These notes include the PowerPoint slides, class notes, and the textbook (Coetzee, M. & Schreuder, A.M.G. (2021). Careers: An Organisational Perspective (6 Ed). Lansdowne: Juta)
CHAPTER 1: THE MEANING OF WORK
Learning outcomes
● After studying this chapter you should be able to:
● Explain the importance and meaning of work for people in general
● Review and discuss the various meanings associated with work as relevant to the pre-
industrial era, industrial era, post-industrial era, the 21st century and Industry 4.0 (digital
era)
● Discuss core principles and issues embedded in the psychology of working
● Discuss work as a central-life interest
● Discuss core work and career values that influence the meaning of work
Core themes
1.2 The meaning of work in different People work for many reasons, and work can
have different meanings.
This animation provides a quick introduction
to ten different meanings of work
(Equivalently, ten ways in which we can think
about what work is): By John W Budd
1.3 The psychology of working Can we achieve decent work for all by 2030?
It is estimated that
over 600 million new jobs need to be created
by 2030,
just to keep pace with the growth of the
global working age population.
1.4 Work as central life interest Towards a brighter future of work in the digital
economy
1.5 Work and career values Career Values - Why we work, what
motivates us?
Work values
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,The Evolution of meanings associated with work
Pre-industrial era: Pre-industrial refers to a time before there were machines and tools to help
perform tasks en masse. Pre-industrial civilization dates back to centuries ago, but the main era
known as the pre-industrial society occurred right before the industrial society.
● Work as drudgery;
● Work as instrumental to spiritual or religious ends;
● Work as intrinsically meaningful for its own purpose
Industrial era: The Industrial Revolution was a period of global transition of human economy
towards more efficient and stable manufacturing processes that succeeded the Agricultural
Revolution, starting from Great Britain
Meaning of work became distorted as industrialisation involved mass production and structural
changes in the work process.
Characteristics of work in this era involved:
● Division of labour
● Fragmented work tasks
● Task became mechanistic
● Repetitive functions
● Long working hours
Post-industrial era: A post-industrial economy is a period of growth within an industrialized
economy or nation in which the relative importance of manufacturing reduces and that of
services, information, and research grows.
● Focus was on information rather than on industry.
● Information technology and globalisation lead to multicultural viewpoints about the
meaning of work.
21st Century: changes in in global markets, and mergers
● Shift from national to global markets, boundaryless , service- driven organisations
● Dynamic changes in organisations, from globalisation, mergers and acquisitions, re-
engineering of business processes, heavy reliance on technology.
Digital era (Fourth Industrial Revolution): A period in human history characterized by the shift
from traditional industry to an economy based on information and communications technology
(ICT).
● Self-regulated career self-management, career agility, personal growth and
development, and an entrepreneurial mindset towards employment creation.
● Business and digital savvy in creating, marketing and selling niche products and
services.
● Work-life balance and integration in high-tech living and working community systems.
● Autonomy, control and flexibility in independent, self-directed forms of work.
Work as a central life interest
● Centrality of work- refers to the degree of importance working has in the life of an
individual at any given point in time.
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, ● Consider the values the work to your life
● Refers to the value outcomes (rewards of working) relative to the outcomes of other life
roles
● High work life centrality- job performance seen as instrumental in obtaining non-financial
/ psychological rewards such as self-worth, growth and personal satisfaction
● low work life centrality- perceive job performance as relating only to economic rewards
associated with the job
Work values in the 21st Century
● Denotes norms, beliefs, principles, preferences, needs, interests, intentions, codes,
criteria, world- view or ideology
● Develop as a result of socio-cultural forces and internal psychological factors
● Protestant views on work gave rise to work ethics such as developing one’s talent and
that all should work (self reliance and mastery). This viewpoint is associated with the
Western Capitalistic society and some Asian countries
● Other factors influencing work values include obligation norm, entitlements, cultural
diversity, and work goals.
Work Values (Coetzee & Schreuder,2021,p.22)
Values influencing the meaning of work
● Advancement- individual places much importance on achievement, upward mobility,
power, and status
● Autonomy- individual place emphasis on freedom to organise their life and work the way
they want
● Self-actualisation- process if inner directedness, where the individual tends to enrich
oneself by psychological growth and finding their meaning to life. Includes factors like
competency and leisure
● Economic/material rewards- associated with the need for job security, good salary and
good working conditions. Some people keep working hard although they are financially
comfortable because:
3
, ○ Working to have things- the more you work the more things you can get,
○ Working to not be left behind- because of the knowledge-based economy,
○ Working to confirm self-worth- economic rewards used as a scoreboard for self-
judgement; and
○ Working to use technology- the advancement and availability of technology
allows for work to be taken home, accessibility from anywhere and access to
information at any time of day.
● Social values- are affective in nature as they are centred around relations with people
rather than material things. Factors include a sense of belonging in society and work-
family enrichment.
● Workplace spirituality- employees have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by
meaningful work in relation to the community. Employee wants to find agreement
between the inner life and the outside world.
Importance of spirituality for the employee
● Spirituality also gives the employee awareness of their higher self and assist employees
to self-actualise and find meaning in work.
● The whole-set system described by spirituality involves trust and truth; freedom and
justice; creativity; collective harmony and intelligence; and deeper meaning and a higher
purpose.
● Work is therefore viewed as an opportunity for self-expression, optimal development and
contributing to the better good of the group., organisation, society and planet as a whole.
Career Values (Coetzee & Schreuder,2021, p.33)
● Extrinsic rewards – important sources of satisfaction
○ Financial rewards
○ Security
○ Prestige
● Self-expression – important sources of satisfaction
○ Creativity
○ Independence
○ Excitement
○ Career development
● Working with others-Important sources of satisfaction
○ Service orientation
○ Team orientation
○ Influence
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