Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2024-06-06T14:28:25.135Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Sociological Perspective on Meaningful Work: Community versus Autonomy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2023

Andrey Bykov Open the ORCID record for Andrey Bykov [Opens in a new window]
Andrey Bykov*
Affiliation:
HSE University, Russia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this article, I present a sociological approach to the problem of meaningful work that dwells on its broad social and cultural sources, as opposed to the focus on subjective and organizational factors currently prevailing in the field. Specifically, I consider two sociological perspectives, those of community and autonomy, as important conceptual tools for understanding the ambivalent character of modern culture in providing individuals with a sense of meaningfulness of their activities. I also review some of the existing research on meaningful work and interpret it through this conceptual distinction, both to show the latter’s relevance for the field and to identify the gaps it might help fill. As a result, based on the sociological perspectives, I propose a general conceptual model and discuss five directions to further advance the theoretical comprehension of meaningful work, and I suggest some implications of these perspectives for normative business ethics.

Keywords

autonomycommunitycritical theorymeaningful workmoralitysociology
Type
Article
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , First View , pp. 1 - 31
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for Business Ethics

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abend, G. 2011. Thick concepts and the moral brain. European Journal of Sociology, 52(1): 143–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aguinis, H., & Glavas, A. 2019. On corporate social responsibility, sensemaking, and the search for meaningfulness through work. Journal of Management, 45(3): 1057–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allan, B. A., Batz-Barbarich, C., Sterling, H. M, & Tay, L. 2019. Outcomes of meaningful work: A meta-analysis. Journal of Management. Studies, 56(3): 500–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, C., Lips-Wiersma, M., Madden, A., Yeoman, R., Thompson, M., & Chalofsky, N. 2019. The five paradoxes of meaningful work: Introduction to the special issue “Meaningful Work: Prospects for the 21st Century.” Journal of Management Studies, 56(3): 481–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, C., Madden, A., Alfes, K., Shantz, A., & Soane, E. 2017. The mismanaged soul: Existential labor and the erosion of meaningful work. Human Resource Management Review, 27(3): 416–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, C., Yeoman, R., Madden, A., Thompson, M., & Kerridge, G. 2019. A review of the empirical literature on meaningful work: Progress and research agenda. Human Resource Development Review, 18(1): 83–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baxter, H. 1987. System and life-world in Habermas’s “theory of communicative action.” Theory and Society, 16(1): 39–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beadle, R., & Knight, K. 2012. Virtue and meaningful work. Business Ethics Quarterly, 22(2): 433–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkelaar, B. L., & Buzzanell, P. M. 2015. Bait and switch or double-edged sword? The (sometimes) failed promises of calling. Human Relations, 68(1): 157–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bokányi, E., & Hannák, A. 2020. Understanding inequalities in ride-hailing services through simulations. Scientific Reports, 10: 6500.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowie, N. E. 1998. A Kantian theory of meaningful work. Journal of Business Ethics, 17(9/10): 1083–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bragger, J. D., Reeves, S., Toich, M. J., Kutcher, E., Lawrol, A., Knudsen, Q. E. & Simonet, D. 2021. Meaningfulness as a predictor of work–family balance, enrichment, and conflict. Applied Research Quality Life, 16(3): 1043–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bykov, A. 2019. Rediscovering the moral: The “old” and “new” sociology of morality in the context of the behavioural sciences. Sociology, 53(1): 192–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cannizzo, F., & James, S. 2020. Meaningful work in late modernity: An introduction. Journal of Sociology, 56(3): 273–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, J. Y. 2018. Thrown under the bus and outrunning it! The logic of Didi and taxi drivers’ labour and activism in the on-demand economy. New Media and Society, 20(8): 2691–711.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen-Meitar, R., Carmeli, A., & Waldman, D. A. 2009. Linking meaningfulness in the workplace to employee creativity: The intervening role of organizational identification and positive psychological experiences. Creativity Research Journal, 21(4): 361–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Copp, D. 2007. Morality in a natural world: Selected essays in metaethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Correia, T. 2017. Doctors’ reflexivity in hospital organisations: The nexus between institutional and behavioural dynamics in the sociology of professions. Current Sociology, 65(7): 1050–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Courpasson, D., Dany, F., & Delbridge, R. 2017. Politics of place: The meaningfulness of resisting places. Human Relations, 70(2): 237–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, J. C., & Caddell, D. P. 1994. Religion and the meaning of work. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 33(2): 134–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, W. 2014. Neoliberalism: A bibliographic review. Theory, Culture, and Society, 31(7–8): 309–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. 2000. The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4): 227–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durkheim, E. 1979. Durkheim: Essays on morals and education. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Durkheim, E. 1982. The rules of sociological method and selected texts on sociology and its method. New York: Free Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durkheim, E. 1984. The division of labour in society. London: Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durkheim, E. 2003. Professional ethics and civic morals. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Durkheim, E. 2010. Sociology and philosophy. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Florian, M., Costas, J., & Kärreman, D. 2019. Struggling with meaningfulness when context shifts: Volunteer work in a German refugee shelter. Journal of Management Studies, 56(3): 589–616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frieder, R., Wang, G., & Oh, I. 2018. Linking job-relevant personality traits, transformational leadership, and job performance via perceived meaningfulness at work: A moderated mediation model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(3): 324–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fromm, E. 1976. To have or to be? New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Gabriel, Y. 1999. Beyond happy families: A critical reevaluation of the control-resistance-identity triangle. Human Relations, 52(2): 179–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geldenhuys, M., Łaba, K., & Venter, C. M. 2014. Meaningful work, work engagement and organisational commitment. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 40(1): a1098.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graeber, D. 2018. Bullshit jobs: A theory. New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Graham, J., Haidt, J., Koleva, S., Motyl, M., Iyer, R, Wojcik, S. P., & Ditto, P. H. 2013. Moral foundations theory: The pragmatic validity of moral pluralism. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 47(1): 55–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greisman, H. C., & Ritzer, G. 1981. Max Weber, critical theory, and the administered world. Qualitative Sociology, 4(1): 34–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Habermas, J. 1984. The theory of communicative action. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Haidt, J. 2013. The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. London: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Heldal, F. 2015. Managerial control versus professional autonomy in organizational change: Tearing down the walls and fighting fire with fire. Journal of Change Management, 15(3): 188–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hitlin, S., & Piliavin, J. A. 2004. Values: Reviving a dormant concept. Annual Review of Sociology, 30(1): 359–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hitlin, S., & Vaisey, S. (Eds.). 2010. Handbook of the sociology of morality. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hitlin, S., & Vaisey, S. 2013. The new sociology of morality. Annual Review of Sociology, 39(1): 51–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodson, R. 1995. Worker resistance: An underdeveloped concept in the sociology of work. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 16(1): 79–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horkheimer, M. 2004. Eclipse of reason. New York: Continuum.Google Scholar
Islam, G., & Greenwood, M. 2021. Reconnecting to the social in business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 170(1): 1–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, M. J., & Jiang, L. 2017. Reaping the benefits of meaningful work: The mediating versus moderating role of work engagement. Stress and Health, 33(3): 288–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lepisto, D. A., & Pratt, M. G. 2017. Meaningful work as realization and justification: Toward a dual conceptualization. Organizational Psychology Review, 7(2): 99–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levine, D. N. 1995. Visions of the sociological tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lips-Wiersma, M., Haar, J., & Wright, S. 2020. The effect of fairness, responsible leadership and worthy work on multiple dimensions of meaningful work. Journal of Business Ethics, 161(1): 35–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lips-Wiersma, M., & Morris, L. 2009. Discriminating between “meaningful work” and the “management of meaning.” Journal of Business Ethics, 88(3): 491–511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lips-Wiersma, M., & Wright, S. 2012. Measuring the meaning of meaningful work development and validation of the Comprehensive Meaningful Work Scale (CMWS). Group and Organization Management, 37(5): 655–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, K. 2006. Neo-liberalism and marketisation: The implications for higher education. European Educational Research Journal, 5(1): 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lysova, E. I., Allan, B. A., Dik, B. J., Duffy, R. D., & Steger, M. F. 2019. Fostering meaningful work in organizations: A multi-level review and integration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 110(B): 374–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcuse, H. 1964. One dimensional man: Studies in the ideology of advanced industrial society. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Marx, K. 2007. Economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844. New York: Dover.Google Scholar
Merton, R. K. 1938. Social structure and anomie. American Sociological Review, 3(5): 672–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merton, R. K. 1968. Social theory and social structure. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Merton, R. K. 1973. The sociology of science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Mestrovic, S. G. 1989. Moral theory based on the “heart” versus the “mind”: Schopenhauer’s and Durkheim’s critiques of Kantian ethics. Sociological Review, 37(3): 431–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michaelson, C. A. 2021. Normative meaning of meaningful work. Journal of Business Ethics, 170(3): 413–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michaelson, C., Pratt, M. G., Grant, A. M., & Dunn, C. P 2014. Meaningful work: Connecting business ethics and organization studies. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(1): 77–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Misra, J., & Waters, K. 2016. All fun and cool clothes? Youth workers’ consumer identity in clothing retail. Work and Occupations, 43(3): 294–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitra, R., & Buzzanell, P. M 2017. Communicative tensions of meaningful work: The case of sustainability practitioners. Human Relations, 70(5): 594–616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montani, F., Boudrias, J.-S., & Pigeon, M. 2020. Employee recognition, meaningfulness and behavioural involvement: Test of a moderated mediation model. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(3): 356–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oelberger, C. R 2019. The dark side of deeply meaningful work: Work-relationship turmoil and the moderating role of occupational value homophily. Journal of Management Studies, 56(3): 558–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, T. 1966. The structure of social action. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Parsons, T. 1972. Culture and social system revisited. Social Science Quarterly, 53(2): 253–66.Google Scholar
Parsons, T. 1991. The social system. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Parsons, T., & Platt, G. M 1973. The American university. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pavlish, C., & Hunt, R. 2012. An exploratory study about meaningful work in acute care nursing. Nursing Forum, 47(2): 113–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piccolo, R. F., & Colquitt, J. A. 2006. Transformational leadership and job behaviors: The mediating role of core job characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 49(2): 327–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pratt, M. G., & Ashforth, B. E. 2003. Fostering meaningfulness in working and at work. In Cameron, K. S., Dutton, J. E., & Quinn, R. E. (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline: 309–27. San Francisco: Berret-Koehler.Google Scholar
Prins, S. J., Bates, L. M., Keyes, K. M., & Muntaner, C. 2015. Anxious? Depressed? You might be suffering from capitalism: Contradictory class locations and the prevalence of depression and anxiety in the USA. Sociology of Health and Illness, 37(8): 1352–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reeves, C., & Sinnicks, M. 2021. Business ethics from the standpoint of redemption: Adorno on the possibility of good work. Business Ethics Quarterly, 31(4): 500–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, J. A. 2017. Durkheim and the homo duplex: Anthropocentrism in sociology. Sociological Spectrum, 37(1): 18–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosso, B. D., Dekas, K. H., & Wrzesniewski, A. 2010. On the meaning of work: A theoretical integration and review. Research in Organizational Behavior, 30: 91–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, S. 2006. A theory of cultural value orientations: Explication and applications. Comparative Sociology, 5(2–3): 137–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shadnam, M., Bykov, A., & Prasad, A. 2021. Opening constructive dialogues between business ethics research and the sociology of morality: Introduction to the thematic symposium. Journal of Business Ethics, 170(2): 201–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shams, F. 2019. Managing academic identity tensions in a Canadian public university: The role of identity work in coping with managerialism. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 41(6): 619–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shweder, R. A., Much, N. C., Mahapatra, M., & Park, L. 1997. The “big three” of morality (autonomy, community, divinity) and the “big three” explanations of suffering. In Brant, A. M. & Rozin, P. (Eds.), Morality and health: 119–69. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Swidler, A. 1986. Culture in action: Symbols and strategies. American Sociological Review, 51(2): 273–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taras, V., Rowney, J., & Steel, P. 2009. Half a century of measuring culture: Review of approaches, challenges, and limitations based on the analysis of 121 instruments for quantifying culture. Journal of International Management, 15(4): 357–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tönnies, F. 2001. Community and civil society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vaisey, S. 2009. Motivation and justification: A dual-process model of culture in action. American Journal of Sociology, 114(6): 1675–715.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallace, M., & Leicht, K. T. 2004. Culture wars in the workplace? Cultural antecedents of workers’ job entitlement. Work and Occupations, 31(1): 3–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, M. 1958. Science as a vocation. Daedalus, 87(1): 111–34.Google Scholar
Wrzesniewski, A., & Dutton, J. E. 2001. Crafting a job: Revisioning employees as active crafters of their work. Academy of Management Review, 26(2): 179–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yeoman, R. 2014. Conceptualising meaningful work as a fundamental human need. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(2): 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar