Every executive eventually confronts the question: is this all there is? Titles and bonuses bring recognition but rarely fulfilment. Viktor Frankl, in Man’s Search for Meaning, offered an answer: “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear almost any ‘how’.” His words resonate powerfully in the workplace. Employees disengage not only because of pay or workload but because of lack of purpose.
Gallup’s global surveys confirm it: only about one in four employees are engaged at work. The cost of this disengagement runs into trillions of dollars annually. But the deeper cost is human: lives spent without meaning.
Irvin Yalom described four existential givens: death, freedom, isolation, and meaning. These are not abstract. In the workplace, “death” manifests as time pressure, “freedom” as the demand for autonomy, “isolation” as the need for belonging, and “meaning” as the hunger for purpose. Leaders who ignore these realities breed alienation. Leaders who embrace them cultivate engagement.
Frederic Laloux writes of “evolutionary purpose” — the idea that organisations are not machines to be controlled but living systems with a direction of their own. Companies like Patagonia embody this, framing their purpose not only in terms of profit but of service to the planet. Employees do not merely sell clothing; they act as activists. Paul Polman, at Unilever, embedded sustainability into the heart of strategy, proving that purpose and profit can be allies.
Sheryl Sandberg adds a practical perspective: leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence, and ensuring that impact endures. Purposeful leadership is not about grand speeches but about shaping environments where people feel their work matters.
Research backs this up. McKinsey’s 2022 study found that employees who say their purpose is fulfilled at work are twice as likely to stay with their employer and four times as likely to be engaged. Purpose is retention strategy, innovation engine, and cultural glue.
Philosophy has always known this. Aristotle’s idea of flourishing, Frankl’s insistence on meaning, and the Stoics’ call to align with nature all converge on one truth: purpose is not optional for a meaningful life.
Frankl also reminded us that life is never unbearable because of circumstances, only because of lack of meaning. The same is true for organisations. Companies with clear purpose weather crises better. Employees with a “why” endure challenges with greater resilience.
Purpose is not a branding exercise. It is oxygen. Leaders who give their people purpose give them breath. Without it, no organisation can breathe for long.