Crafting meaningful careers: Why organisations should care, and how they can help

Often, career crafting is seen as an individual pursuit. Something people do in their own time, on their own initiative. But what if organisations saw it differently? What if they recognised that they too have a vital role to play in helping their people build careers that are not only successful but also meaningful?

We’re entering an era where people are no longer satisfied with climbing ladders or chasing titles for their own sake. They want work that matters. Work that matters to them, and often also to the world around them. And organisations that support their people in this quest won’t just be doing the right thing ethically, they’ll also be setting themselves up for higher engagement, performance, retention, and wellbeing.

The role of organisations in Career Crafting

Career crafting is the practice of intentionally shaping your work (from big picture career decisions to daily tasks, and everything in between) to create and enjoy meaningfulness that lasts. While individuals must ultimately steer their own careers, organisations can (and should) play a powerful supporting role.

Why? Because when people find deeper meaning in their work, everyone wins. Research shows that meaningful work is strongly associated with higher job satisfaction, better wellbeing, greater engagement, and improved performance. At a time when retention and morale are under pressure, helping people craft their careers is both a strategic advantage and a moral imperative.

Here’s how organisations can help at each stage of the career crafting journey. (To find out more about this journey, and how organisations can support, you’ll want to get your hands on a copy of my book, Smart Careers: how to turn a mid-career crisis into a rewarding work life, out now with Bloomsbury Business).

Career Crafting map (from Smart Careers)

1. Heed the wake-up call

The journey begins with awareness. Many people have never been explicitly invited to consider what makes their work meaningful. Organisations can start by making space for that reflection.

This might look like workshops, conversations with managers, or internal communications messaging that frames meaningful work as a legitimate, important pursuit. Leaders should share their own experiences of finding (and losing, and re-finding) meaning in their careers: it normalises the idea that it’s okay to question and reshape your path.

2. Shape your purpose

Meaning is personal. What one person finds energising or purposeful, another might find draining. Organisations can support people in identifying what really matters to them, whether through coaching, career conversations, reflective tools or other assessments.

Importantly, this doesn’t need to involve grandiose ambitions. Meaningful work rarely means saving the world. It might mean solving interesting problems, helping others grow, contributing to a team, or seeing a tangible outcome from your efforts.

3. Small tweaks to roles

Once people have some clarity, the next step is to help them make small, meaningful adjustments to their existing roles. This is job crafting: tweaking what you do, how you do it, or how you think about it.

Managers are key here. They can create an environment where job crafting is actively encouraged and supported. That might mean allowing someone to take on a mentoring role, spend more time on a favourite task, pass on a draining responsibility, or simply reframe their work through a more meaningful lens.

4. Explore and experiment with bigger shifts

Sometimes, small tweaks aren’t enough. People may need to explore other roles or functions, to find their best fit. Organisations that offer ways to do this within the business reduce the risk of people needing to leave to grow.

Job shadowing, internal secondments, cross-functional projects, and short-term experiments can help people test out new directions without making irreversible changes. It’s career innovation, without the full career risk. And it helps organisations grow well-rounded, well-networked teams.

5. Savour and share

When people experience moments of meaning at work, they often happen quickly and disappear quietly. Organisations can amplify these moments by giving people space to reflect, share, and celebrate them.

Team meetings, retrospectives, storytelling sessions, or even digital platforms can allow people to name what felt meaningful and why. This not only boosts morale, but also helps others see new possibilities for finding meaning in their own work.

6. Navigating the dark sides

There’s a less talked-about side to meaningful work. When people care deeply about what they do, they can overextend, burn out, or feel intense disappointment when things go wrong. Helping people find meaning must go hand-in-hand with helping them set boundaries and manage expectations.

Organisations can support this by promoting sustainable work practices, providing psychological support, and training leaders to spot when passionate people are running on empty.

(Shhh.... there's an elephant in the room)

You’d be forgiven for wondering: “What if we help our people craft more meaningful careers, and they leave?”

It’s a fair question.

But ultimately the wrong one. Because, just like the old training adage (“What if we train people and they leave?”), the much better question is: “What if we don’t help them craft their careers, and they stay?”

Imagine a workforce full of people who feel stuck, disconnected, and uninspired. The hidden costs of disengagement are enormous. Not just in performance, but in culture, innovation, and wellbeing.

Helping people find meaning doesn't guarantee they’ll stay forever. But it dramatically increases the chance that while they’re with you, they’ll be energised, committed, and at their best. And if they do move on, they’ll leave as ambassadors, not escapees.

So what’s your first step?

If you’re a leader, HR professional, or team manager, you don’t have to have all the answers - but you do need to start the conversation. Career crafting isn’t just a personal journey; it’s an organisational opportunity.

By actively helping people understand, shape, and evolve their careers, you create a workplace where meaning isn’t accidental, but actually designed in. And in doing so, you create not just better jobs, but a better organisation.

It starts with a simple, powerful question:

“What would make your work more meaningful to you?”

Are you ready to ask it?

And if you need a little help, let me know. I support teams and organisations to use the principles and practices of career crafting to help their people create rewarding and productive work lives.

Photo by Sebastian Schuster via Unsplash