Does purpose matter more than money?

Survey finds purpose matters more than salary.
As students return to campuses this week in pursuit of higher education and better job prospects Businessweek writes about revelations in aspiring MBAs and their career choices. Businessweek’s article on MBAs Say Values Matter More Than Money is another sign of the big shift happening in attitudes towards professionals’ working lives.  As Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy  P.Diddy  so eloquently said sometimes mo’ money means mo’ problems and as two former MBAers it’s not surprising that mo’ business students are looking for jobs with purpose.

Businessweek reports that 85% of aspiring MBAs would take a 15% pay cut to work for an organization with values that match their own. Breaking the long held notion that all MBAers are only about the money, some of the brightest minds graduating from top tier schools are striking off on career paths with more meaning. That means a company’s triple bottom line (people, planet and profit) are just as important to prospective employees as a company’s salary package. It’s looking like our Purple Sheep herd is about to get a whole lot bigger.

B-Schools Adjusting
As a result of this trend, schools are adjusting their curriculum to incorporate social and environmental issues. In a shout out to Canadian institutions, the article notes the University of Alberta’s Starting a Social Venture course as one example, part of a program that we profiled in our blog post on Where to Study Corporate Social Responsibility. Students are also looking for better career support when it comes to social and environmental business careers. This is one area where Bmeaningful can help; check out current job postings here.

At one point in the article, Businessweek suggests that, according to the survey results, sustainability has gone mainstream. Attitudes about career choice look to be on the move towards more meaning and purpose. Do you think it’s gone mainstream? Tell us what you think in the comments below.