The meaning of working among professional employees in Germany, Poland and Russia

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to report the results of an empirical study of the meaning of working, individual level work outcomes, and job and career satisfaction, among professional level employees in business organizations in Russia, Poland, and Germany. Design/methodology/approach -The theoretical framework for the study was based on the work by England and colleagues. The sample (n ¼ 638) included professional level employees in the medium and large manufacturing and service organizations in the three countries. Correlations, discriminant function analysis, and multiple regressions were used to answer research questions regarding the relationship between the study variables and to determine country differences. Findings -Results indicate different patterns and levels of work centrality, desired work outcomes, work role identification, and job and career satisfaction among the three countries. A significant difference was found between work values in Russia, on the one hand, and Germany and Poland, on the other. Gender differences in meaning of work patterns were found among Russian respondents. Job and career satisfaction was related to different combinations of demographic and work meaning variables. Practical implications -For human resource development (HRD) and training and development (T&D) professionals working in multinational companies and/or with customers/suppliers in these three countries, the findings imply the need to take into account the similarities and differences in individual meaning of working variables when designing and implementing organization development and training interventions. Originality/value -Despite the central role of working for individuals and the central role of the work values construct for the professional fields of training and HRD, research on meaning of working has been sparse in the academic literature. Thus, the study can contribute to a fuller understanding of experience of work and its implications for the theory and practice of training and human resource development.

Meaningful Work Scale in creative industries: a confirmatory factor analysis

“…These results lead us to the second guiding question of this study, concerning the influence of culture and occupation on the meaning of work. First, it is important to emphasize that this construct has been discussed from transcultural and transoccupational perspectives (e.g., Brief & Nord, 1990;England, 1990;Harpaz & Fu, 1997;Kuchinke, Ardichvili, Borchert, & Rozanski, 2009;Ruiz-Quintanilla & Wilpert, 1991) since the seminal research of MOW (1987). It is fairly well established that the meaning of work, in empirical terms (not in terms of the construct, as previously discussed), is influenced by culture and by the specific work activities.…”

Psychometric properties of the Benign and Malicious Envy Scale: Assessment of structure, reliability, and measurement invariance across the United States, Germany, Russia, and Poland

“…achieving general social goals and guaranteeing social security, so as to reduce the risk of losing livelihood by German citizens. One might hypothesize that the solid state social policy, satisfaction with jobs and earnings (Kuchinke et al, 2009), and a strong emphasis on mutual equal treatment (e.g., Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, 2019) create a certain atmosphere that potentially reduces the possibility of making negative social comparisons that underly dispositional envy.…”

Work meaning from work psychology. A historical, psychological and sociological revision

“…La relación que se establece a través de la socialización de los individuos con las funciones del trabajo, en contextos socioeconómicos y sociohistóricos en particular, son los que permiten la configuración del significado del trabajo para cada persona que ha tenido experiencia(s) laboral(es). Este significado, al igual que el constructo trabajo, es cambiante y variable (Borchet y Landher, 2009;Kuchinke et al, 2009). En la figura 1 se ilustra la forma en la que el individuo al estar en contacto con el trabajo configura los significados que se le pueden atribuir, como los propuestos por el MOW (1987), de centralidad, finalidad, normas societales, identidad con el rol y metas y resultados del trabajo.…”

“…Una revisión histórica, psicológica y social formas de relaciones en las que surgen aspectos como los cambios a nivel del contexto macro de la sociedad en las profesiones de servicio humano como son la medicina, la enfermería, la academia o la rama judicial. Líneas de investigación que han sido abiertas planteando y explorando los cambios suscitados tanto en el significado del trabajo como en el sentido que los individuos le dan a dicha actividad, desde una perspectiva multinivel en la que se relacionan los distintos niveles de análisis (Chalofsky y Krishna, 2009), integrando las tradiciones disciplinares que han abordado el tema del trabajo desde perspectivas contextuales (Borchert y Landher , 2009;Kuchinke et al, 2009 ; Ardichvili y ), donde nuevas formas de trabajo hacen que el trabajador reconfigure la organización de su trabajo y su perfil como trabajador (Lima, 2015). Se refiere entonces a individuos que trabajan, bajo lógicas adaptativas a las transformaciones de las condiciones de trabajo y las formas de trabajar, que suscitan sobrevivencia, haciendo uso de estrategias de sumisión, conformidad, resignación.…”