The Five Paradoxes of Meaningful Work: Introduction to the special Issue ‘Meaningful Work: Prospects for the 21st Century’

Abstract

In this introduction to the Journal of Management Studies Special Issue on Meaningful Work, we explain the imperative for a deeper understanding of meaningfulness within the context of the current sociopolitical environment, coupled with the growing use of organizational strategies aimed at ‘managing the soul’. Meaningful work remains a contested topic that has been the subject of attention in a wide range of disciplines. The focus of this Special Issue is the advancement of theory and evidence about the nature, causes, consequences, and processes of meaningful work. We summarize the contributions of each of the seven articles that comprise the Special Issue and, in particular, note their methodological and theoretical plurality. In conclusion, we set forth a future research agenda based on five fundamental paradoxes of meaningful work.

Viewing Meaningful Work Through the Lens of Time

“…It emerged as an underlying factor in the definition of the construct, both in everyday work and in atypical work contexts as well as in precarious employment and long-term jobs. In fact, time and temporality are discussed concerning jobs inherently meaningful and not and there is an ambiguous condition that concerns whether meaningful work consists in episodic experiences or in a pervasive sense of the value of one’s work, i.e., whether it occurs in the course of time, or whether a degree of stability is present or absent ( Bailey et al, 2017b ; Lavy and Bocker, 2018 ; Bailey et al, 2019 ). For example, some authors examine the episodic occurrences of meaningful work in relation to specific contexts and conditions (e.g., liminal experiences, Toraldo et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Although the existing literature has made significant steps in the field, the neglected role of time in the conceptualization of meaningful work represents a challenge for the current research. This paper has tried to respond to the call for a wider model of the construct, building on the need to conceptualize meaningful work according to the time view ( Bailey et al, 2019 ). Moreover, since the model of a dual nature of meaningful work reveals a different focus on work and workers aspects based on the different levels on which focus on, research and applied implications must be discussed.…”

“…Range of different essential insights have been proposed, suggesting that meaningful work is affected by a multiplicity of factors and conditions, one of which is temporal agency ( Bailey and Madden, 2017 ). We must, therefore, regard meaningful work as a complex phenomenon ( Rosso et al, 2010 ; Dik et al, 2013 ; Bailey et al, 2019 ). Furthermore, there is still little agreement on the definition and operationalization of the construct among the scientific communities, and no agreed underlying framework for the development of descriptions of its dimensions ( Rosso et al, 2010 ; Both-Nwabuwe et al, 2017 ; Bailey et al, 2018 ).…”

“…In their introduction to the special issue of the Journal of Management Studies on meaningful work, Bailey et al (2019) evoked the theory of paradox to report a possible dual nature of meaningful work linked to spatial and temporal agents. According to these authors, the meaningful work construct refers to a pervasive sense of the value of one’s work ( Rosso et al, 2010 ; Tablan, 2019 ); however, “it may be temporary, partial or episodic” ( Bailey et al, 2019 ). In this vein, there are some examples of definitions of meaningful work characterized by underlying time perspectives.…”

Moral Identity and the Quaker tradition: Moral Dissonance Negotiation in the WorkPlace

“…However, there are paradoxical experiences in how individuals negotiate the multidimensionality of meaningful work arising from fulfilling a wider social good versus self-fulfillment (Bailey et al 2019). Paradoxical experiences of meaningful work were evident in our examples as Quakers had to compartmentalize their identity to fit in with organizational culture and others' expectations to gain acceptance and recognition within the work organization (Obodaru2012; Schalk 2011).…”