The invasion of managerialism in universities has changed the prerequisites for academic work. Decision making and control over academic work based on the expertise of academics have declined; in turn, managers have gained more decision-making power. Our study's target group comprises academics representing educational sciences in two Finnish universities, where large managerialist reforms have been carried out. We explore how the academics positioned themselves towards the new management system based on managerialism. In the analysis of our qualitative work welfare survey data, we applied a narrative-discursive approach. The positionings traced in the analysis ranged from resistance to managerialism to desire for strong management. The new management system was regarded as problematic because it was perceived as neglecting traditional academic ideals. We conclude that increased managerial control, accompanied by many administrative duties, may disturb the basic work of academics and therefore decrease the quality of research and teaching in universities.

Työn merkityksellisyyden rakentamista ohjaa moraalinen kehys; se auttaa ihmistä valitsemaan asioita, joihin hän sitoutuu. Yksilön moraaliseen kehykseen voi kytkeytyä hänen ammatilleen ominainen eetos. Tarkastelen akateemista professiota, jonka työskentelyedellytyksiä viime vuosikymmeninä toteutetut yliopistouudistukset ovat muovanneet. Kysyn, miten kasvatustieteitä, lääke- ja biotieteitä ja kielitieteitä edustavat tutkija-opettajat suhtautuvat yritysmäisen yliopiston arvostamiin asioihin ja sen heille asettamiin vaatimuksiin sekä millaisia jännitteitä nämä suhtautumistavat ilmentävät liittyen työn merkityksellisyyden rakentamiseen. Aineistona ovat teemakirjoittamisen menetelmällä kerätyt tutkija-opettajien kuvaukset suhteestaan työhönsä ja yliopistossa tapahtuneisiin muutoksiin. Tunnistin aineistosta viisi erilaista suhtautumistapaa: 1) yritysmäisen yliopiston vastustus, 2) työssä kuormittuminen ja resurssipulasta kärsiminen, 3) toimintaedellytysten yleinen analysointi ja kritisointi, 4) tyytyväisyys yliopistotyössä ja 5) itsenäinen, vaikutusvaltainen toimijuus. Eroja suhtautumistavoissa näyttivät tuottavan opetus- ja tutkimustyön resurssien epätasainen jakautuminen sekä tutkija-opettajien erilaiset vaikutusmahdollisuudet ja kokemukset arvostuksen saamisesta työssään. Yliopisto todennäköisesti kykenisi toteuttamaan yhteiskunnallista palvelutehtäväänsä monipuolisemmin, jos arvostusta osoitettaisiin ja resursseja jaettaisiin tasapuolisemmin eri tieteenaloilla ja erilaisissa positioissa tehtävälle yliopistotyölle.

Research on the meaningfulness of work has increased in recent years, yet there is a limited body of qualitative studies on the topic. This article analyzes how the four basic psychological needs, namely autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence, are articulated as sources of meaningful work by blue-collar workers. The research data consist of responses (N = 679) to one open-ended question in a survey and semi-structured interviews (N = 29) with blue-collar workers from property services and the manufacturing industry in Finland. The data were analyzed by theory-driven content analysis. The main findings are: first, autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence appear as sources of meaningfulness in blue-collar work. Second, blue-collar workers see their work as autonomous and requiring diverse competences. Relatedness in blue-collar work entails having good relations with co-workers and striving to maintain those relationships. Beneficence is multilevel: helping clients, co-workers, organization and even the whole society through work. Organizations should develop organizational practices that may enhance the meaningfulness of work, such as opportunities to use and develop occupational skills. This article participates in the discussion about how satisfying these four basic psychological needs can be a source of meaningful work and offers a sociological-contextual perspective on the discussion about meaningfulness of work.

Peerness is a common approach to learning, especially in Nordic adult education, but is increasingly adopted by European Union (EU)-funded projects that aim to improve migrants' employability. This article discusses action research that evaluated an ESFfunded project, run by a Finnish popular adult education association in collaboration with vocational adult education institutes, NGOs, and a trade union. The project trained migrants to become peer group guides and empower migrant-background participants for employment. The training prepared guides to become experiential experts, but increased the distance between the participants and themselves. The guidance could even strengthen the otherness of participants when the peerness was based solely on sharing a migrant background. Voluntary peer guidance may reinforce this separation, but dependence on ESF funding also shapes mainstream adult education; therefore, the empowerment of migrants should build on collaboration between experiential experts and guidance professionals as part of the regular adult education system.

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