Flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Does meaning at work mediate the associations between psychosocial work factors and job performance and wellbeing? — ASN Events
  1. Schedule
  2. Podium - Positive Psychology in Organizations, Psychological Safety, Job Performance and well-being, and Investment Decisions
  3. Flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Does meaning at work mediate the associations between psychosocial work factors and job performance and wellbeing?

Flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Does meaning at work mediate the associations between psychosocial work factors and job performance and wellbeing? (#179)

Carol-Anne Gauthier 1 , Émilie Auger 2 , Sylvain Luc 1 , Yosr Tammar 1 , Édouard Boutin 1 , Lionel Adisso 1 , Joël Gagnon 1 , Simon Coulombe 1
  1. Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada
  2. Collège Ahuntsic, Montréal

Background 

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected the way we work. Research on mental health at work during COVID-19 tends to use approaches that are pathologizing and pay insufficient attention to the interrelations between people’s agency, work-related factors, and positive outcomes. One potential factor to consider is meaning at work, which refers to experiencing one’s job as meaningful and as contributing to the greater good. Studies has shown that meaning at work is related to positive outcomes such as job satisfaction, better performance, organizational commitment, and less absenteeism. It has also been shown to be a resilience factor promoting mental health during COVID. Although we know that multiple psychosocial work factors (e.g., recognition, adequate workload, social support) can impact performance and well-being, there is little research concerning the role of meaning at work in that relationship. 

Aims

The objective of this study is to examine the relationships between psychosocial work factors and workers’ wellbeing at work and job performance in the context of COVID-19, as well as the mediator role of meaning at work.

Method

A questionnaire including validated items of psychosocial work factors, meaning at work, perceived performance and well-being at work was completed in October and November 2020 by 833 francophone Canadian workers. 

Results 

Results show that a variety of work factors (high decisional authority, support from colleagues, support from supervisors and recognition, as well as low psychological demands) were positively associated with well-being at work and/or performance. In addition, meaning at work was a significant mediator of the relationship between work factors and wellbeing and performance. 

Conclusion

We suggest that promoting factors associated with meaning at work can support workers’ well-being and performance, especially in times of uncertainty. The applicability of the findings to other stressful situations, such as mergers, will also be discussed.

 

  1. Geldenhuys, M., Laba, K., & Venter, C. M. (2014). Meaningful work, work engagement and organisational commitment. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 40(1), 01-10.
  2. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16(2), 250-279.
  3. Lin, L. (2021). Longitudinal associations of meaning in life and psychosocial adjustment to the COVID‐19 outbreak in China. British Journal of Health Psychology, 26(2), 525-534.
  4. Lobene, E. V., & Meade, A. W. (2013). The effects of career calling and perceived overqualification on work outcomes for primary and secondary school teachers. Journal of Career Development, 40, 508–530.
  5. Steger, M. F., Dik, B. J., & Duffy, R. D. (2012). Measuring meaningful work: The work and meaning inventory (WAMI). Journal of Career Assessment, 20(3), 322-337.
  6. Wrzesniewski, A. (2003) Finding positive meaning in work. In Cameron, K.S., Dutton, J.E. &Quinn, R.E. (Eds.), Positive Organizational Scholarship: Foundations of a New Discipline (pp. 296-308), Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
  • Please select up to 3 keywords from the following list to best describe your submission content: Career and Work, Meaning and Purpose, Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth
#IPPAWorldCongress