The Concept of Meaningful Work
The undergirding concept of ‘meaning’ is one that is inevitably related to either the positive or the negative existence of a person and comprises the workplace, in this case, a public university, as a fundamental area of the person’s existence (Wolf 2010, p.7). In the past, the concept was mostly regarded as philosophical, and its application in a workplace such as a public university would be inappropriate. Even so, the contemporary world has witnessed a rapid increase in the usage of the concept in such workplaces. Currently, research tends to agree that people are in constant search for meaning in their work and pursue only those professions they consider meaningful and motivating (Chalofsky and Krishna 2009, p.189-204). Once an individual meets their lower survival needs, their next motive is to address the higher order needs, which comprise the move from a sense of ‘belonging’ to the eventual ‘self-actualization.’ Meaningfulness at work has been found to share a closer relationship with the satiation of such higher order needs. Meeting the needs is the immediate precedence to seeking a meaningful work that results in the sense of motivation. For purposes of simplicity, Wolf (2010, p.10-13) defines meaningfulness as the lacking element in an individual’s life, which they not only yearn for, but in whose pursuit they do not relent.