Making work meaningful: A leader’s guide

McKinsey report on how to engage employees.

> People who find meaning at work are happier, more productive, and more engaged. Four practical interventions can help make the search more likely to succeed.

I am struck by how two of the four interventions listed are fundamentally about understanding your users better.

> ### Reduce anonymity
> Talk with employees about who their customers are, and encourage each employee to connect with one.
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> Build regular, face-to-face interactions with customers into existing processes, stimulating employees to learn who is most affected by their work.
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> ### Help people grasp the impact of their work
> Invite customers who have had the best—and worst—experiences with your products to talk with employees in person so your team can see how their work affects customers.

Another reason why user experience is worth it.

Your employees’ user experience should be a strategic priority

Enterprise software is notoriously bad — and that’s bad for business.

A poor user interface sends a message to employees that their time and commitment have little value, and that — just as my engineer colleague believed — the problem is their own fault. Then leaders wonder why their people don’t innovate or embrace change…

There’s a lot of good stuff here, so I had some trouble picking just one thing to highlight. Read on to see why actually watching people try to use your design is vital.