What HiringThing Loves About Work

We Spend ⅓ of Our Lives at Work—
Let’s Ensure We Love It

The average person will spend 90,000 hours—⅓ of their life—at work. That’s a long time, so it’s beneficial for workers and employers to like what they do, be engaged, and find a sense of pride or purpose in their work.

We’ve worked hard to cultivate a unique company culture here at HiringThing. We’re passionate about being a dynamic group that solves difficult problems and complex challenges. We’re deliberate about ensuring HiringThing is somewhere people love working. At the same time, we’re also intentional about ensuring the team can find purpose and pride in things outside our jobs (aka a healthy work/life balance).

Our team is made up of said dynamic group of people with myriad experiences, who love what they do, but understand that the job isn’t always the end-all-be-all. We were curious, on this day defined by love (whether that celebration of love was hoisted on us by greeting-card companies or no—this is being published on Valentine’s Day 2023, for anyone reading after the fact), what our team defines as “loving work.”

We asked a simple, open-ended question—”What do you love about work?”. Our team was able to interpret it however they wanted. “What do you love about work? Could mean:

• What do you love about your role (here in the company or more generally)? 
• What do you love about working with your team? Is there a particular work-related memory you look back on fondly? 
• Is there an aspect of your job you love that maybe others wouldn’t think of? A particularly satisfying (or just fun) task you love? 
• Is there any particularly insightful work advice you love?
• What’s the connection between what you value and what you do?

What HiringThing Loves About Work

Working Smarter, Not Harder, Is Key

“Here's a piece of work advice that I find particularly insightful: ‘Work smarter, not harder.’ This means that it's better to focus on being efficient and effective in your tasks, rather than just putting in a lot of time and effort without a clear direction. By working smarter, you can accomplish more in less time and find greater satisfaction in your work..” - Olivia Miller, Business Development Manager.

Research by the Harvard Business Review shows that, on average, 41% of workers' time is spent on activities that others could handle competently because we instinctively “cling to tasks that make us feel busy and thus important.” Delegation (whether that be to colleagues or technology) doesn’t make you lazy—it makes you smart (and can help you find more satisfaction in your role).

Company Culture Could Make or Break Your Work Experience

“I love that our company culture embraces curiosity and that we have the power to change something that we don't feel is helpful. Coming from a background where there was a written process for every action that had to be followed no matter what, it's refreshing to be able to implement change when we feel that there's a better way to do something.” - Amanda Clark, Director of Customer Success

We can’t overstate the importance of company culture. 46% of job seekers rate company culture as “an important factor” in their job search. At the same time, research from Deloitte found 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe strong company culture is paramount to business success. 

Work Provides Purpose

“For better or worse, work gives me a feeling of identity outside of my home life (I don't need to say it, but I will: I LOVE LOVE LOVE my home life🙂). I like having responsibilities and a 'different' persona outside of the house. Work also helps bring a sense of routine which I personally crave and need to be a productive human.”  -Lindsey Anderson, Product Manager

McKinsey found that 70% of employees say work is important to their sense of purpose. 82% of employees believe it’s important their company has a purpose. If you’re a part of your company’s leadership team, ensure your company’s mission and values are discussed often (and evolve them as necessary).

So are Values

“The connection between what I do and what I value most is teaching and learning. Living in the mindset of “every day there is something new to discover” really serves me well in the Human Resources world. The human experience is not static and love being able to foster an environment where people feel they have the support to grow and the space to learn through trial and error. 

My side hustle is film and photography. I think that falls into the same category. I love telling the story, helping people capture the moments that are life experience and sharing it with people who might not have the opportunity to experience it firsthand.” - Becca Noland, HR Manager

77% of workers report that they’ve experienced workplace burnout, which is costly to companies. We don’t expect our employees to commit 100% of their lives to HiringThing. In fact, we love chatting with each other about travel, weekend endeavors, hobbies, or side hustles, whether those be photography, writing, podcasting, acting, hiking, woodworking, or playing in a band.

Growth is a Motivator

“I love how much this company allows for growth and self-improvement. I feel very lucky to have landed in a place where I am seen as a person with valuable skills, rather than an employee doing a job.” - Elaine Gingery, Support Services Team Lead

87% of millennials (currently the largest generation in the workplace) say career development is essential when searching for new roles. Additionally, 76% of employees are looking for opportunities to expand their careers, and 94% say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development. 

Collaboration is Key…And so Is Algebra (for our COO, at least 🙂)

“I love the feeling of joy that I get at work from solving a complex, difficult problem. This frequently happens collaboratively with another person or in a small group, and when it does, it's even more rewarding. The positive energy seems to be bigger when it's shared with others. Does it also secretly spark joy when I get to use algebra at work? You bet (insert geek face emoji here).” Jess Tejani, COO

Research shows employees working together stuck with challenging tasks 64% longer than solitary peers, and companies that promote collaboration are 5x more likely to be high performing than companies that don’t. That being said, studies also find that workers tend not to collaborate when there’s little incentive to do so, which should be a wake-up call for companies not emphasizing working together. Editor’s Note: The writer of this post didn’t look up any positive algebra stats because “algebra” happens to be his trigger word. 

There’s Power in Mentorship

“The best part of my role, and why I love being in leadership, is being able to watch my team grow and be a part of that development. It's no secret that learning and growth, both professionally and personally, are passions of mine, and to have even a small hand in the growth of my team members is incredible. I love watching how people change and find what fills their bucket or bloom in confidence or move toward a different direction in their career path. It's my favorite part of leadership and what lights me up the most.” -Noël Phillips, Director of Partner Success

97% of individuals who’ve had a professional mentor say they’ve found it a valuable experience. Strong managers (like Noël!) realize this and don’t just manage but cultivate, which works well in their favor—retention rates for employees who receive mentorship are 72% (compared to 49% for those who don’t have any) and 89% of those who’ve been mentored go out of their way to mentor others.

Hiring Happiness® is Contagious

“I have spent the better part of 18 years in the Recruitment and HR Technology industries. Nothing makes me happier than laying my head down at night, knowing that my daily work impacts individual people’s livelihood.  I have found that my ‘professional life’s work’ is to enable work.  From the time (18 years ago) I took a chance on a guy I believed in (who didn’t believe in himself) and placed him on his first temp assignment to today when a Partner shared that they found their ‘Purple Squirrel’ using the technology the company I call home provides, I find myself forever grateful that I was called to this work!” - Courtney Pergolski, Partner Success Representative 

9 out of 10 workers would trade a percentage of their earnings for work that feels more meaningful—finding your “why” (as Courtney has) is essential. For employees, figuring out what makes you feel fulfilled at work can improve that experience. For employers, it’s beneficial to help your staff figure out what they find meaningful about their jobs.

What Do You Love About Work?

As you can see from those answers, teamwork and collaboration are important to us here at HiringThing. We believe we learn the most from each other, so want to open up the question to anyone reading: what do you love about work? Interpret the question however you see fit, and let us know in the comments.

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Related Resources

• Why HiringThing Loves Remote Work
• Turn Culture Fit Into Culture Add
• Building Culture with a Fully Remote Team
• The Benefits of People-Forward Workplace Leaders

About HiringThing

HiringThing is a modern recruiting platform as a service that creates seamless hiring experiences. Our private label applicant tracking system and open API enable technology and service providers to embed hiring capabilities from sourcing to onboarding. Approachable and adaptable, the platform empowers anyone, anywhere, to hire their dream team. 

If, based on this post, you think HiringThing is somewhere you can see yourself loving to work, check out our open positions: