Proceedings of the 9th International Academic Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Meaning is the new money: Employee shift of scope in the work environment
Dr. Athena Smith
ABSTRACT:
The post-covid labor force in the US, and the “Great Resignation” it embarked on, have upended the work norms of maximization of productivity, devotion to the needs of the work place, servility to customers, adherence to the Macdonaldization principles of the business setting and acceptance of fewer benefits than the European counterparts. The millions who resigned sought better working conditions, further education, establishment of a personal business, or retirement. Under the pressures of severe labor shortage, employers listened to the need of securing “meaning” that had filled the business publications many decades before, culminating in a research project by BetterUp (2017), that showed 90% of employees surveyed, willing to trade a percentage of their lifetime earnings for greater meaning at work.
In the current qualitative research, one will explore through interviews with a diverse sample of employees in the Tampa Bay area, Florida, the characteristics, definitions and implications of “meaning” in the modern workplace. A content analysis of the interviews will analyze the inner components of meaning as defined by employees, the importance it plays in job performance, physical and mental health of the personnel, and business growth.
The research will offer important insights to organizations adjusting to a younger labor force with different aspirations and personalities. It will help business directors redesign the work environment by translating meaning into specific actions that promote a more productive and more sustainable work environment.
Keywords: Meaning, work, Covid, resignation, employees