Business

Making A Difference In Associations

Are making a difference and happiness linked? Curt Rosengren points to recent research supporting the connection.

Lately, I’ve been having watercooler chats with my staff, trying to get a better grasp of what we can do together to create the kind of workplace that inspires and excites folks. Working in non-profits, you come to understand that you make less money doing this type of work than if you did similar work in the for-profit sector (though, there are notable exceptions). You can’t rely on the paycheck to bring you complete satisfaction. So, why is it that us association professionals choose this field?

I think I can say that it is the feeling that you’re contributing to something greater than yourself. For me and the rest of my colleagues here, we’re working to make a difference in the world by supporting the field of alternative dispute resolution (which happens to include mediators). In a society where its become commonplace to take all of your problems to court and try to achieve some kind of victory in a zero-sum game, it’s incredibly gratifying to know that there’s a group of individuals out there who work to resolve conflicts in ways that benefit all parties.

Yet regardless of the type of association you work within (and trust me, there is practically an association for anything), and you make the work your profession, there’s a certain amount of love you bring to it. For instance, take the main points that Curt pulls from the USA Today article:

• You need to know your work is making a difference, and for whom…
• Personal contact with beneficiaries seems to make people happier and boost performance…
• There’s a high degree of motivation to help others…

The results we receive when our work and our souls are aligned offer far more than the numbers printed on a paycheck.

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