At various times in history, work was viewed as a necessary evil. "Compensation" was so-called because it was a way of softening the blow for a worker having to spend time doing something she'd rather not be doing.

Today, the feeling that one's work is meaningful is twice as powerful than the sense that one's pay is fair in determining a worker's satisfaction on the job. A sense of meaningful work also determines how innovative an employee is likely to be.

A strong "work-role identity" can be a hard loss during layoffs, felt as a sudden loss of personal purpose. People who study this phenomenon learn that workers develop meaning on their own.

Companies which are too heavy-handed with the impartation of mission statements and company values may find that these compete with the work-role identities of their employees. In an era of stagnant wages, employers will do well to understand that workers want purpose more than money.

In many cases, compensation convinces people to take a job, but a sense of meaning makes them stay. 

Read full article at Fast Company.