More than job satisfaction
December 20, 2013
Monitor on Psychology | December 2013, Vol 44, No. 11
Kristen Weir of the Monitor on Psychology (a publication of the American Psychological Association) highlights research “showing that meaningful work is good for the worker and for the company — and that even employees in tiresome jobs can find ways to make their duties more meaningful.” In the article, Weir quotes Jane Dutton describing how individuals can redefine their jobs to be more personally meaningful through job crafting.
Stuart Bunderson is quoted regarding his work with Jeffrey Thompson on those who feel a higher calling to their jobs, which focused on the passion zookeepers feel for their work. Their 2009 Administrative Science Quarterly paper on this topic won the 2010 Award for Best Paper in POS from the Center for Positive Organizations.
WATCH VIDEO – Keynote Address from winners of the 2010 Award for Best Paper in POS, at the 2010 Biennial POS Research Conference.
Of the several researchers quoted in the article, Dutton, Bunderson, and Thompson, along with Brent Rosso and Michael Pratt, are members of the Meaning Microcommunity, which grew out of a working session on meaning at the 2003 Biennial POS Research Conference.