October 23rd is ‘Make a Difference’ day. You might be thinking why should I care? Well, research shows that when we make a difference at work, we are more like to be engaged (People Lab 2021).
Over the past decade, we have gained insight into the workings and experiences of thousands of employees across diverse, global organisations. Insights from hundreds of ‘Best Experience’ workshops has enabled the design of great experiences, which result in engagement. The workshops allowed individual perspectives on what truly matters at work to be unearthed and understood. The insights gathered have highlighted and reinforced universal themes for an exceptional employee experience that delivers engagement.
Using the insights gathered we developed our MAGIC-CA Model of EX. There are two equally important aspects to the model: With this model you get a full picture to help you truly understand what a great experience (that delivers engagement) is all about:
- Universal themes
Common themes that featured across all stories, and were evident in the data analysed
- Individual differences
While the research uncovered universal themes of what makes an experience great, there are also individual differences. It’s critical to ensure these differences are not ignored if you want to genuinely understand how to improve EX and facilitate engagement.
Having a positive impact at work was one of the universal themes we drew out from the insights gathered. And this was really all about being able to make a difference at work. This links to the concept of meaning, but it is different: it is more visible and external to the individual. It is possible to find meaning from an experience without having a positive impact and making a difference. Having the opportunity to make a difference, in whatever we are doing, really matters and there is some interesting science that helps to explain why.
When we have a positive impact and make a difference, it stimulates a rush of positive emotions: we feel good about that experience. When we experience positive emotions, our serotonin and dopamine levels rise. These are neurotransmitters (chemicals released by nerve cells to send signals to other nerve cells). These chemicals make us feel good, and enhance our ability to learn and absorb information. Having an impact also teaches our brains that our actions matter.
Often when we consider what it means to make a difference we think about big, symbolic actions. But our research found that often it’s the small things that really matter. Helping your employees, and colleagues, to make the connections between the work they do and the difference it has made to colleagues, customers, the organisation, event themselves is what counts.
Sometimes just letting someone know that they have made difference to you is all it takes to release those feel-good chemicals and turn a mediocre experience into a great one.
To find out more about ‘Best Experience’ research and the MAGICCA model, download our free paper here.
