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THE MEANING OF THE JOB Amy Wrzesniewski Yale School of Management Two Caveats I (mostly) don’t study non-standard work. Most of my data are from the U.S. A Resurgence of Interest in Meaningful Work Topic has been in and out of vogue In the popular press, the topic has reemerged with increasing demands on work as a source of meaningfulness A Resurgence of Interest in Meaningful Work Topic has been in and out of vogue In the popular press, the topic has reemerged with increasing demands on work as a source of meaningfulness Why Does Meaningful Work Matter? Meaningful work (and/or the meaning of work) has been shown to influence key outcomes, including: Work motivation (Hackman & Oldham, 1980; Roberson, 1990) Absenteeism (Wrzesniewski, McCauley, Rozin, & Schwartz, 1997) Work behavior (Berg, Wrzesniewski, & Dutton, 2010; Bunderson & Thompson, 2009; Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001) Engagement (May, Gilson, & Harter, 2004) Job satisfaction (Wrzesniewski et al., 1997) Empowerment (Spreitzer, 1996) Stress (Elangovan, Pinder, & McLean, 2010; Locke & Taylor, 1990) Organizational identification (Pratt, Rockmann, & Kaufmann, 2006) Career development (Dik & Duffy, 2009; Dobrow, 2006) Individual performance (Hackman & Oldham, 1980; Wrzesniewski, 2003) An Orienting Question What makes work meaningful? OR What makes work worth doing? What Does the Literature Say? Four Main Sources of Meaningful Work The self (e.g., values, beliefs, motivation) Others (e.g., coworkers, leaders, groups) The work and its context (e.g., design of the work, organizational context) Spiritual life (e.g., diety/ies, spirituality) Often considered in isolation and in linear relationship to meaningfulness (from Rosso, Dekas, & Wrzesniewski, 2010) How Does Work Become Meaningful? By positively influencing one’s sense of: Authenticity* Self-efficacy* Self-esteem* Purpose Belongingness* Transcendence Cultural and interpersonal sense-making * - under threat? Jobs, Careers, and Callings Jobs: Work as income ‘If I was financially secure, I would continue my current work even if I stopped getting paid.’ (reversed) Careers: Advancement in occupation ‘I view my job as a stepping stone to other jobs.’ Callings: Fulfillment from the work itself ‘My work makes the world a better place.’ Work Orientation Unambiguous in seeing work as a Job, Career, or Calling Work orientations associated with differences in behaviors at work (e.g., absenteeism, hours worked) and work and life satisfaction Each orientation found both across and within occupations and organizations Work orientation among temps (Berg et al., 2010; Wrzesniewski et al., 1997; General Findings Work orientation related to: Age Income Education Prestige of occupation Work and life satisfaction Absenteeism Job search outcomes Findings consistent within occupation and organization A Second Question What might people be doing to make whatever work they’re in more meaningful? Job Crafting: A Path to Meaningful Work? Potential to move beyond mere framing of work Implications for how people engage in their work Focus on behaviors What makes work meaningful? The University Hospital Cleaning Crew “…that’s not part of my job. But that’s part of me.” What is Job Crafting? “…what employees do to redesign their own jobs in ways that foster engagement at work, job satisfaction, resilience, and thriving.” (Berg et al., 2010) Task crafting: Alter number, type, nature of tasks Relational crafting: Alter number, type, intensity of relationships; change style of interactions Cognitive crafting: Alter how one perceives tasks and their meaning Actual job = job design + job crafting Job Design Top-Down: Designed by managers Key assumption: One size fits all (universalism) The actual job Job Crafting Bottom-Up: Crafted by employee Key assumption: Everyone is unique (particularism) Why Does Job Crafting Matter? Influences what, how, when, and with whom work is done Is prevalent in work organizations It changes the meaning – and purpose – of the work (Berg et al., 2010; Leana, Appelbaum, & Shevchuk, 2009; Lyons, 2008) Is Job Crafting Good Or Bad for Organizations? Job crafting relates to several positive outcomes Satisfaction Commitment Attachment to the job Is Job Crafting Good Or Bad for Organizations? Job crafting creates several positive outcomes Happiness at work Performance Mobility to new roles A Final Question How does a focus on the person’s view and experience of the job help us think differently about what individuals need from work? Implications Changes our understanding of sources of meaningfulness Inherent in job Inherent in individual Inherent in the intersection Suggests a more stable source and set of practices for facilitating meaningfulness in work Frequent managerial and organizational changes Portable, agentic enactment of work