Tony’s Chocolonely
Uses a Mission Lock with independent Mission Guardians and a golden share to protect its mission legally.4
Blog 15
Purpose and relevance drive employer choice
Trend 6 · HR trends 2026
Purpose and relevance drive employer choice
New generations look not only at what an employer offers, but also at what the organisation stands for and the value it creates.
Salary, security and development opportunities remain important. But job applicants are increasingly asking another question too: does this organisation align with what matters to me?
New generations in particular want to know what an organisation stands for, what value it creates and whether everyday practice matches its stated values. As a result, purpose and social relevance are shifting from employer communications to labour market strategy.
For HR, this represents a fundamental change. Organisations are no longer judged only on what they offer employees, but also on what they mean to others.
42%
of employees in the Netherlands would not accept a job if the organisation’s values did not align with their own.2
In this article
The choice of employer is changing
Deloitte’s global survey of more than 23,000 Gen Zers and millennials shows that 89% of Gen Z and 92% of millennials consider a sense of purpose important to job satisfaction and wellbeing. Around 44% of both groups say they have left a role in which they did not experience enough purpose. About four in ten have rejected an employer, assignment or project because of their personal beliefs or ethical boundaries.1
Purpose does not replace salary, job security or a healthy work-life balance. These factors continue to carry considerable weight, especially in economically uncertain times. Purpose becomes particularly important when applicants are comparing several similar employers.
That is when relevance can make the difference. Does the organisation make a visible contribution to customers, employees or society? Do its products and services meet genuine needs? Do employees recognise the organisation’s values in management decisions? And can an applicant understand how their role contributes to the bigger picture?
Purpose is not becoming an idealistic luxury, but part of how people choose an employer.
An organisation that cannot provide a credible answer may lose talent to employers that communicate their significance more clearly and convincingly.
Not every employee is looking for a calling
An important nuance is that not everyone wants to find their entire purpose in life through work. Purpose can take different forms.
In a representative US survey by Gallup, 25% of employees had a strong sense of purpose at work, 39% a moderate sense and 37% a low sense. Only 22% saw their work as a direct expression of their personal life purpose. For 44%, work primarily enabled them to pursue meaningful goals outside work.3
This distinction is essential for HR. Organisations do not need to promise that every job will become a calling. They do need to show:
- why the work matters;
- who benefits from the work;
- how a role contributes to results;
- what scope employees have to use their talents;
- and how work can coexist with a meaningful life outside the organisation.
Purpose is therefore not only about social impact. Craftsmanship, autonomy, development, collaboration and service can also make work meaningful.
Meaning is created in everyday work
A purpose statement on a website is not enough. Applicants and employees look at the concrete reality behind the story.
An organisation may say that sustainability matters while making choices that directly contradict it. It may promise to put people first while employees are structurally overloaded. Or it may make development a priority without providing the time and space to learn.
In such situations, purpose becomes counterproductive. The gap between words and behaviour erodes trust.
A credible purpose must therefore be visible in leadership and decision-making, the design of work, selection and promotion, investments, commercial choices, and the way employees, customers and partners are treated. Openness about dilemmas and shortcomings is part of this too.
Danone
Has incorporated its purpose and its social and environmental objectives into its articles of association, with oversight and independent assurance.5
Patagonia
Has linked its ownership structure to the protection of nature and the climate.6
These models will not suit every organisation. They do make clear that purpose gains strength only when it has consequences.
Meaningful work is linked to engagement
Research shows strong links between meaningful work and positive work outcomes. A scientific meta-analysis of 44 studies with a total of 23,144 participants found strong relationships with work engagement, organisational commitment and job satisfaction. Meaningful work was also associated with a lower intention to leave.7
This does not mean that purpose automatically improves performance. The quality of leadership, autonomy, workload, psychological safety and development opportunities remains decisive.
Figures from the Netherlands make this relationship visible. In the 2025 Netherlands Working Conditions Survey, 54% of employees reported high work engagement and 69% felt connected to their organisation. At the same time, 21% reported burnout symptoms, compared with 13% in 2015.8
A meaningful mission cannot compensate for unhealthy work.
In fact, highly committed employees may carry on for too long when they feel that the mission takes priority over their personal boundaries. Good employment practice remains the foundation. Purpose provides direction, but must never be used as an excuse for excessive workloads, limited pay or unrealistic expectations.
HR becomes the translator of purpose
This trend places an important responsibility on HR. Purpose cannot sit solely with communications, marketing or the board. HR translates the organisation’s mission into the experience of applicants and employees.
That process begins in recruitment. Job descriptions should not only explain the tasks involved, but also make clear what contribution the role makes. Interviews should create room to explore mutual values and expectations.
After someone joins, that promise must remain recognisable. This requires HR to:
- Make the contribution tangibleShow employees who benefits from their work and which outcomes their contribution makes possible.
- Connect work with talentExplore what gives people energy, which qualities they naturally draw on and the environment in which they function best.
- Test values against behaviourMeasure not only whether employees know the core values, but also whether they recognise them in decisions, leadership and collaboration.
- Allow for different sources of meaningFor one person, meaning lies in social impact; for another, it lies in craftsmanship, colleagues, development or a healthy balance with life outside work.
- Make dilemmas discussableA credible organisation does not pretend that all interests naturally align. It shows how choices between profit, people and social impact are made.
Less regulatory pressure, continued societal pressure
European sustainability regulation played a major role in the original debate about purpose. That context changed in 2026.
Directive (EU) 2026/470 has significantly narrowed the mandatory scope of the CSRD. In essence, the reporting obligation applies to undertakings with an average of more than 1,000 employees and net turnover exceeding EUR 450 million.9
For many organisations, this reduces the direct regulatory reporting burden. The need for transparency, however, does not disappear. Major customers, financiers, value-chain partners and applicants may still want to know what social value an organisation creates.
Consumers also pay close attention to trust and relevance. In an international study from 2026, 88% named trust as an important or decisive purchasing criterion, almost as important as quality and value for money.10
Relevance therefore extends beyond compliance. Organisations must be able to explain why they deserve to exist and support that answer with visible behaviour.
Technology makes the human contribution more visible
Artificial intelligence is taking over a growing number of routine, administrative and analytical tasks. As a result, the content of jobs is changing too.
The question is no longer only which tasks people will continue to perform, but above all where their human contribution creates the most value. Qualities such as empathy, creativity, judgement, collaboration and meaning-making become more important as technology supports a larger share of the process.
This gives HR a dual responsibility: preparing employees for technological change and redesigning work so that people can use their qualities in meaningful ways.
In that context, purpose becomes more personal. Employees want to understand where they make a difference, which talents are needed in the new working environment and how their development aligns with the organisation’s direction.
How Voice Your Future can help
A credible connection between personal meaning and organisational goals begins with insight into people.
Voice Your Future supports organisations with voice analyses and an AI coach that provide insight into personality, talents, drivers and development directions. These insights can be used to deepen conversations about roles, collaboration, development and the working environment.
When employees better understand what gives them energy and organisations make clear where their contribution makes a difference, purpose becomes an everyday experience. Not every employee needs to have the same personal mission. There does, however, need to be a sufficient connection between who someone is, what they do and what the organisation stands for.
Conclusion: relevance is becoming part of being an employer
Purpose is not a substitute for salary, good leadership or healthy working conditions. It is, however, becoming an increasingly important criterion when choosing a job, especially for new generations that look more consciously at values, meaning and social contribution.
This changes the central HR question. It is no longer only: Why would someone want to work for us? Increasingly, it becomes: Why would someone want to commit to our organisation?
Organisations that have a credible answer strengthen their position in the labour market. Organisations that use purpose primarily as a communications device face a greater risk of losing trust.
The new generation is not looking for a perfect employer. It is looking for an organisation whose story matches reality.
Connect talent with your organisation’s purpose
Discover how personal drivers, talent and organisational goals can be connected more effectively.
Sources
The figures and practical examples in this article are based on the publications below.
- Deloitte. Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey 2025.
- Randstad. Workmonitor Netherlands 2025.
- Gallup and Stand Together. The Power of Purpose (2025).
- Tony’s Chocolonely. Tony’s Mission Lock.
- Danone. Société à Mission and Mission Committee Report 2025.
- Patagonia. Work in Progress Report 2025.
- Allan, B. A. et al. Outcomes of Meaningful Work: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Management Studies.
- TNO and Statistics Netherlands. Nationale Enquête Arbeidsomstandigheden 2025.
- European Union. Directive (EU) 2026/470.
- Edelman. Trust Barometer Special Report 2026.
