Do you and your workforce have a sense of purpose? If so, recent research on mortality reveals this could be a key factor in protecting employee health, both now and in the future.

Recent research from the University of Michigan has revealed that having a sense of purpose may help to protect against cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline associated with aging. The article “Mortality Linked to Having a Sense of Purpose” published on Neuroscience News outlines the evidence behind this finding, with data from over 6,000 people aged 50 years or older who took part in the Health and Retirement Study between 1992 and 2010.

The key findings reveal that those individuals with a greater sense of purpose had lower risk of mortality overall, as well as death related to cardiovascular disease when compared to those without such purpose in life. Further, those with high levels of perceived purpose showed slower decline in mental ability over time than those without in comparison. This could have implications for managers, business owners, supervisors and employees alike.

Having an understanding that an individual’s potential health outcomes are linked to their sense of purpose can provide powerful motivation to take action within leading roles, particularly when managing employees who may be ageing or facing challenges due to poor health. It is important to create an environment where it is safe for employees to express their sense of purpose through meaningful work activities – something which has been shown to improve wellbeing outcomes for workers at all stages of life. Managers should focus on providing opportunities for employees to direct their energy towards meaningful tasks that take into account their own personal goals and values – as this has been found to increase engagement in tasks as well as foster higher performance overall.

Furthermore, supervisors should seek out ways to ensure that everyone within the organisation feels they are making an important contribution; this could include setting clear expectations at the start of a role, offering feedback regularly during tasks or even just sharing success stories internally so team members feel valued and appreciated for their efforts. Each person needs to understand how their contributions make up part of the whole picture – something which will ultimately help them find meaning in work even as they age or face difficult situations outside the workplace.

Ultimately it is essential for managers and business owners across industries to consider how they can build staff capacity around having a sense of purpose by offering tailored support designed specifically for each individual’s needs — if we want our teams to stay healthy both now and later down the line.

Find out more in the original article here: (https://neurosciencenews.com/mortality-sense-purpose-21864/ )

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference.