Mechanisms of Meaning: Understanding the Pathways to Meaning and Meaningfulness

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“May Meaning Meeting”April 2009

Brent RossoKathryn Dekas Amy Wrzesniewski

Background & Goals

►Project overview Extensive literature review on MOW Original goal: Combined review/theory

paper Revised goal: 2 papers (1 review/1 theory)

►For today Brief orientation to paper structure Main focus: The mechanisms of meaning…

What are the paths to meaning/meaningfulness?

►What we’ve found►What it means for the field

Paper Structure

►Why care about the meaning of work? ►Goals

Review literature using new orienting framework(s)

Reflect and offer ideas about state of the field, how we arrived here, and where/how future research may unfold

►Sources of meaning►Mechanisms of meaning►Reflections & Future Directions

Today’s focus

Sources of Meaning

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workwork

spiritualityspirituality

groupsgroups

organizationorganization

selfself

jobjob

othersothers

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groups

spirituality

others

self

work

org

Sources of Meaning

job

Mechanisms of Meaning►How does each source contribute to

meaning and/or meaningfulness?►What mechanisms has the field used

to explain these relationships? Authenticity Self-efficacy Self-esteem Purpose Belongingness Transcendence Cultural & Interpersonal Sensemaking

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Authenticity Mechanism► Authenticity: A sense of

coherence or alignment between one’s behavior and perceptions of the “true” self (Markus, 1977; Ryan, Deci, & Grolnick, 1995; Sheldon, Ryan, Rawsthorne, & Ilardi, 1997)

“It was just a fun thing to do!”

►Authentic work experiences meaningfulness because they enable people to maintain consistency with valued attitudes, beliefs, values, and identities while working (Baumeister & Vohs, 2002; Shamir, 1991)

Self-Efficacy Mechanism

► Self-Efficacy: Individuals’ beliefs that they have the power and ability to produce an intended effect or to make a difference (Bandura, 1977; Baumeister & Vohs, 2002)

►Work experiences promoting self-efficacy meaningfulness because they enable people to feel they have the capability and competence to effect change upon or exercise control in their environment (Baumeister & Vohs, 2002; Gecas, 1991)

“If you have a good idea… you can go out and do it.”

Self-Esteem Mechanism

►Work experiences promoting self-esteem meaningfulness because they help to fulfill individuals' motivations for believing they are valuable and worthy individuals (Baumeister & Vohs, 2002; Gecas, 1991)

“You like me!”

► Self-Esteem: An individual’s

assessment or evaluation of his or her own self-worth (Baumeister, 1998)

Purpose Mechanism

► Purpose: Sense of directedness and intentionality in life (Ryff, 1989)

“It was two full days of work for sick children who know just how fleeting time can be.”

►Work experiences viewed as purposeful meaningfulness because they move one closer to one’s desired future goals or fulfillments (Aristotle, 2000; Dalai Lama & Cutler; Frankl, 1959)

Belongingness Mechanism► Belongingness: A pervasive

drive to form and maintain at least a minimum quantity of lasting, positive, and significant interpersonal relationships (Baumeister & Leary, 1995, p. 497) “People…need to belong, and

they want to make meaning.”

► Membership in, identification with, and feelings of connection to social groups through work meaningfulness by helping people experience a shared common identity, fate, or humanity with others (Homans, 1958; White, 1959)

Transcendence Mechanism

► Transcendence: The process of connecting or superseding the ego to an entity greater than the self or beyond the material world (Maslow, 1971)

“There are a lot of businesses that do a lot of different things for people, but it’s

incredibly special when you’re helping people…find love.”

►Work activities meaningfulness when individuals are able to subordinate themselves to groups, experiences, or entities that transcend the self or self-interest (Frankl, 1959; Weiss et al., 2004)

Cultural & Interpersonal Sensemaking Mechanism

► Definition: Active process through which people revise or reappraise an event or series of events based on social and cultural cues (Maitlis & Lawrence, 2007; Sonenshein, 2006; Weick, 1995; Wrzesniewski et al., 2003)

►Meaning is inherently a social construction that is shaped by the social or cultural context in which an individual is nested.

Cultural & Interpersonal Sensemaking Mechanism

Culture of Meanings on Wall Street

“There may well be a slippage in the appeal of Wall Street careers now as the pay differential with other professions declines. Over the years, for example, there was a big increase in the percentage of graduates of Harvard who went into finance. Two Harvard economists, Lawrence F. Katz and Claudia Goldin, studied the career choices of undergraduates since the 1960s, finding that the share entering banking and finance rose from less than 4 percent to 23 percent or so in recent years.

…'We see a huge shift into finance over the years, and Harvard students clearly respond to economic incentives,' Mr. Katz said, 'I certainly don't think it was a pure love of finance that drove people into the field.’”

Discussion

►Our reactions to these mechanisms Some emphasized over others in existing

literature(e.g., authenticity, purpose)

Most focus on individual “need fulfillment” Most focus on meaningfulness, not meaning

►Your reactions to these mechanisms? What strikes you? With this list, what does the field see/not

see? Implications for our understanding of this topic?

Other mechanisms worth exploring?

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Thank You