Antecedents and outcomes of meaningful work among school teachers

Abstract

Orientation: Quality education is dependent on the well-being, engagement, performance and retention of teachers. Meaningful work might affect these employee and organisational outcomes.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate antecedents and outcomes of meaningful work among school teachers.Motivation for the study: Meaningful work underpins people’s motivation and affects their well-being and job satisfaction. Furthermore, it is a significant pathway to healthy and authentic organisations. However, a research gap exists regarding the effects of different antecedents and outcomes of meaningful work.Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey was used with a convenience sample of 513 teachers. The Work-Life Questionnaire, Revised Job Diagnostic Survey, Co-worker Relations Scale, Work and Meaning Inventory, Personal Resources Scale, Work Engagement Scale, Turnover Intention Scale and a measure of self-rated performance were administered.Main findings: A calling orientation, job design and co-worker relations were associated with meaningful work. A low calling orientation and poor co-worker relationships predicted burnout. A calling orientation, a well-designed job, good co-worker relationships and meaningful work predicted work engagement. Job design was moderately associated with self-ratings of performance. The absence of a calling orientation predicted teachers’ intention to leave the organisation.Practical/managerial implications: Educational managers should consider implementing interventions to affect teachers’ calling orientation (through job crafting), perceptions of the nature of their jobs (by allowing autonomy) and co-worker relations (through teambuilding) to promote perceptions of meaningful work. Promoting perceptions of meaningful work might contribute to lower burnout, higher work engagement, better self-ratings of performance and retention of teachers.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to scientific knowledge regarding the effects of three antecedents, namely a calling orientation, job design and co-worker relationships on meaningful work. It also contributed to knowledge about the effects of meaningful work on employee and organisational outcomes.

The relationships of meaningful work and narcissistic leadership with nurses’ job satisfaction

“…Results confirmed that despite narcissistic leaders’ need to have affirmative relationships with people (Braun, ), their behaviours may have negative consequences for their followers. As suggested in the literature, leaders’ actions may have a significant relationship with MW (Fouché et al, ; Rosso et al, ); in particular, we found a negative relationship between NL and MW, where the self‐interest and the lack of concern for others negatively interact with the meaning of the nursing profession, which is strongly characterized by taking care of others and by prosocial values (Wrzesniewski et al, ). Moreover, narcissistic leaders may be unable to support their followers in recognizing and valuing the meaning of their work.…”

“…According to the job characteristics model, task significance, task identity and skill variety are the main antecedents of MW; to these dimensions, Bremner and Carrière () added autonomy. Among the main sources of MW, Rosso et al (, p. 95) indicate: “the self, other persons, the work context and spiritual life,” devoting a subsection specifically to leaders as being among the significant “others” who influence MW, while Fouché, Rothmann, and van der Vyver () list four factors that contribute to MW: “firstly, work is meaningful when there is a fit between individuals and the organisation's values and mission. Secondly, the nature of the task (e.g.…”

Teachers’ Job Satisfaction and Work Performance

“…Independence and work-life balance had a significant impact on teachers' job performance [33]. Promoting perceptions of meaningful work might contribute to higher work engagement, better self-ratings of performance, and retention of teachers [40].…”

Teachers’ Work Orientations And Flourishing: Mediated By Flow In Different Domains

“…Teaching profession is, the same as a calling, characterized by a sense of personal mission, purpose in life and service towards others while most of the working time is spent in interactions with others (Dobrow, 2004;Saraf & Murthy, 2016;Wrzesniewski et al, 1997). Moreover, teachers with the calling orientation are more enthusiastic towards their work (e.g., Buskist, Benson, & Sikorski, 2005), more satisfied with their job and life (Wrzesniewski et al, 1997), more caring for their students' well-being (Bullough & Hall-Kenyon, 2012), more engaged at work, perceiving their work as more meaningful, as a service for the greater good (Fouche, Rothmann, & van der Vyver, 2017;Rothmann & Hamukangandu, 2013a;Willemse & Deacon, 2015). Croatian elementary school teachers, who perceive teaching as a calling tend to be happier, more satisfied with their job and life, find more meaning in life, and have a lower level of emotional exhaustion (e.g., Jurčec, 2014;Jurčec & Rijavec, 2015).…”