BFM 89.9

HIGHLIGHTS 
Podcast  >  Enterprise  >  The Workplace  >  Is Workplace Purpose Real or Just a Buzzword?

Is Workplace Purpose Real or Just a Buzzword?

Sheila Singam, Founder & Managing Partner, Human Equation

08-Oct-25 11:00

Is Workplace Purpose Real or Just a Buzzword?

“Purpose” has become one of the most overused words in corporate culture, often pinned to walls, baked into mission statements, and repeated in town halls. But when the spreadsheets close and KPIs take over, how much of that purpose really holds up?

We speak with Sheila Singam, Founder and Managing Partner of Human Equation, about the tension between personal meaning and business metrics. What happens when an employee’s sense of purpose doesn’t align with company goals? Can leaders authentically integrate purpose into performance, or is it just another feel-good management fad?

From hidden costs in morale and retention to stories of companies that got it right (and wrong), this conversation dives into the fine line between inspired work and performative purpose.

Produced by: Carol Wong

Presented by: Richard Bradbury


This and more than 60,000 other podcasts in your hand. Download the all new BFM mobile app.

Categories:  the workplacemanagingCorporatesentrepreneurspersonal development

Tags:  performance based incentivescorporate cultureworkplace ethicspurpose driven culture





Play / Pause

Listen now : Bar None: (REPEAT) A local football agent joins us in this episode...

Today’s Shows



11:00 AM

Best of Enterprise

(REPEAT) Sunway University’s Dr. Kenneth Cafferkey, a professor specialising in high-performance work systems, joins us to unpack "always-on" culture, a modern workplace trap.

12:00 PM

Popcorn Culture

(REPEAT) We review Avatar: Fire and Ash and replay some of our best moments from the year.

1:00 PM

Cruise Control

(REPEAT) How does the Zeekr 009 Executive fair against its competitors? Daniel shares his thoughts.

2:00 PM

Matt-Splained

(REPEAT)

3:00 PM

Earth Matters

(REPEAT) In this ‘Best of 2025’ replay, we hear from Gerimis Art’s co-founder Wendi Sia, to discover more about the Mah Meri’s bunga moyang, or ancestral spirit flowers, that reflect a way of life in harmony with nature.

4:00 PM

Bar None

(REPEAT) A local football agent joins us in this episode to talk about his world and what goes around in it. Is it as glamorous as it seems?

5:00 PM

BBC World Service

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to philanthropists from France and Nigeria about using their wealth to help others thrive on a special, festive episode of The Conversation.