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Why ‘mattering’ in the workplace doesn’t really matter

The new buzzword will do little to make employees feel more valued.

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The way to make someone feel that they are valued is to actually value them.

The way to make someone feel that they are valued is to actually value them.

PHOTO: PEXELS

Jemima Kelly

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For those of us not in attendance at the great private-jet-powered, sustainability-obsessed meeting of minds that was Davos this year, there was one buzzword brought back by attendees that have really stuck with me (or in my gullet, to be precise): “mattering”.

Supposedly, the “secret to management in a new hybrid-working economy” is not honouring working hours, or ensuring employees are achieving a proper work-life balance, or even just keeping in regular contact with them. No, the most crucial thing is “delivering” and “cultivating” something known as “mattering” – the belief that you are important to others in your workplace.

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