Less autopilot, more purpose

Less autopilot, more purpose

On this Labor Day, the statistics send a message that is hard to ignore: in Chile, nearly 3 out of every 4 workers do not feel fulfilled in their workplace (Purpose Index Study, Almabrands, 2025).

This point takes on particular urgency in the age of artificial intelligence and automation. Today, when technical execution can be delegated to an algorithm, true value shifts from the execution of the work to critical judgment and human sensitivity. That is why the invitation from Howard Thurman, philosopher and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., is more relevant than ever:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you feel alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have felt alive.”

For Thurman, who developed his philosophy amid the harsh racial segregation in the United States, the greatest social danger was not just injustice, but “death while still alive”: that state of going through life on autopilot, with one’s sense of purpose extinguished.

Although our context is different, the symptom is similar. In Chile, a large part of our workforce operates on that same autopilot. It is not just a matter of individual well-being; it is a deep wound to our productivity and competitiveness.

The fulfillment gap in our country is alarming: while 82% of executives and managers report feeling fulfilled, that figure drops dramatically to 25% among those in administrative, technical, or operational roles (Purpose Index, 2025). This disparity is confirmed in our study, “Pulse of Organizational Trust” (Almabrands, 2025), where we found gaps of up to 30 points in trust in the organization between those who supervise others and those who do not.

Why does this happen? One hypothesis is that, while executives and managers design the future, administrative staff, technicians, and operators feel they must simply carry out someone else’s vision within rigid frameworks. This view is short-sighted and transactional, but perfectly natural given our recent workplace history of hierarchies and silos.

For an employee to truly embrace their role, they must be able to “add their own touch.” It’s not about bypassing the process, but about allowing them to put their own personal stamp on it: for example, the nurse who, in addition to following medical protocol, uses her interpersonal skills to comfort a frightened child; or the employee who, on their own initiative, takes care of the surroundings or the premises so that the customer has a better experience.

In a service-based economy, true productivity lies in that “extra effort”: the administrative staff member who handles an emergency right before closing time, or the operator who manages the shift change so as not to interrupt operations.

Closing this gap requires a commitment from both segments of the organization:

Leading with Purpose: Directors and managers who stop viewing their personal style as a risk and start seeing it as the driving force behind excellence. Changing this mindset is the first and most important step.

Leading with Purpose: Directors and managers who stop viewing their personal style as a risk and start seeing it as the driving force behind excellence. Changing this mindset is the first and most important step.

Psychological safety: An environment where employees feel secure and motivated to step outside the technical script and contribute from a human perspective.

Psychological safety: An environment where employees feel safe and motivated to step outside the technical script and contribute from a human perspective.

The nudge: A nudge that opens the door for employees to view their work differently, reflect on what makes them feel proud at work, and explore more deeply why they do what they do.

The nudge: A nudge that opens the door for employees to view their work differently, reflect on what makes them feel proud at work, and explore more deeply why they do what they do.

Only in this way will we transform the world of work—moving away from viewing it as an exchange of hours for a paycheck and toward making it what Thurman dreamed of: a space where we can feel alive, empowered, and, ultimately, fulfilled.

Written by Cristián Irarrázaval, Culture and Leadership Manager at Almabrands.