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journey of meaning at work, The

Group Facilitation, Spring 2003 by Epps, John

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The Issue of Meaning at Work

a. Historical Sketch

In the early days of business, when feudalism was beginning to wane and commerce beginning to develop, people were identified with their work. Family names described the family's jobs (such as Weaver, Baker, Smith, Farmer, Butler, Carpenter, Shoemaker, Merchant, Mason, etc.). Society was composed of different occupational groupings structured into guilds that provided both occupational training and personal care. The sense of meaning - of contributing significantly to the larger social enterprise - was clearly tied to one's work, to which one was often born.

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With the industrial revolution came separation of the person from the work. Work itself was divided into pieces, and the individual's role consisted in dealing with one part of a larger process. Since one neither owned the process nor completed more than a small segment of it, meaning was more difficult to perceive in the work. People came to have essentially two "lives," one related to the job and another to their "personal" relationships. Meaning, divorced from work, came to reside in religious communities, home, family, hobbies, friends and other voluntary associations. Work came to be regarded primarily as a means to procure the necessary sustenance to engage in other pursuits.

With the advent of the information age, work is becoming more holistic, demanding, and all consuming, in parallel with a dramatic decline in "extra-curricular" sources of meaning, despite occasional bursts of vitality from voluntary associations. Simultaneously, traditional barriers separating people by space, ideology, race, culture, religion have collapsed, occasioning a search for foundations. Is everything totally relative, or are there solid roots in which to anchor? The question of meaning in the contemporary era is alive and well!

Meaning at work has gained the attention of a growing number of writers in recent years.7 It seems that people want more from work than simply a paycheck and are turning to various gurus to fmd it. Programs from Covey8 to Fish9 highlight your own responsibility for securing the extra dimension of satisfaction from your undertakings. Collins and Porras chronicle instances where major corporations have provided a conducive environment in which to attain it.1 Charles Handy and James Autrey continue to produce book after book" to guide managers in creating an environment in which meaning can flourish.

In a research project on meaning at work, Tom Terez discovered that people from all walks of work life were eager to talk about meaning and ways to recover it in their work. From two years of interviews, he distilled no fewer than 22 "keys" to a meaningful workplace12. It seems that people found different factors important. Although there was no unanimity, "purpose" seems to have been at the top of the priorities for those interviewed.

b. The "Feel" of the Issue

The question of meaning often comes as a gnawing internal "Why?" When no satisfactory answer is given or manifest in the situation, demoralization sets in. "Why?" turns quickly into "Why bother?" Work is not only about making a living; it is also about making a difference. When you can't tell what difference your work is making, your commitment to doing it well quickly declines. You become sort of a pseudo-person at work, going through the motions, but without heart. You sense that you have more to offer than the job allows. You feel constrained, often by intangible forces, but sometimes by regulations or superiors who won't tolerate variations from prescribed routines. Your creativity is stifled. Usually you soldier on, continuing to keep on keeping on, while hope for change dims.

journey of meaning at work, The

Group Facilitation, Spring 2003 by Epps, John

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