If your team is disengaged and productivity is low, it is not necessarily because they dislike their role. Data from Gallup demonstrates a bleak reality – 80% of the global workforce is ‘quiet quitting’ or ‘loud quitting’, while nine in ten British employees are disengaged at work. Yet, 80% of employees actually enjoy the work they do. So, if their role isn’t the problem, what is? 

The real driver behind disengagement and low productivity isn’t workload, it’s culture. Almost 50% of employees admit to being bored at work and one of the key reasons is a lack of purpose. 82% of the workforce sees purpose as critical to their job, yet fewer than 28% actually feel their workplace gives them a genuine sense of meaning.     

Purpose is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’

Disengagement is becoming the default, despite hybrid flexibility, tech advances, and endless culture initiatives. What’s missing is authentic purpose, woven into the DNA of how work gets done, not just talked about. And in today’s climate of AI acceleration, economic uncertainty, and global crises, that’s no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a commercial necessity.

The good news: purpose is more than an ethical stance – it’s a productivity tool, a retention engine, and a culture catalyst. So how can you rebuild purpose in your organisation to create engaged and fulfilled teams?

The death of performative purpose

Despite every company seeming to care about purpose – polished press releases, heartfelt LinkedIn posts, detailed CSR reports – employees might not be seeing it in action. People don’t want to read pledges, they want continuous opportunities to make a real impact. 

When purpose is just a marketing line, it backfires. Performative purpose fuels cynicism, drives disengagement and undermines trust.     

For example, Deloitte research finds that while 90% of Gen Z and Millennials associate purpose with job satisfaction, 70% cite environmental credentials as a critical motivator in choosing employers, and 15% have left roles where environmental action is insufficient. 

In an era where AI risks stripping work of its human element, leaders who make purpose real – visible in everyday workflows – gain an edge in productivity and loyalty.

Three ways to embed purpose in your culture

Here are three effective shifts that thousands of companies have taken to produce more engaged, connected, energised and loyal workforces. 

1. Integrate CSR into everyday operations, not just special events

Most CSR initiatives fail because they feel performative, random and irrelevant, making them feel like more of an obligation than an endeavour. To make a real impact, social and sustainability actions need to be integrated into daily workflows naturally. This doesn’t have to be an administrative headache. 

Daily microactions can contribute to a bigger picture whilst embedding CSR into culture. Consider logging eco-friendly actions into social impact platforms, providing options to mentor younger colleagues, or setting up donation points for local foodbanks. These actions should be small, visible, and consistent enough to become part of “how we work here.”      

Currently, the disconnect is real. According to a recent OnHand report, 77% of UK companies offer paid volunteering time, but 38% of employees never use it, and fewer than 10% engage regularly. So if the programs exist, why is participation and purpose low? Because consistency, clarity, encouragement, and relevance are missing, too. Integrating CSR into daily flows is how that gap gets closed.

Measuring impact is key to this disconnect. Collecting and communicating metrics like participation rates and volunteering hours provides clarity and boosts motivation.     

     When purpose is built into the day-to-day, paid time for volunteering stops feeling like a big ask and starts to feel like the obvious next step. This helps employees associate work with purpose, not obligation. 

2. Get leaders to actually show up

If you want people to care, your boardroom needs to demonstrate they care too. 

Leadership participation is a pinnacle in every example of embedded purpose working. When executives volunteer alongside their teams, log their impact, and voice support for others doing the same, more people will follow. 

This is evident from OnHand’s aforementioned study, with 72% of employees believing their workplace doesn’t value volunteers more highly. This is largely because volunteering isn’t visible, recognised or continuously discussed. When leaders don’t encourage or recognise good deeds, fewer employees are motivated – and purpose is left behind. 

An example of what good looks like

A CEO personally joined a team volunteer event, setting the tone for company-wide participation. They stayed and engaged beyond the scheduled time, even skipping a planned pub trip, demonstrating how visible, values-based leadership can inspire deeper cultural commitment.

When leaders model purpose in action, it sends a signal: this matters here.           

3. Use gamification to encourage purpose

The use of game-like elements (such as points, competition, and rewards) boost engagement in non-game settings. Not only do these track progress and encourage recognition, they offer a way to make CSR fun. Friendly competition and team spirit are key to culture. Purpose and meaning should feel exciting. 

We’ve seen gamification spark real change. Leaderboards become a source of workplace banter, and impact challenges become part of daily routines. Even employees with little interest in traditional volunteering are encouraged to get involved simply to beat rival departments. 

In AI-augmented workplaces where many tasks are increasingly automated, gamified micro-actions can restore a sense of human connection, making employees feel like active contributors, not passive cogs.

The return of purpose

The old ‘work hard, get rewarded’ contract is broken. Today’s employees, especially Gen Z,  expect their work to mean something and see it in action.      

The impact of purpose is undeniable. Nearly 40% of OnHand respondents said volunteering alone boosts their productivity, morale, and workplace relationships. Purpose isn’t a distraction from business; it’s a driver of it.

If you’re serious about purpose and its impact on culture, do this:

• Make action effortless in practice. Busy people don’t want more admin, they want something simple, accessible and visible.
• Get leaders involved. Culture spreads when leaders go first. 
• Make good deeds fun. Gamification not only creates a sense of purpose, it also supports more engaged, connected teams.

When done right, purpose is profitable, scalable and sustainable. And in a world where disengagement is creeping in as the default, it’s the most underused productivity tool you have.

Curious to learn more about authentic purpose?

Sanjay Lobo will be presenting a keynote on this very topic at the Culture Pioneers Leadership Forum 2025 on 16th October in London. Expect candid insights, real-world examples and practical methods you can apply the next day. Book your tickets here.