The role of tradition in the conceptualisation and experience of meaningful work: a comparative case study of Christian and secular youth homelessness charities in the United Kingdom

Abstract

This thesis offers an alternative approach to conceptualising meaningful work which has implications for both practice and future research. A recent survey discovered that of a sample of US workers, the participants’ top two priorities in work were contributing to society and creating meaningful work. Existing studies have typically assumed that individuals experience meaningfulness in the same ways, despite earlier calls to investigate how individual differences may affect the meaningfulness they derive from their work. One such difference is religious or spiritual beliefs. Most researchers within meaningful work have approached the subject from a liberal secular perspective, but some studies have suggested that individuals interpret the meaningfulness of their work according to the principles of their religious traditions. Failure to acknowledge this may result in mis-conceptualisation that neglects alternative motivations beyond self-fulfilment.

In an attempt to avoid such an error, this study considers the role of tradition, as understood by Alasdair MacIntyre, in the experience and conceptualisation of meaningful work. This relationship is investigated through a comparative case study of workers within Christian and secular youth homelessness charities in the United Kingdom. Data was collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews with CEOs, managers, and employees from across the charities.

The interviews resulted in three main findings which make significant contributions to knowledge. Firstly, the study suggests meaningful work should be understood in terms of justification and tradition-constituted rationality, arguing that individuals justify the meaningfulness of their work according to the beliefs they inherited from their traditions. Through practical reasoning, individuals can increase the adequacy of their justification. Secondly, the study argues that individuals who derive their sense of meaning from a direct connection between the purpose of their work and/or ethos of the organisation and their narrative identity can possess greater resilience from organisational factors, resulting in greater career and/or organisational commitment. Finally, this thesis proposes that when an employee perceives there to be incongruence between the traditions and practices of a leader and their own, tensions can arise within their sense of meaningfulness.

Date of Award	25 Apr 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Northumbria University
Supervisor	Angus Robson (Supervisor), Nicholas Burton (Supervisor) & Ruth Yeoman (Supervisor)