What makes work meaningful? Longitudinal evidence for the importance of autonomy and beneficence for meaningful work

Martela, Frank; Gómez, Marcos; Unanue, Wenceslao; Araya, Sofia; Bravo, Diego; Espejo, Alvaro

doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2021.103631

Cited by 46 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…Gürbüz et al (2022) found that the capability to use knowledge and skills leads to person-job fit. Furthermore, involvement in important decisions allows individuals to express themselves in their jobs, leading to a sense of ownership of and interest in their work, which increases their experiences of meaningful work (Martela et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capabilities and work functionings of special education teachers in Namibia

Murangi

Rothmann

Nel

2022

SA Journal of Industrial Psychology

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Orientation: Special schools cannot execute their mandate if teachers lack emotional well-being and meaning in their work, perform poorly and quit their jobs.Research purpose: This study aimed to investigate the work capabilities of Namibian special education teachers and the effects thereof on their functionings.Motivation for the study: The capability approach offers a framework to study employees’ capabilities. No studies have been found regarding Namibian special education teachers’ capabilities and functionings.Research approach/design and method: A convenience sample (n = 200) of Namibian special education teachers participated in the study. The Capability Set for Work Questionnaire, Work and Meaning Inventory, Negative Affect Scale, Performance at Work Questionnaire and Intention to Leave Questionnaire were administered.Main findings: A lack of the following capabilities presented the highest risk for the sustainable employability of teachers: earning a good income, involvement in important decisions, contributing to something valuable and developing new knowledge and skills. Teachers with a range of capabilities (compared with limited capabilities) found their work more meaningful, rated their performance more highly and were less inclined to think about leaving their jobs.Practical/managerial implications: Managers should focus on implementing interventions that address four capabilities: earning a good income, involvement in decision-making, contributing to the creation of something valuable, and knowledge and skills to deal with disabilities.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to knowledge regarding the capabilities of special education teachers that affect their functionings.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capabilities and work functionings of special education teachers in Namibia

Murangi

Rothmann

Nel

2022

SA Journal of Industrial Psychology

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“…Our data shows that flexibility, versatility, and freedom to decide increase meaningfulness (Wheatley 2017, pp. 320-321; see also Drucker 1999;Deci et al 2017;Martela et al 2021) for entrepreneurs as well as other knowledge workers through individuation. This also applies to time management (cf.…”

Section: Factors Increasing Meaningfulnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For our interviewees, work seemed fragmented because they had to do many different tasks simultaneously, the work was divided between several different people, the work was often interrupted, and they felt it was impossible to concentrate properly. The interviewees felt that they had been deprived of the core of their work (Toivanen 2018), because they no longer had overall responsibility for the work and were not able to independently decide how to organize it -traditionally seen as an important aspect of knowledge work (Sutela et al 2019, p. 117;Deci et al 2017;Drucker 1999;Martela et al 2021).…”

Section: Factors Diminishing Meaningfulnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meaningfulness in the Work of Language Professionals

Virtaluoto

Selkälä

2022

NJWLS

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This qualitative study explores the changes that a specific group of knowledge workers – language professionals in Finland – have undergone in their work and how they perceive the meaningfulness of their work as a result. The data presented in this article has been collected through group interviews and is part of a larger data set. To make sense of our data, we use thematic analysis and the framework of meaningful work presented by Rosso et al. For some of our research participants, the factors of meaningful work are present. For others, changes in work, such as platform work and outsourcing, have reduced autonomy and development possibilities. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings.

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“…Understanding precisely what makes work meaningful is crucial for autonomy ( Martela and Pessi, 2018 ). That is, when an individual has a sense that they own their work and feel that they can perform it and it is truly of interest to them, the work is likely to feel personally meaningful to them ( Martela et al, 2021 ). Autonomy refers to a sense of volition and internal locus of causality in individuals’ undertakings where individuals have ownership of their actions to undertake tasks that they feel are meaningful ( Ryan and Deci, 2000 ; Chirkov et al, 2003 ).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Followership Boosts Creative Performance as Mediated by Work Autonomy and Creative Self-Efficacy in Higher Education Administrative Jobs

Chiang

Lien²,

Lin³

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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Followership is an important but understudied domain. This study adopted a follower-centric perspective to examine the internal process by which followership affects creative performance via work autonomy and creative self-efficacy. The study employed a 3-wave survey of 341 employees of a Taiwanese university to achieve the research purpose. This study showed that effective followership (Time 1) is positively associated with employees’ work autonomy (Time 1) and creative self-efficacy (Time 2). Work autonomy and creative self-efficacy mediate the relationship between effective followership and creative performance (Time 3). This study’s empirical findings provide an improved way of measuring followership and broaden our understanding of how followership triggers intrinsic motivation to facilitate creative performance.

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What makes work meaningful? Longitudinal evidence for the importance of autonomy and beneficence for meaningful work

Cited by 46 publications

References 91 publications

Capabilities and work functionings of special education teachers in Namibia

Capabilities and work functionings of special education teachers in Namibia

Meaningfulness in the Work of Language Professionals

How Followership Boosts Creative Performance as Mediated by Work Autonomy and Creative Self-Efficacy in Higher Education Administrative Jobs

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