While Christmas shopping, I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in over a year. She looked amazing. Healthy, happy, energetic. She said her new job was making all the difference.

She had changed companies about a year ago and she loved her new position.

I knew she had been very dissatisfied in her last role. The pay was low, and the hours were long, but it hadn’t deterred her. She had believed in the organization’s mission. She happily put heart and soul into her work.

What eventually wore her down was how little she felt valued by the leadership team.

Her ideas for growth were often dismissed or ignored. Any attempt at change in her own job or the organization was discouraged. She knew a lot of the processes were not working well, but her superiors would not entertain the idea of change. They simply wanted to continue to do what had always been done.

After years of frustration, she began to look for a new job.

Then, about a year ago, right before the pandemic, she had been hired at a new company. She loved it.

She enjoyed what she was doing, she felt that she was part of a great team, and her ideas were valued. It seemed like the perfect combination for her.

It also reminded me of something I read in the book Building Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength by Samantha Boardman, MD.

According to research, building vitality relies on boosting the following three basic psychological needs:

1.  Autonomy: the freedom to make your own choices, including planning ahead and making decisions that reflect your values

2. Competence: the feeling of effectiveness and completing meaningful work

3. Relatedness: a feeling of connection to others, such as engaging in meaningful conversation

My friend had met all three needs in her new position.

Then I thought about my own career and when I have enjoyed my roles most.

Again, it was the times when I felt I had freedom to make choices, a feeling of competence while I completed meaningful work and when I was part of a great team. When one of these needs were missing from the equation, I noticed the enjoyment of my job also dipped.

As an employer it seems so simple to make this possible. However, when I have held the role of employer, supervisor, and a leader, I don’t think I considered if those who worked for or with me felt autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Most seemed content with their job, but I wonder if I set the conditions to have these basic needs met. I’m not sure.

Going forward I will make this a priority.

As a challenge this week, I invite you think about your role and where you can create autonomy, competence, and relatedness for yourself and others.

Bringing a little more of one or all of these basic needs may make a big difference to your work culture.