning and purpose had to be brought to the work.

If we want our work to matter, we have to make it matter.

Maybe that means it’s time to go and do the thing we know we’re supposed to be doing.

Maybe it means it’s time to consecrate the work we’re already doing.

I love that word, consecrate.

To make or declare as sacred.

Declare it!

If you declare your work as sacred, it feels like less of a burden and more of a gift. You start to do the work out of devotion, with love, instead of just trying to get through it.

If you see yourself as sacred, you start to see the goodness within yourself. You treat yourself better. You learn to love yourself.

If you see the world around you as sacred, you move through life with a sense of awe and wonder. You enrich every experience.

Life becomes better. And work becomes stronger.

Our collective chronic crisis of disengagement will only start to shift when we as individuals decide to make our work matter.