The Power of Purpose: How Organizational Purpose Strength Enhances Social Well-Being Within Work Teams

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has made explicit both the rise in loneliness and mental illness and the increase in remote work or working from home; a working condition shown to be related to loneliness, anxiety, and depression. This paper explores whether a strong organizational purpose, at the group level—defined as employees within a group understanding, valuing, and contributing to it—can generate bonds that promote social well-being at the group level in a dynamic and changing world. Using Partial Least Squares and a sample of 261 departments/groups of 31 organizations, we found that group-level organizational purpose strength fosters social well-being within work groups, as reflected in group-level sense of belonging and collaborative behaviors. We also identify group-level characteristics that may moderate these relationships. Our findings advance Social Identity Theory, Self-Determination Theory, and the emerging Theory of Purpose Orientation by extending prior research on organizational purpose. Earlier research has examined purpose mainly in relation to final outcomes like productivity and performance but has overlooked intermediate outcomes such as group-level social well-being—the focus of this study.