Can Work and Growth Coexist?
Since the shift in the meaning of work as necessity (1950s) to work as meaningful and with a purpose has many of us questioning and wondering about why and how we work. For many of us, work is more than a paycheck. It’s a place where we aspire to grow, learn, and build meaningful connections. But in practice, fostering growth at work is far from straightforward.

Organizations often prioritize immediate business objectives over individual development. Employees are hired to fulfill specific tasks, and opportunities for growth are expected to align strictly with those tasks. If anyone wishes to explore skills or learning outside the confines of their role—skills that might benefit the organization in the long run—those ambitions often remain unfulfilled.
This disconnect leaves many feeling stuck. Add to this the rise of performance metrics, productivity tools, and surveillance technologies, and it’s easy to see why risk-taking or innovation often feels discouraged. The result? Employees yearning for growth but constrained by systemic barriers.
So, what’s the way forward? There is no simple solution to this conundrum. And as a matter of fact we have enough awareness of this problem or growth at work. In 2022, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported on Higher Ed is a Land of Dead End Jobs. Perhaps it is true of other industries as well. At its core, this conversation raises broader questions: How might we orient ourselves to the systemic constraints? How might a changed orientation to work allow us to grow in other parts of life?