Identity work of public hospital nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

BACKGROUND

 Nurses play a remarkable role in our healthcare system and contribute to the wellbeing of communities at large. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nurses faced various challenges to provide adequate patient healthcare.

OBJECTIVES

 This study aimed to explore the identity work of public hospital nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHOD

 The study followed a phenomenological qualitative approach with an interpretive view, employing two sampling methods: purposive and snowball sampling. The sample comprised 11 nurses from a public hospital in the Gauteng province. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

 The findings revealed that the nurses faced identity demands, which resulted in them experiencing identity tensions. There was also a need for recognition and support; their work served a greater purpose and was meaningful to them. The nurses used different identity work strategies, such as family support, spiritual upliftment and meaningful work to deal with the identity tensions and demands they experienced.

CONCLUSION

 Strategies such as counselling and wellbeing programmes should be implemented to assist nurses in dealing with the physical and psychological effects of working in the health sector during pandemics and epidemics. Hospitals and governments should create healthier working environments by conducting workshops, training and upskilling initiatives, encouraging nurses' inclusion in policymaking and implementation.Contribution: The study provided insight into the challenges nurses encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, how these challenges affected their nursing identity and roles, and the strategies they used to maintain their sense of self in their work.

"Few things in life are easy and worth doing": how the bi-directional relationships between meaningful work and work-related stress can both help and hinder wellbeing

Introduction

Meaning is a key part of psychological wellbeing, and the benefits of meaningful work are widely acknowledged. Many people seek meaning from their work, and some organizations aim to facilitate this through interventions. In parallel, work-related stress has become a significant occupational risk. This study seeks to understand the perspectives of those who find their work to be both meaningful and stressful, and to explore the relationships between these concepts.

Methods

Eleven women and six men, aged 34-61, primarily based in the UK, from the private, public, and third sectors were interviewed about their experiences of meaning and stress in their work. Using a social constructivist grounded theory approach, data collection and analysis ran in parallel.

Results

Findings indicate that meaningful work and work-related stress are inherently connected, with bi-directional relationships that can support and hinder wellbeing. Meaningfulness can both alleviate and exacerbate stress, and stress can both reinforce and reduce meaningfulness. Meaningfulness and stress can even feel co-dependent, depending on how participants perceive and make sense of their experience.

Discussion

With many individuals seeking greater meaningfulness from their work, the results suggest that they- and their employers-would benefit from understanding more about the potential harmful effects of meaningfulness, including implications for stress and possible knock-on consequences for health and work.

Examining the Pro-Self and Prosocial Components of a Calling Outlook: A Critical Review

Work on callings has burgeoned in the past 20 years, yet recent reviews exposed a lack of conceptual clarity and disagreements around its definition, components and measures. One lingering point of contention revolves around the element of prosociality: is a calling orientation primarily motivated by self-interest, prosocially orientated, or a mix of both? This conceptual paper reviews and examines the pro-self and prosocial component of a calling outlook, by examining and comparing the ways in which they feature in different calling subtypes: classic, neoclassic and modern callings. Our analysis suggests that these subtypes vary in where they are located on a pro-self-prosocial continuum: classic callings are located on the prosocial side of the axis, modern callings are located on pro-self side of the axis, and neoclassic callings can be situated in the middle of the continuum, integrating self-orientated and other-orientated motivations. Our analysis further suggests that these calling subtypes draw on divergent value systems: classic callings are propelled by self-transcendent values, modern callings are driven by self-actualization motivations, and neoclassic callings integrate both value systems. We therefore argue that the subjective experiences of pursuing a calling within each subtype pathway differ, although they may culminate in similar outcomes. The paper offers a novel framework for analyzing people's calling that draws on their values.

Changes in Nurses' Sense of Calling During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

This study investigated changes in nurses' sense of calling during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as possible reasons for these changes. A total of 440 nurses in Turkey responded to a single open-ended question about their work attitudes and experiences. Emergent Qualitative Document Analysis (QDA) was used to analyze the responses. Results demonstrated that nurses experienced both positive and negative changes to their sense of calling, sometimes simultaneously. The most frequently cited reasons for positive changes were nurses' perceived job significance, their desire to serve humanity, and a sense of meaningful work. In contrast, terms describing their reasons for experiencing negative changes include exhaustion, underpaid, unappreciated, overwork, disengagement, risky, stress, and anxiety. This study provides the first evidence on how a sense of calling experienced by Turkish nurses has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications for theory, research, and practice are explored.

Calling for a meaningful contribution? Bridging contributing to society with motivation theory

This paper examines the concept of "contributing to society" in the context of meaningful work and calling. While previous studies have identified it as a significant dimension within these concepts, little attention has been paid to trying to conceptualize it. Also, with "self-oriented" fulfillment being an important aspect of the experience of meaningfulness, the understanding of contribution to society might be more complex than being simply an "other-oriented" concept. In response to this conceptual unclarity, we define contributing to society as a belief individuals hold about whether tasks positively impact work beneficiaries. We integrate this with Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT) to determine the expected task value of such belief. Our argument is that fulfillment of a contribution depends on three factors: (1) the expectation of a contribution based on someone's calling and expected meaningfulness; (2) the extent to which the employee is invested in the task, the costs of such task, whether the beneficiary and impact value and the utility for the self and beneficiary match the preference; (3) the extent to which this contribution is sufficient considering someone's expectation. Therefore, the expected task value can differ between individuals concerning the number and types of beneficiaries and the extent and value of the impact. Moreover, in this way contributions to society should also be perceived from a self-oriented perspective to be fulfilling. This original concept offers a theoretical framework and a research agenda that proposes new avenues of inquiry for calling, meaningful work, contributing to society, and related fields such as job design, and public policy.

Career Calling, Courage, Flourishing and Satisfaction with Life in Italian University Students

Career calling is defined as a positive resource promoting vocational development and well-being. The present study focuses on the relationships between career calling, courage and two indicators of well-being, i.e., flourishing and satisfaction with life. The sample consisted of 306 Italian university students (118 males and 188 females) ranging from 18 to 30 years of age. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach with latent variables was adopted. The results showed that courage plays a mediating role between career calling and well-being indicators. In light of these results, suggestions on the practical implications for career interventions to support university students are also addressed.

Calling: Never seen before or heard of - A survey among Swiss physicians

BACKGROUND

Research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates physicians to do their work and what keeps them in the profession.

OBJECTIVES

To explore calling as an approach to work in a sample of physicians.

METHODS

We designed an online survey addressing career choice and career calling among physicians in French-speaking Switzerland, and measured associations between calling and categorical variables (participant characteristics, motivations for choosing medicine, career choice(s) and consistency, and definition of calling).

RESULTS

The majority of physicians (n = 229) reported that a calling was not a career motivator. The main reasons for becoming a physician were to be useful (n = 173), the scientific aspects of medicine (n = 168), and altruism (n = 153). Viewing medicine as a calling was significantly associated with having been attracted specifically and only to the medical career and stability of this career choice. Physicians defined a calling as internal summons (n = 140), passion (n = 126), and sense of purpose in life (n = 101). Being in the right place, internal summons, and passion were significantly more often considered as a definition for calling by physicians with a calling.

CONCLUSIONS

A sense of calling influences career choice and professional stability, and might play a protective role in exhaustion or dissatisfaction at work.

How Does Career Calling Influence Preservice Teachers' Learning Engagement? A Multiple Mediating Roles of Occupational Self-Efficacy and Vocational Outcome Expectation

This study used social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to explore the relationships between career calling, occupational self-efficacy, vocational outcome expectation, and learning engagement among preservice teachers at a normal university in China. Data from 1,029 preservice teachers were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. The results revealed that career calling was found to be significantly and positively affected on learning engagement; occupational self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectation were identified as key mediators of this relationship. These findings advance our knowledge of how best to promote the learning engagement of preservice teachers and may inform the future design of teacher development programs.

“Called” To Speak Out: Employee Career Calling and Voice Behavior

This study is the first one to explore the relation between career calling and employee voice and two potential mediators of this relationship, felt responsibility for constructive change and employee optimism about the future. Surveys from 406 employees of a law enforcement agency in the Midwest U.S. were analyzed using logistic regression and bootstrapping method with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine support for the hypotheses’ main and mediating effects. A behavioral measure was used to capture employees’ promotive voice behavior. Results indicated that individuals with stronger career calling were more likely to engage in promotive voice, after controlling for personality, perceptions toward work, and organizational tenure. In addition, career calling was positively associated with both felt responsibility and employee optimism. Finally, felt responsibility for constructive change fully mediated the relationship between career calling and promotive voice. The implications of these findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Positive and negative religiousness and search for meaning: Impact on treatment of substance abuse after 6 months

BACKGROUND

Religiousness and meaning in life are protective factors against addiction. Understanding this relationship may help to improve treatment. The aim of the current study was to assess the associations of positive and negative religiousness and search for meaning with treatment outcome, for patients with substance disorder (SUD).

METHOD

The sample consisted of 115 participants attending a Christian drug addiction treatment center in the Netherlands. The study had a longitudinal design in which associations of positive/negative religiousness and search for meaning at baseline (T0) with treatment outcome after six months (T1) were assessed by means of regression analyses. Treatment outcome was measured by clinical dysfunction and the degree of addiction. Instruments used were the ROM (Routine Outcome Monitoring) Meaning and Religious Faith, the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45) and the Measurements in the Addictions for Triage and Evaluations (MATE-1).

RESULTS

A high degree of positive religiousness at T0 was associated with less addiction at T1 (p < .01). A high degree of negative religiousness at T0 was related to more clinical dysfunction at T1 (p = <0.05). A higher search for meaning at T0 predicted a higher level of addiction at T1 (p = <0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Positive religiousness is associated with less, whereas search for meaning is associated with more addiction after six months. Negative religiousness is not associated with addiction, but with clinical dysfunction. Health professionals are recommended to assess these factors at the start of treatment and to consider possibilities to integrate them into treatment.

Pavers of the way: Enablers to a lived calling in an Australian context

The aim of this paper is to identify and explore 'enablers' to a lived calling: those people, things or events that pave the way for individuals to live their calling. These enablers emerged from a study of sixty-five Australian respondents across a range of industries. The results of the research, which utilised the grounded theory research methodology and collected data using semi-structured interviews, showed that the most prominent enablers to a lived calling were: (1) embracing opportunities and making the most of them; (2) support from others; (3) self-confidence/belief; (4) education and financial resources; (5) luck and (6) experience.

A Validation Study of the Work Need Satisfaction Scale for Korean Working Adults

This study aimed to verify the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Work Need Satisfaction Scale for working adults, based on the psychology of working theory. A total of 589 working adults in Korea responded to the online survey. Of these respondents, 339 were used for exploratory factor analysis and 250 for confirmatory factor analysis. In Stage 1, we translated all items into Korean, back-translated them into English, and then verified the accuracy of the translation. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the 5-factor structure of the Korean version of the Work Need Satisfaction Scale reflecting those of the original scale (survival needs, social contribution needs, autonomy, relatedness, and competence). The scale showed good internal consistency. In Stage 2, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, and the results indicated that there were no significant differences between a correlational model, a higher-order model, and a higher-order self-determination needs model. Thus, we offered a higher-order self-determination needs model, which had better model fit and was consistent with the original scale and the psychology of working theoretical framework. In addition, convergent and discriminant validity were supported by correlation estimates of the Korean version of the Work Need Satisfaction Scale, and the concurrent validity showed that the Korean version of the Work Need Satisfaction Scale had a significant proportion of explained variance for outcomes. The findings support the conclusion that this study established strong internal consistency and validity for the Korean version of the Work Need Satisfaction Scale. Thus, the scale is unique and meaningful for measuring need satisfaction in work settings in Korea.

Sense of calling, job crafting, spiritual leadership and work meaningfulness: a moderated mediation model

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between sense of calling and work meaningfulness with job crafting as a mediator and spiritual leadership as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting a three-wave procedure, data were collected from 333 participants across industries from Guangdong province, China.

Findings

Results indicate that job crafting partially mediates the relationship between employee sense of calling and work meaningfulness. Moreover, the positive relationship between job crafting and work meaningfulness is more significant when spiritual leadership is high than when it is low. Additionally, spiritual leadership moderates the indirect relationship of sense of calling and work meaningfulness through job crafting such that the indirect effect of sense of calling is stronger when spiritual leadership is high than when it is low.

Originality/value

Based on self-determination theory, this study adds to current literatures examining the importance of sense of calling on a person's career and explores the boundary conditions, which bring desirable outcomes.

The Mediating Role of Meaning in Life in the Effects of Calling on Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Growth: A Longitudinal Study of Navy Soldiers Deployed to the Gulf of Aden

This study examined the mediating role of meaning in life in the effect of calling on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among navy soldiers of the Republic of Korea deployed to the Gulf of Aden, Somalia. Participants responded to the questionnaire survey three times (pre-deployment, deployment, and post-deployment) at 4-month intervals. From the first, second, and third surveys, data were collected for 223, 195, and 103 respondents, respectively. Results showed that calling had a negative effect on PTSD, fully mediated by meaning in life, whereas calling had a positive effect on PTG, partially mediated by meaning in life. Our findings suggest that calling acts as a positive psychological resource for maintaining the meaning in life throughout stressful events experienced during deployment, thereby reducing posttraumatic stress symptoms and promoting post-deployment psychological growth. Finally, theoretical and practical implications and the need for follow-up studies are discussed.

The Curvilinear Relationship Between Career Calling and Work Fatigue: A Moderated Mediating Model

Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and event system theory (EST), this study constructed a moderated mediating model to investigate the direct effect of career calling on work fatigue, the mediating effect of role overload, and the moderating effect of COVID-19 event disruption in the above relationships. We administered an online questionnaire to 488 Chinese police officers who participated in frontline work to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed a U-shaped curvilinear relationship of career calling with physical fatigue, mental fatigue, emotional fatigue, and role overload. Moreover, role overload partially mediated these curvilinear relationships. In addition, COVID-19 event disruption positively moderated the direct curvilinear effect of career calling on role overload, physical fatigue, and emotional fatigue, as well as the first stage of the mediating effect in the relationship between career calling and physical, mental, and emotional fatigue through role overload. Furthermore, the direct U-shaped curvilinear effects and the indirect effects were more significant when COVID-19 event disruption was high.

The Relationship Between Career Success and Sense of Purpose: Examining Linkages and Changes

Objectives

Although researchers have linked sense of purpose to working status, there are few studies examining how specific characteristics of work may correlate with sense of purpose. The aim of the current study is to extend prior research by assessing the degree to which objective and subjective forms of career success—occupational prestige and work satisfaction—are associated with levels of and changes in sense of purpose.

Methods

Participants were part of the Rochester Adult Longitudinal Study (N = 307), which contains multiple cohorts of participants each assessed at multiple waves (full age range: 42–71). We used cross-lagged modeling to test the relationships in our model.

Results

Occupational prestige was not associated with sense of purpose levels and change. However, work satisfaction was positively associated with higher levels of sense of purpose initially, and there was evidence that changes in the 2 constructs were positively correlated.

Discussion

These findings suggest that subjective career success may be more important for sense of purpose than more objective indicators. Findings are discussed with respect to study limitations and guidance for future researchers using secondary data.

Passion for Work and Well-Being of Working Adults

The purpose of the present study was to extend a study by Yukhymenko-Lescroart and Sharma (2019,“The Relationship Between Faculty Members’ Passion for Work and Well-Being”) to test the relationship between passion for work and well-being using a completely independent and much more heterogeneous sample of full-time working adults representing a wide variety of professions. Participants, who were recruited through the Amazon’s Mechanical Turk website, completed several scales ( N = 297, 55.2% female, median age = 34 years), and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. In line with our hypotheses, results showed that harmonious passion for work contributed positively to life satisfaction, subjective happiness, awareness of purpose, altruistic purpose, and awakening to the purpose. Additionally, obsessive passion for work contributed positively to altruistic purpose and awakening to the purpose. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that obsessive passion for work contributed to the awareness of purpose.

Functional optimality of personal the meaning of the profession

The purpose of this study was to determine the functional potential of various types of personal meaning of the profession. The article describes the results of an empirical study that involved a sample of 647 subjects. As methods of mathematical-statistical processing were used: the Pearson correlation criterion, one-way analysis of variance, followed by post hoc comparison of the mean values of groups by the Scheffe method, the criterion GT-Vegeliusa. The analysis made it possible to identify the optimal, suboptimal and pessimistic personal meaning of the profession from the point of view of its regulatory functions.

The Role of Calling in a Social Cognitive Model of Well-Being

The present study examined the role of calling in a social cognitive model of well-being using a sample of 328 South Korean teachers. The model incorporating calling into the social cognitive model of well-being demonstrated an excellent fit, and our variables accounted for significant variance in job satisfaction (47%) and life satisfaction (38%). Among the 12 direct paths of the proposed model, 10 hypothesized paths were significant. The direct paths from positive affect to calling, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction; from calling to self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and life satisfaction; from self-efficacy to outcome expectations; from outcome expectations to job satisfaction; and from job satisfaction to life satisfaction were significant. Additionally, the mediating paths between positive affect and life satisfaction via calling, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and job satisfaction were significant. The practical implications for enhancing teachers’ job and life satisfaction and future directions of research were discussed.

Research on Work as a Calling…and How to Make It Matter

The concept of work as a calling has the potential to provide unique and powerful insights into how individuals relate to their work and organizations. However, although this concept may be one of the oldest in the study of work—harking back to the Protestant Reformation—its impact on mainstream OP and OB research has been limited. We review the research literature on work as a calling, and identify several issues that are preventing research in this area from reaching its potential—issues of definition, differentiation, generalizability, and relevance. We consider each of these questions and propose a path forward. Central to that path forward is an integrated conceptualization of calling—what we call a transcendent calling—that puts dual emphasis on the inner requiredness of passion and enjoyment and the outer requiredness of duty and destiny.

Multiple Meanings of Calling: Next Steps for Studying an Evolving Construct

Research on work as a calling has rapidly increased in recent years, yet the lack of consensus regarding the construct’s definition presents key challenges to researchers, most notably the potential lack of coherence as research on calling accumulates. We begin with a brief overview of current definitions in the literature to illustrate the overlapping yet distinct conceptualizations of the construct, placing them along a continuum of “neoclassical” to “modern.” Next, we explore strengths and shortcomings of the two most commonly employed methodological strategies for studying calling, the “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches. We invite researchers to adopt a third strategy, the typological approach (and the taxometric method in particular), to offer much-needed conceptual clarity by empirically investigating whether there are distinct types of calling or whether the construct is best conceptualized as dimensional in nature. Finally, we present recommendations to guide researchers, reviewers, and consumers of research related to work as a calling on a path that reduces its ongoing conceptual murkiness.

Calling as a Predictor of Life Satisfaction

The current study examined the mediating role of psychological capital and work–family enrichment in the relation between calling and life satisfaction. Moreover, the moderating role of boundary management strategy, the tactics individuals utilize to manage role boundaries, in the relation between calling and work–family enrichment was investigated. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from members of the South Korean navy ( N = 195). As hypothesized, people who have a calling obtained more psychological capital (hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism) from their work experience, which in turn positively related to work-to-family enrichment and life satisfaction. Although a statistically significant moderating effect of boundary management strategy was found, the pattern of the interaction was different from our original prediction; the positive relation between calling and work-to-family enrichment was stronger among those who strive to separate the work and family domains (i.e., separators) than among those who aim to integrate the two domains (i.e., integrators). The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

"It's Kind of a Dichotomy": Thoughts Related to Calling and Purpose from Pastors Working and Counseling in Urban Resource-Poor Communities

Pastors serving low-income urban areas are first-responders to emotional issues by default, since fewer mental health resources are available. Thus, it is important to understand how pastors serving urban resource-poor areas reflect on their counseling role. Forty-eight Black, Hispanic, and White pastors with urban congregations in Los Angeles or Chicago reflect on their pastoral calling and its relation to their counseling role. Through phenomenology, the pastors' lived experiences as they counseled in an urban context were explored. Analysis revealed complex feelings about their counseling role in light of their resource-poor environments. Recommendations are provided based on the findings.

Association Between Physician Burnout and Identification With Medicine as a Calling

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between degree of professional burnout and physicians' sense of calling.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS

US physicians across all specialties were surveyed between October 24, 2014, and May 29, 2015. Professional burnout was assessed using a validated single-item measure. Sense of calling, defined as committing one's life to personally meaningful work that serves a prosocial purpose, was assessed using 6 validated true-false items. Associations between burnout and identification with calling items were assessed using multivariable logistic regressions.

RESULTS

A total of 2263 physicians completed surveys (63.1% response rate). Among respondents, 28.5% (n=639) reported experiencing some degree of burnout. Compared with physicians who reported no burnout symptoms, those who were completely burned out had lower odds of finding their work rewarding (odds ratio [OR], 0.05; 95% CI, 0.02-0.10; P<.001), seeing their work as one of the most important things in their lives (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.21-0.69; P<.001), or thinking their work makes the world a better place (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17-0.85; P=.02). Burnout was also associated with lower odds of enjoying talking about their work to others (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.13-0.41; P<.001), choosing their work life again (OR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.06-0.20; P<.001), or continuing with their current work even if they were no longer paid if they were financially stable (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.15-0.59; P<.001).

CONCLUSION

Physicians who experience more burnout are less likely to identify with medicine as a calling. Erosion of the sense that medicine is a calling may have adverse consequences for physicians as well as those for whom they care.

Linking Perceived Organizational Frustration to Work Engagement

The study examined the link between perceived organizational frustration and work engagement and the moderating roles of sense of calling and psychological meaningfulness in this link. Primary and postprimary (high) school teachers ( N = 207) from Southeast Nigeria were sampled for the study. Consistent with our propositions, perceived frustration was found to be negatively related to work engagement. Sense of calling and psychological meaningfulness were positively related to work engagement. The results of the moderated regression analyses showed that teachers with high sense of calling were found to be more engaged with their work regardless of perceiving high organizational frustration than their counterparts with low sense of calling. More so, teachers with high psychological meaningfulness were reported to be more engaged with their work despite experiencing high organizational frustration than their counterparts with low psychological meaningfulness. The results of the study suggest that enhancement of sense of calling and work meaningfulness among teachers is desirous, as they could ensure positive work behaviors even in the presence of challenging work environment.

Crafting a Calling

Despite the emerging interest in the job crafting construct, researchers know little about its dimensions and their potential benefits for organizations. In a quantitative investigation, using a self-report questionnaire among a group of 189 Portuguese nurses and nursing assistants, we analyze how job crafting can be strongly related to workers’ sense of calling and turnover intention. The results indicate that sense of calling totally mediated the negative relation between the increase in challenging job demands and turnover intention. Although traditional assumption is that a sense of calling leads workers to craft their jobs, we theorize about the potential reverse path, given that our results support the possibility that sense of calling may be triggered when workers increase their own challenging job demands. We recommend further research to provide additional insight into job crafting formation mechanism.

Cross-Cultural Validation of the Career Calling Scale for Korean Emerging Adults

This study set to provide an age- and culturally-appropriate measure of career calling for Korean young adults. We conducted a literature review and identified a suitable, 15-item Career Calling Scale for Emerging Adults. We translated all items into Korean, back-translated into English, and verified for accuracy. An exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors reflecting those of the original scale ( other-oriented meaning, active engagement, and personal meaning; Stage 1; N = 152), and a confirmatory factor analysis supported that these loaded on a higher order factor of career calling (Stage 2; N = 260). The scale showed good internal consistency, and scale validity was supported by finding positive correlations with well-being and a second measure of career calling and a negative correlation with career indecision. The findings support our argument that career calling, viewed as a salient and meaningful career goal, is a relevant concept for Korean young adults.

Assessing Calling in Chinese College Students

Research suggests that perceiving a calling toward a particular career is relatively frequent among college students in Western cultures. However, little is known about how this applies to other cultural contexts. This study assessed the perception of career as a calling in the Chinese culture. Study 1 reports the development of the Chinese Calling Scale (CCS), based on a sample of 788 Chinese college students, and identifies three dimensions of a calling: altruism, guiding force, and meaning and purpose. Measurement invariance of the CCS across gender is supported. In Study 2, the convergent and criterion validity of the CCS is examined based on a sample of 387 college students. The CCS is strongly related to an existing calling measure and moderately related to life meaning and life satisfaction. Study 3 examines the relation between calling, hope, life meaning, life satisfaction, and career decidedness among 518 college students. The findings reveal that hope significantly mediated the relation of calling with career decidedness, life meaning, and life satisfaction. In summary, this study provides a new scale to assess calling in Chinese culture and is the first to explore how calling relates to dispositional hope.

Living a Calling, Nationality, and Life Satisfaction

The present study examined the differences in the experience of a calling among working adults in the Unites States and India. First, we examined group differences in perceiving a calling and living a calling between Americans and Indians, with Indians being more likely to endorse perceiving and living out a calling than Americans. Second, we tested a moderated, multiple mediator model to investigate the mediating role of life meaning and job satisfaction in the relation of living a calling to life satisfaction and the moderating role of nationality. Supporting prior research, both life meaning and job satisfaction were found to mediate the relation between living a calling and life satisfaction. Furthermore, we found that nationality moderated the living calling–life meaning and living calling–job satisfaction links. These results indicate the importance of nationality in the link between living a calling and life satisfaction. Implications for research are discussed.

Experiencing a sense of calling: The influence of meaningful work on teachers’ work attitudes

Orientation: Worldwide transformation and change in education has placed increased demands on teachers, which has resulted in teachers experiencing a potentially negative work attitude. Research purpose: The aim of this article was to expand the understanding of the relationship between a sense of calling, work attitude and meaningful work.Motivation for the study: The international community has rated the quality of education in South Africa as being substandard. Therefore, work attitudes and the impact of meaningful work in the current educational system was investigated. Research approach, design and method: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was used with a representative sample of teachers in South Africa (N = 270). Data were gathered by means of questionnaires and analysed through structural equation modelling.Main findings: A significant positive relationship was found between a sense of calling and work attitude. Meaningful work was found to mediate the relationship between a sense of calling and positive work attitude.Practical/managerial implications: Retention of teachers displaying a positive work attitude as well as those finding meaning in their work is paramount. Communication pertaining to the broader mission and common goals of the Department of Education should transpire. Support and training should be provided and teachers should be allowed autonomy in a school atmosphere that is pleasant and disciplined. Contribution/value-add: Sufficient support to enhance meaningful work may contribute to the delivery of quality education.

Assessing Work as a Calling

This study examined the utility of five popular assessments of work as a calling. A large and diverse group of working adults completed the Calling Paragraph, Brief Calling Scale (BCS), Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ), Calling Scale (CS), and Multidimensional Calling Measure (MCM) at two time points, along with a face valid measure of having a calling (yes or no) and three work-related outcomes. All measures were found to be reliable; have strong test–retest reliability; and moderately to strongly correlate with work meaning, career commitment, and job satisfaction at Time 1 and Time 2. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed mixed evidence concerning the ability of all instruments to load onto one factor. The BCS and CVQ were the best predictors of having a calling, whereas the CS and MCM were the best predictors of work outcomes. The discussion highlights the complexities of each of these instruments in accurately assessing a calling versus a more global, positive work outlook. Recommendations are offered for researchers seeking to study work as a calling.

Self-Regulatory Processes Mediating Between Career Calling and Perceived Employability and Life Satisfaction in Emerging Adults

We tested a cross-sectional, mediation model of career calling, in which career calling was associated positively with life satisfaction and perceptions of future employability, and these relationships were explained by the self-regulatory mechanisms of work effort, career strategies, and emotional regulation. Using a sample of 664 emerging adults (74.8% female, mean age = 20.2 years) and structural equation modeling, we found that higher career calling was associated with higher life satisfaction and perceived employability. In addition, higher calling was associated with more work effort, greater use of career strategies, and higher emotional regulation. Work effort and emotional regulation mediated the relationship between career calling and life satisfaction. Additionally, work effort, emotional regulation, and career strategies mediated between career calling and perceived employability. We interpreted the results from a developmental and goal-setting perspective and made recommendations for practice.

A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study of Career Calling Among Undergraduates

This two-wave longitudinal study investigated the reciprocal relations between five possible predictors of career calling (presence of life meaning, search for life meaning, career decision self-efficacy, personal growth initiative, and intrinsic religiousness) among a sample of undergraduate college students over a 6-month period. Using structural equation modeling, two models were tested. The first model included all five predictor variables and was a poor fit for the data; the second model included only search for life meaning and personal growth and displayed improved model fit. Results from the second model indicated that search for life meaning and personal growth at Time 1 significantly predicted calling at Time 2, whereas calling at Time 1 was a nonsignificant predictor of either Time 2 outcomes. These findings suggest the more one is searching for his or her meaning in life and intentionally engaging in self-improvement, the more likely she or he is to later experience a calling.

Work as a Calling in China

This study explored how the perception of work as a calling, a construct with a long history in Western culture, is experienced within Chinese culture. A qualitative study was conducted with 210 Chinese college students. Using emergent qualitative document analysis, results revealed four dimensions of general calling and career-related calling: Guiding Force, Meaning and Purpose, Altruism, and Active Tendency. These results largely converge with those found using samples within Western cultures, although the label “sense of duty” was found to be a unique and salient aspect of calling among Chinese college students. Results also revealed that effect of calling was not always positive. This study provides the first evidence that many aspects of the multidimensional construct of calling may be shared within Chinese culture, at least with college student participants. Implications for research and practice are explored.

The Development and Initial Validation of a Career Calling Scale for Emerging Adults

Career calling, a salient career goal that is personally meaningful and oriented toward helping others, is a developmental construct that is especially important for emerging adults when making career decisions and setting career goals. As no existing measure reflects the developmental aspect of career calling, we devised an age-appropriate measure suitable for use with this population. We reviewed the extant literature, conducted focus groups, and used expert reviews to generate 34 initial items. Item and exploratory factor analyses were employed to reduce these items to 15, representing three reliable subscales (Study 1; N = 345 emerging adults). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the initial factor structure (Study 2; N = 527). Expected correlations with adult measures of career calling (search and presence), general career indecision, and life satisfaction supported construct validity (Study 2; N = 435). The implications for research and practice are discussed.

Does the Source of a Calling Matter? External Summons, Destiny, and Perfect Fit

This study examined the endorsement of three different sources of a calling—external summons, destiny, and perfect fit—and how the endorsement of these sources related to levels of living a calling, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction. With a sample of 200 employed adults, participants were asked to select a source group that best described where their calling originated. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant differences among the three primary source groups on levels of living a calling, job satisfaction, or life satisfaction. However, group membership was a significant moderator in the relation of living a calling to life satisfaction. Specifically, the relation of living a calling to life satisfaction was more pronounced for participants endorsing a destiny belief than for those endorsing other sources. Overall, results indicate that as long as workers feel they are living out their calling, the source of their calling matters little in terms of how calling links to job and life satisfaction.