NEEDS FOR MEANING: THE IMPACT OF NEEDS FOR MEANING-BASED PERSON-JOB FIT ON THE SUB-DIMENSIONS OF MEANINGFUL WORK

Abstract

The development of needs for meaning scale and analyzing its factorial validity with the impact of needs for meaning-based person-job fit on the sub-dimensions of meaningful work are main goals of this study. Analyses were carried out by the data which were collected through convenience sampling method from 355 employees. Needs for meaning scale produces consistent results with the literature conceptualizations need for purpose, need for values and justification, need for efficacy, need for self-worth based on self-determination theory. Total reliability of the scale alpha = .95 and reliability of the subscales alpha ranging from .85 to .92 produce considerable alpha values. The findings related to relations between variables supported the hypothesis that needs for meaning-based person-job fit has a positive impact on the subscales of meaningful work

Keywords

• Needs for Meaning,Needs for Meaning-based Person-Job Fit,Meaningful Work,Self-Determination Theory

ANLAM İHTİYACI: ANLAM İHTİYACI TEMELİNDE BİREY-İŞ UYUMUNUN ANLAMLI İŞİN ALT-BOYUTLARINA KATKISI

Öz

Anlam ihtiyacı ölçeğinin geliştirilmesi ve faktör geçerliliğini test etmek ile anlam ihtiyacı temelinde birey-iş uyumunun anlamlı işin alt- boyutlarına katkısını incelemek bu araştırmanın temel amaçlarıdır. Analizler kolayda ulaşılabilir örneklem yöntemi ile 355 kişiden toplanan veri ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Anlam ihtiyacı ölçeği kendini yönetme özerkliği teorisi temelinde yazındaki dört boyutlu kavramsallaştırma amaç ihtiyacı, değerler ve meşrulaştırma ihtiyacı, yeterlilik ihtiyacı, öz-değer ihtiyacı ile tutarlı sonuçlar vermiştir. Ölçeğin toplam güvenilirliği alfa = .95 ve alt boyutlarının güvenilirliği alfa = .85-.92 arası oldukça yüksek bir alfa değeri vermiştir. Değişkenler arasındaki ilişkilere ait bulgular, anlam ihtiyacı temelinde birey-iş uyumunun anlamlı işin tüm alt boyutları üzerinde olumlu yönde katkıya sahip olduğuna dair kurulan hipotezi desteklemiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Anlam İhtiyacı,Anlam İhtiyacı temelinde Birey-İş Uyumu,Anlamlı İş, Kendini Belirleme Kuramı.

Kaynakça

1. Allan, B. A., Autin, K. L., & Duffy, R. D. (2016). Self-determination and meaningful work: Exploring socioeconomic constraints. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 71.
2. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
3. Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Meanings of life. New York: Guilford Press.
4. Baumeister, R. F. (2014). Self-regulation, ego depletion, and inhibition. Neuropsychologia, 65, 313–319.
5. Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529.
6. Baumeister, R. F., Stillwell, A., & Wotman, S. R. (1990). Victim and perpetrator accounts of interpersonal conflict: autobiographical narratives about anger. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 994–1005.
7. Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2002). The pursuit of meaningfulness in life. In Snyder, C. R., Lopez, S. J. (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 608-628). Oxford: Oxford University Press, New York.
8. Baumeister, R. F., & Wotman, S. R. (1992). Breaking hearts: The two sides of unrequited love. Guilford, New York.

9. Blatt, R., & Camden, C. T. (2007). Positive relationships and cultivating community. In J. E. Dutton & B. R. Ragins (Eds.), Exploring positive relationships at work: Building a theoretical and research foundation (pp. 243–264). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
10. Bono, J. E., & Judge, T. A. (2003). Self-concordance at work: Toward understanding the motivational effects of transformational leaders. Academy of Management Journal, 46 (5), 554–571.
11. Bretz, R. D., & Judge, J.A. (1994). Job search behavior of employed managers. Personnel Psychology, 7, 275-301.
12. Bunderson, J. S., & Thompson, J. A. (2009). The call of the wild: zookeepers, callings, and the dual edges of deeply meaningful work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 54, 32–57.
13. Cable, D. M., & DeRue, D. S. (2002). The convergent and discriminant validity of subjective fit perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 875– 884.
14. Cable, D., & Judge, T. (1996). Person-organization fit, job choice decisions, and organizational entry. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 673, 294–311.
15. Cardador, M. T. (2009). Banking on meaningful work: How, why and when bankers experience meaningful work through helping others. Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois.
16. Coopersmith, S. (1967). The antecedents of self-esteem. San Francisco: Freeman.
17. Crescioni, A. W., & Baumeister, R. (2013). The four needs for meaning, the value gap, and how (and whether) society can fill the void. In J. A. Hicks & C. Routledge (Eds.), The experience of meaning in life: Classical perspectives, emerging themes, and controversies (pp. 3–15). New York: Springer.
18. Çetinkaya, A. Ş., & Kurnaz, G. (2017). Kişi-iş uyumunun performans değerlemeye etkisi: Konya tekstil işletmeleri araştırması. Business and Management Studies: An International Journal, 5(3), 747- 764.
19. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self- determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268.
20. Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., Gagné, M., Leone, D. R., Usunov, J., & Kornazheva, B. P. (2001). Need satisfaction, motivation, and well-being in the work organizations of a former Eastern bloc country. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 930–942.
21. DeVellis, R. F. (2003). Scale development: Theory and applications. 2nd ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1-171.
22. Frankl, V. (1946). Man’s Search for Meaning. New York: Simon & Schuster.
23. Frankl V. (1959). Ein Psycholog erlebt das Konzentrationslager [Man’s Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy]. Boston, MA: Beacon Books.
24. Frankl, V. E. (1967). Psychotherapy and existentialism. Selected papers on logotherapy. New York: Washington Square Press.
25. Frankl, V. (1992). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. (Çev. I. Lasch). Boston: Beacon Press (Original work published in 1959).
26. Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 331–362.
27. Gecas, V. (1991). The self-concept as a basis for a theory of motivation. In: Howard JA, Callero P. L. (Eds), The self-society dynamic: cognition, emotion, and action (pp .171–187). Cambridge University Press, New York.
28. Göka, E. (2013). Hayatın anlamı var mı? İstanbul: Timaş Yayınları.
29. Grant, A. M. (2007). Relational job design and the motivation to make a prosocial difference. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 393–417.
30. Grant, A. M. (2008). The significance of task significance: Job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 108–124.
31. Grant, A., & Berg, J. (2010). Prosocial motivation at work: When, why, and how making a difference makes a difference. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
32. Hackman, J. R., & Lawler, E. E. (1971). Employee reactions to job characteristics. Journal of Applied Psychology, 55, 259–286.
33. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 250–279.
34. Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
35. Hinkin, T. R. (1995). A review of scale development practices in the study of organizations. Journal of Management, 21(5), 967-988.
36. İplik, F. N., Kılıç, K. C., & Yalçın, A. (2011). The simultaneous effects of person-organization and person-job fit on Turkish hotel managers. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 23(5), 644-661.
37. Kahn, W. A. (2007). Meaningful connections: Positive relationships and attachments at work. In J. E. Dutton & B. R. Ragins (Eds.), Exploring positive relationships at work: Building a theoretical and research foundation (pp. 189–206), Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
38. Klemke, E. D. (2000). The meaning of life. Oxford University Press, New York.
39. Korman, A. K. (1966). Self-esteem variable in vocational choice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 50, 479-486.
40. Korman, A. K. (1967). Relevance of personal need satisfaction for overall satisfaction as a function of self-esteem. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 51, 533-538.
41. Lips-Wiersma, M. (2002). The influence of spiritual ‘‘meaning-making’’ on career behavior. The Journal of Management Development, 21(7/8), 497–519.
42. Lips-Wiersma, M., & Wright, S. (2012). Measuring the meaning of meaningful work. Development and validation of the comprehensive meaningful work scale (CMWS). Group & Organization Management, 37(5), 655-685.
43. Lips-Wiersma M., Wright S., & Dik B. (2016). Meaningful work: Differences among blue-, pink-, and white-collar occupations. Career Development International, 21(5), 534-551.
44. Locke, E. A., & Taylor, M. S. (1990). Stress, coping, and the meaning of work. In A. P. Brief &W. R. Nord (Eds.), Meanings of occupational work (pp. 135–170). Lexington: Lexington Books.
45. Lu, C., Wang, H., Lu, J., Du, D., & Bakker, A.B. (2014). Does work engagement increase person-job fit? The role of job crafting and job insecurity. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84, 142-152.
46. MacKenzie, M. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2014). Meaning in life: Nature, needs, and myths. In Alexander Batthyany, Pninit Russo-Netzer (Eds.), Meaning in positive and existential psychology (pp. 25- 37). New York: Springer.
47. May, D. R., Gilson, L., & Harter, L. M. (2004). The psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety and availability and the engagement of the human spirit at work. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77, 11–37.
48. Metz, T. (2002). Recent work on the meaning of life. Ethics, 112, 781–814.
49. Meydan, C. H., & Şeşen, H. (2011). Yapısal eşitlik modellemesi: AMOS uygulamaları. Ankara: Detay Yayıncılık.
50. Nunnaly, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory. 3rd ed., New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
51. Oakley, F. (2015). Generational differences in the frequency and importance of meaningful work. Master Thesis. University of Canterbury.
52. Oldham, G. R. (1976). Job-characteristics and internal motivation: The moderating effect of interpersonal and individual variables. Human Relations, 29(6), 559–568.
53. Pratt, M. G. (2000). The good, the bad, and the ambivalent: Managing identification among Amway distributors. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45(3), 456–493.
54. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
55. Rosso, B. D., Dekas, K. H., & Wrzesniewski, A. (2010). On the meaning of work: A theoretical integration and review. Research in Organizational Behavior, 30, 91–127.
56. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78.
57. Schermelleh-Engel, K., Mossbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Test of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23-74.
58. Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness. San Francisco: Freeman.
59. Sheldon, K. M., & Elliot, A. J. (1999). Goal striving, need satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(3), 482–497.
60. Smola, K. W., & Sutton, C. D. (2002). Generational differences: Revisiting generational work values for the new millenium. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 23(4), 363- 382.
61. Srinivasan, V. (2012). Multi generations in the workforce: Building collaboration. IIMB Management Review, 24, 48-66.
62. Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 80-93.
63. Thompson, J. A., & Bunderson, J. S. (2003). Violations of principle: Ideological currency in the psychological contract. Academy of Management Review, 28, 571–586.
64. Weisskopf-Joelson, E. (1968) Meaning as an integrating factor. In Bühler, C. & Massarik, F. (Eds.), The course of human life: A study of goals in the humanistic perspective. (pp. 359-382).. Oxford, England: Springer.
65. Whyte, W. H. (1956). The organization man. New York: Simon & Schuster.
66. Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.