Finding the balance

I am sharing with you a podcast/article from McKinsey & Company. On the surface it seems a little heady or touchy feel for mountain operations folks, no disrespect intended. The podcast is a discussion between the moderator and two McKinsey partners. The subject matter is the purpose of work. Yes, I know it sounds a bit out there but in listening to this discussion you can see how it relates to mountain operations, dealing with millennials,  retention of staff, frontline staff, and organizational health.

A quote from the discussion, “Those employees who say that they live their purpose at work are six and a half times more likely to report higher resilience. They’re four times more likely to report better health, six times more likely to want to stay at the company, and one and a half times more likely to go above and beyond to make their company successful.” Who doesn’t want staff like this?

My question to those of you who are managers: Is individual purpose and work purpose something you discuss with your staff? The coming together of the home world and work world can be all about purpose and how it effects your staff. Ignoring it won’t make it disappear. The study discussed in this podcast indicates 70% of people define themselves through their work.

There can be alignment of organizational purpose and personal purpose. They key is the organization, ski area, defining their purpose and living by that purpose so that those who work at the ski area can decide if their purpose aligns with the ski area’s. Hypocrisy by the ski area will certainly drive off any staff who look at the stated purpose and what is real on the ground.

As we come out of Covid, the impact of individual’s purpose will be an important hiring factor. Covid has given a lot of people reason to look at their purpose and may decide to be true to their purpose. It might not just be about the check going forward.

I have felt for a long time that the ski area industry can be a better place to work for all, and often I have felt like I’m barking up a tree. However, my mind knows that the better people feel about their work the better they will perform and that is a model that can help the ski area industry perform better financially and culturally, a sound business model.