Jennifer Wallace

They were building something meaningful.

Mattering at work is not some soft, squishy, nice-to-have idea.

It's actually good business.

When employees know they matter, they work harder, they stay more loyal, and they bring more energy to their roles.

To matter, we need to feel valued, but we also need a chance to add value.

And in my research, I uncovered a formula for doing this.

Identify a need in the world or in your community or in your neighborhood, and then use your strengths, your resources, your talents to meet it.

I interviewed a woman named Julie outside of Boston who discovered this for herself firsthand.

For two years, Julie was her mother's full-time caregiver.

When her mother passed away, Julie described feeling unmoored, purposeless.

But instead of retreating inward in her pain, Julie had the courage to look outward for a new way to matter.

And when she did, she noticed two needs in her community, grieving families like hers who were struggling with what to do with their loved ones' belongings, and other families who were rebuilding after a fire or experiencing homelessness.

So Julie connected the two.

With a friend, she started to collect gently used home goods and deliver them to people who could use them.

That simple act of care has transformed thousands of lives, including Julie's.

All of us here will go through painful life transitions, the loss of a loved one, an illness, maybe an empty nest, even retirement.

These transitions can shake our sense of mattering to its core.

But like Julie, we have an opportunity, even a responsibility, to make ourselves useful again.

The way back can start small, checking in on a neighbor or appreciating out loud a colleague who's always so kind and supportive.

What you will find is that the fastest way to feel like you matter again is to remind someone else why they do.