Mattering at work.
It’s a phrase that doesn’t show up on quarterly reports. It’s not something executives discuss in board meetings, or investors analyze in earnings calls. But it’s there, shaping the undercurrent of every workplace, quietly determining who stays, who thrives, and who quietly disengages before eventually walking out the door.
Because when people feel like they don’t matter, no amount of salary, perks, or promotions will make them stay.
Now, imagine you’re sitting in a boardroom. You’re surrounded by some of the sharpest minds in the company, executives with decades of experience. The numbers are all on the screen: revenue is up, productivity metrics are strong, and attrition seems stable.
On paper, everything looks great.
And yet—something feels off.
The energy in the room is subdued. Conversations are clipped. Eyes flicker to phones, scanning emails instead of engaging in discussion. The team should be celebrating these wins, but instead, there’s a weight in the air—an invisible but unmistakable disengagement.
What’s happening?
For decades, we’ve assumed that leadership is about numbers—about revenue, about market share, about efficiency. We track financial performance like a heart monitor, believing that if the numbers look good, then leadership must be working.
But what if we’ve been measuring leadership all wrong?
What if the real problem—the one that leads to quiet quitting, burnout, and turnover—is something we don’t even track?
It’s not about salary.
It’s not about promotions.
It’s not about perks.
It’s about mattering at work.
The best leaders—the ones who build organizations where people want to be—understand this intuitively. They don’t just focus on execution; they focus on creating an environment where people feel valued, seen, and essential.
Because when people feel like they matter, they don’t just work harder.
They care more.
And that changes everything.
The Science of Why People Stay (Or Leave)
We assume people leave jobs because of pay, workload, or bad bosses. But the research tells a different story.
✅ Only 31% of employees feel engaged at work.
✅ 70% of high performers would take a pay cut to work for a leader who genuinely values them. (Harvard Business Review)
✅ One-third of employees leave their jobs simply because they feel unchallenged.
This means people are willing to earn less if it means working in an environment where they feel respected and appreciated.
The question isn’t why do people quit?
The real question is why do they stay?
And the answer, more often than not, comes down to one thing: mattering at work.
This isn’t just about turnover—it’s about employee engagement. When employees feel like they matter, engagement rises. They contribute more, take initiative, and stay committed to their work.
Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, a leading researcher on well-being and workplace satisfaction, puts it this way:
“We assume that happiness and meaning are enough, but research shows that when people lack psychological richness—when they aren’t exposed to new challenges or fresh perspectives—they begin to feel stagnant. And in the workplace, stagnation is the beginning of disengagement.”
In other words, people don’t just want stability and purpose at work. They need opportunities to grow, stretch, and evolve.
But when employees feel invisible? Engagement plummets. They stop sharing ideas, they become disengaged in meetings, and eventually, they check out—mentally first, then physically.
And yet, most leaders miss this entirely. The need to build a culture of mattering.
The Leadership Blind Spot
Leadership books are obsessed with strategy. They teach us how to optimize, how to maximize, how to push for higher performance.
But they ignore something fundamental: human motivation.
Because leadership isn’t just about driving outcomes—it’s about shaping environments.
The best leaders don’t just measure results. They measure mattering.
They ask:
- Do my employees feel seen?
- Do they feel heard?
- Do they feel like their work makes a difference?
And those who get this right—who make mattering at work a priority—build organizations where people want to stay.
The Case for Mattering: Why Some Leaders Inspire Loyalty
There are two types of leaders.
Leader A: Runs an efficient operation, meets targets, and optimizes execution.
Leader B: Does all of that and ensures people feel valued, heard, and invested in the mission.
Under Leader A, employees show up, do their work, and collect a paycheck. But they’re emotionally detached.
Under Leader B, employees go above and beyond—not because they have to, but because they care.
Why? Because they feel like they matter.
“At the end of the day, people won’t remember what you achieved—they’ll remember how you made them feel. That is mattering at work”
John R. Miles
Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, understood this. He made baristas feel like partners, giving them stock options and reinforcing their role in the company’s success. The result? Higher engagement, lower turnover, and a culture where employees genuinely cared.
At Pixar, Ed Catmull implemented the Braintrust model, ensuring that everyone—regardless of rank—had a voice in creative decisions. The result? An environment where people felt deeply connected to their work.
This isn’t an accident. It’s mattering at work in action.
The Four Pillars of Mattering at Work
So how do you actually lead in a way that makes people stay?
🔹 1. Personal Mattering – Do You Believe Your Leadership Has Purpose?
Before leaders can inspire others, they must believe their work matters. When leaders lack clarity and purpose, employee engagement suffers because people take cues from leadership.
🔹 2. Relational Mattering – Do Employees Feel Seen and Heard?
Employee engagement is directly tied to recognition. When people feel acknowledged and appreciated—not just for results, but for their effort—engagement skyrockets.
🔹 3. Organizational Mattering – Do Employees Have Ownership?
People invest in what they help build. Leaders who give employees a voice create cultures of accountability and commitment.
🔹 4. Legacy Mattering – Will Your Leadership Have a Lasting Impact?
If employees don’t see a future for themselves within your company, they disengage. Organizations with strong engagement programs see 59% lower turnover.
When leaders focus on these four dimensions of mattering at work, they create environments where engagement, loyalty, and performance thrive.
The Leadership Challenge
So here’s the challenge:
Are you the kind of leader people will fight to work for—or the reason they start looking for another job?
Most leaders focus on performance metrics—but the great ones focus on people metrics.
Because at the end of the day, mattering isn’t a soft skill. It’s the foundation of leadership.
And the leaders who get this right?
They don’t just build successful companies.
They build teams that thrive.
Final Thought
The numbers will tell you whether a company is profitable.
But if you want to know whether a company will last—look at whether its people feel like they matter.
Because when employees feel invisible, they leave.
When they feel valued, they stay.
And when they feel like their work truly matters?
They give their best—every single day.
So, how will you lead?
