{"id":123545,"date":"2019-04-11T14:14:27","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T18:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=123545"},"modified":"2026-01-05T14:47:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T19:47:15","slug":"bates-gallup-study-finds-purpose-gap-between-what-college-graduates-want-and-find-in-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2019\/04\/11\/bates-gallup-study-finds-purpose-gap-between-what-college-graduates-want-and-find-in-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Bates-Gallup study finds \u2018purpose gap\u2019 between what college graduates seek and find in their work"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 80 percent of college graduates say it\u2019s important to derive a sense of purpose from their work, according to a new study by Bates College and the polling firm Gallup \u2014 but less than 50 percent actually find such purpose in their jobs.<\/p>\n

The discovery of a significant \u201cpurpose gap\u201d among college graduates today was among the major findings of \u201cForging Pathways to Purposeful Work: The Role of Higher Education<\/a>,\u201d released in a major media event on April 10 at Gallup World Headquarters in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
Bates-Gallup in the News<\/h6>\n

Media outlets locally and nationally are reporting findings of the Bates-Gallup study<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

Presented to more than 100 attendees at Gallup plus a livestream audience<\/a>, the morning announcement featured an overview of the report as well as an interview with Bates President Clayton Spencer by Carolyn Ryan \u201986, assistant managing editor at The New York Times<\/em>. Ryan also moderated a discussion among academic and industry experts.<\/p>\n

\"Bates<\/a>

The Bates-Gallup survey was presented to more than 100 attendees at Gallup World Headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Cheriss May for Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

Representing the views of nearly 4,000 respondents, including college graduates, hiring managers, and parents of college students, the report was commissioned by Bates as a way to test the premise of the college\u2019s Purposeful Work program: that helping students find purpose in work allows them to achieve agency, adaptability, and, ultimately, a sense of well-being and meaning in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n

The so-called purpose gap between what graduates seek and what they are finding is a problem for both graduates and employers because there is a strong correlation between employees\u2019 engagement in work and an organization\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n

\""Purposeful<\/a>

President Clayton Spencer talks about the Bates-Gallup report with Carolyn Ryan ’86, assistant managing editor for The New York Times<\/em>. (Cheriss May for Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cWe heard overwhelmingly from employers that hiring candidates with a sense of purpose is critically important to them, too,\u201d said Helen Stubbs, a senior consultant at Gallup who oversaw the study.<\/p>\n

\u201cPurposeful work is work that aligns how you act in the world with your deepest interests, values, and strengths,\u201d Spencer told Ryan, adding that the key to closing the purpose gap \u201cis to make sure you are producing students who have agency and adaptability throughout a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report found that the purpose gap is a particular problem for millennials\u00a0\u2014 the largest single segment of the American workforce\u00a0\u2014 because millennials are more likely than older graduates to seek purpose from work than from other sources.<\/p>\n

\"Bates<\/a>

Audience members react during the Bates-Gallup study announcement on April 10 in Washington, D.C. (Cheriss May for Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

The report noted that colleges can provide four key experiences that equip graduates to find purpose in their work by:<\/p>\n