Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigation
Previous article
Research Note

Meaning, Purpose, and Job Satisfaction

The Importance of Making Meaning Salient During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

Published Online:June 10, 2021https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000268

Abstract

Abstract. Finding meaning and purpose in one's life facilitates several important work outcomes. A global pandemic that changes both the lives of employees and the way they work likely affects the relationships between workers' meaning in life and work. Making meaning salient to employees, despite the circumstances, may strengthen and preserve these relationships. To examine this, 71 employed adults completed a photo-taking task that either focused on objects of meaning (n = 36) or objects that were blue (i.e., the control; n = 35). The results suggested that meaning salience increased job satisfaction. In addition, it moderated the relationship between purpose (but not meaning) and job satisfaction. In all, this highlights the challenges of new working circumstances and the importance of continuously making meaning salient to employees.

References

  • Chong, A., Gordo, M., & Gere, J. (2018). The influences of work and home interference and facilitation on job satisfaction. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 17(2), 94–101. 10.1027/1866-5888/a000202 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Edwards, M. E., & Van Tongeren, D. R. (2020). Meaning mediates the association between suffering and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(6), 722–733. 10.1080/17439760.2019.1651890 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Garland, E. L., Farb, N. A., Goldin, P. R., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2015). The mindfulness-to-meaning theory: extensions, applications, and challenges at the attention–appraisal–emotion interface. Psychological Inquiry, 26(4), 377–387. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2015.1092493 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • George, J. M. (1991). Time structure and purpose as a mediator of work–life linkages. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21(4), 296–314. 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1991.tb00522.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • George, L. S., & Park, C. L. (2013). Are meaning and purpose distinct? An examination of correlates and predictors. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8(5), 365–375. 10.1080/17439760.2013.805801 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hooker, S. A., Masters, K. S., & Park, C. L. (2018). A meaningful life is a healthy life: A conceptual model linking meaning and meaning salience to health. Review of General Psychology, 22(1), 11–24. 10.1037/gpr0000115 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hooker, S. A., Post, R. E., & Sherman, M. D. (2020). Awareness of meaning in life is protective against burnout among family physicians: A CERA study. Family Medicine, 52(1), 11–16. 10.22454/FamMed.2019.562297 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Johnson, J. A. (2005). Ascertaining the validity of individual protocols from web-based personality inventories. Journal of Research in Personality, 39(1), 103–129. 10.1016/j.jrp.2004.09.009 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Judge, T. A., & Ilies, R. (2004). Affect and job satisfaction: A study of their relationship at work and at home. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(4), 661–673. 10.1037/0021-9010.89.4.661 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Judge, T. A., & Klinger, R. (2007). Job satisfaction: Subjective well-being at work. In M. EidR. LarsenEds., The science of subjective well-being (pp. 393–413). Guilford Publications. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Lee, J., Cho, D., & Suh, Y. J. (2017). Purpose and meaning in life and job satisfaction among the aged. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 85(4), 377–402. 10.1177/0091415016688305 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Maharaj, I., & Schlechter, A. F. (2007). Meaning in life and meaning of work: Relationships with organisational citizenship behaviour, commitment, and job satisfaction. Management Dynamics, 16(3), 24–42. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC69726 First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Miao, M., & Gan, Y. (2019). How does meaning in life predict proactive coping? The self‐regulatory mechanism on emotion and cognition. Journal of Personality, 87(3), 579–592. 10.1111/jopy.12416 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Newman, D. B., Nezlek, J. B., & Thrash, T. M. (2018). The dynamics of searching for meaning and presence of meaning in daily life. Journal of Personality, 86(3), 368–379. 10.1111/jopy.12321 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Nichols, A. L., & Edlund, J. E. (2020). Why don't we care more about carelessness? Understanding the causes and consequences of careless participants. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 23(6), 625–638. 10.1080/13645579.2020.1719618 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • R Core Team (2020). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/ First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Restubog, S. L. D., Ocampo, A. C. G., & Wang, L. (2020). Taking control amidst the chaos: Emotion regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 119, 103440. 10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103440 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Revelle, W. (2019). psych: Procedures for personality and psychological research. Northwestern University. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=psych Version = 1.9.12 First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Scheier, M. F., Wrosch, C., Baum, A., Cohen, S., Martire, L. M., Matthews, K. A., Schulz, R., & Zdaniuk, B. (2006). The life engagement test: Assessing purpose in life. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29(3), 291–298. 10.1007/s10865-005-9044-1 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80–93. 10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.8 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070. 10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Węziak-Białowolska, D., Bialowolski, P., Sacco, P. L., VanderWeele, T. J., & McNeely, E. (2020). Well-being in life and well-being at work: Which comes first? Evidence from a longitudinal study. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 103. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00103 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar