Vol. 24 No. 1 (2021)
Articles

Meaningful Work and Covid-19: Perspectives and Future Research Opportunities

Download PDF View Abstract
  • Ani GIRGITSOVA – DIMITROVA

Published 05/03/2022

Keywords

  • meaningful work,
  • work and organizational psychology,
  • crisis,
  • COVID-19

How to Cite

GIRGITSOVA – DIMITROVA, A. (2022). Meaningful Work and Covid-19: Perspectives and Future Research Opportunities. Psychological Research (in the Balkans), 24(1). Retrieved from https://journalofpsychology.org/index.php/1/article/view/18

Copyright (c) 2021 Psychological Research (in the Balkans)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

In the last few decades, the concept of meaningful has been focusing the attention of practitio ners and researchers in work and organizational psychology in a quest to find a response to what makes work meaningful, valuable, and important. The social, economic, and organizational changes that the COVID-19 pandemic brings create a specific context that adds a layer of complexity to the topic of mean ingful work. The current article outlines a perspective for exploring meaningful work in the context of the global crisis through the prism of work and organizational psychology. The article summaries future research opportunities in a few different directions: meaningful work and the value of work for others and the society in times of pandemic, meaningful work and work-life balance, and meaningful work and effective employer strategies.

Download PDF View Abstract

References

  1. Allan, B. A., Autin, K. L., and Duffy, R. D. (2014). Examining social class and work meaning within the psychology of working framework. Journal of Career Assessment, 22(4), 543– 561.
  2. Bailey, Catherine., Yeoman, R., Madden, A. & Thompson, M. (2019). The Oxford Hand­ book of Meaningful Work. Oxford University Press.
  3. Cox C. L. (2020). ‚Healthcare Heroes‘: prob­lems with media focus on heroism from healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of medical ethics, 46(8), 510 – 513.
  4. Del Boca, D., Oggero, N., Profeta, P., & Rossi,
  5. M. C. (2020). Women’s Work, Housework and Childcare, before and during COVID-19. CESi­ fo Working Papers, No. 8403, Center for Eco­ nomic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo).
  6. Dempsey, Sarah & Sanders, Matthew. (2010). Meaningful Work? Nonprofit Marketization and Work/Life Imbalance in Popular Autobiogra­phies of Social Entrepreneurship. Organization. 17. 437-459. 10.1177/1350508410364198.
  7. Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man’s search for meaning. Boston: Beacon Press.
  8. Hackman, J. R. & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Mo­tivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior & Human Per­ formance, 16(2), 250 – 279.
  9. Lips-Wiersma, Marjolein & Wright, Sarah. (2012). Measuring the Meaning of Meaningful Work Development and Validation of the Com­prehensive Meaningful Work Scale (CMWS). Group & Organization Management. 37. 655- 685. 10.1177/1059601112461578.
  10. Lysova, E. (2019). Meaningful Work and Fam­ily: How does the Pursuit of Meaningful Work Impact One’s Family. In The Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work (pp. 404 – 416). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  11. Parkр H., Twenge, J. M., Greenfield, P. M. The Great Recession: Implications for Adoles­cent Values and Behavior. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2014;5(3):310-318.
  12. Rosso, B. D., Dekas, K. & Wrzesniewski, A. (2010). On the meaning of work: A theoretical integration and review. Research in Organiza­tional Behavior, 30(30), 91 – 127.
  13. Steger, M. F., Dik, B. J. & Duffy, R. D. (2012). Measuring meaningful work: The work and meaning inventory (WAMI). Journal of Career Assessment, 20(3), 322 – 337.
  14. Steger, Michael. (2016). Creating Meaning and Purpose at Work. 10.1002/9781118977620.ch5.
  15. Yeoman, Ruth (2014). Conceptualising Mean­ingful Work as a Fundamental Human Need. Journal of Business Ethics 125 (2):1-17.
  16. INTERNET SOURCES
  17. Volini, E, Schwartz, J, Denny, B. (2020, May 15) Returning to work in the future of work. Re­trieved September 20, 2020, from Deloitte.com: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2020/covid-19-and-the-future-of-work.html
  18. McKinsey. (2020, April 19). Safeguarding Eu­ rope’s livelihoods: Mitigating the employment impact of COVID-19. Retrieved September 20, 2020 from Mckinsey.com: https://www.mck­insey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/safeguarding-europes-livelihoods-mitigating-the-employment-impact-of-covid-19