Meaningful Work and Eudaimonia: Contributing to Social Sustainability in the Workplace

Abstract

Meaningful work (MW) is one of the most topical interests in working life and organisational studies as it is seen to result in many benefits, including eudaimonic wellbeing. It is also an objective in and of itself. The literature on MW has recently developed to multifaceted maturity, yet there is a call for greater understanding as to how employees experience MW. Furthermore, it is important to understand how employee experiences of MW and eudaimonic wellbeing occur in interaction within broader, nonindividual contexts, such as one’s job, organisation, and society, and how those contexts may facilitate or support MW. The dissertation also argues that examining experiences of meaningless work (MLW) can shed light on the quality of work and ways it can be developed. By adding to our understanding of authentic employee experiences of meaningfulness and meaninglessness and examining the relationship between contextual factors and individual experiences, this dissertation investigates how experiences of MW and eudaimonia may be supported at various contextual levels impacting working life and how MW could contribute to more sustainable futures, especially through constructing social sustainability.

This dissertation consists of two parts. The introductory part presents the research background, literature review, and methods, and discusses the results and their implications. The second part introduces five sub-studies conducted in different working life contexts. In each of the sub-studies, qualitative, arts-based, and narrative approaches are applied to elicit and explore employee views of MW and/or wellbeing. The results and conclusions of this dissertation are based on the findings of these sub-studies, which are analysed as a whole in the introductory part of the dissertation.

This dissertation makes several contributions. Firstly, it describes authentic MW and MLW experiences and adds to our understanding of the quality of those experiences. Secondly, it emphasises the importance of developing social, organisational, cultural, and societal practices that allow identification of and reflection on employees’ authentic meaningful day-to-day moments and experiences and the values underpinning them. Thirdly, it suggests organisational, dialogical perspective-taking as a practical method of fostering MW and developing quality of work in an authentically employee-driven manner. Finally, it concludes that understanding MW and MLW experiences, providing access to MW, and facilitating discussions around MW can have wider organisational and societal benefits, for example by re-imagining work, informing the development of measures of wellbeing, and ultimately contributing to a more socially sustainable society.