Blake A. Allan

Perceiving a Calling, Living a Calling, and Job Satisfaction: Testing a Moderated, Multiple Mediator Model.

The current study examined the relation between perceiving a calling, living a calling, and job satisfaction among a diverse group of employed adults who completed an online survey (N = 201). Perceiving a calling and living a calling were positively correlated with career commitment, work meaning, and job satisfaction. Living a calling moderated the relations of perceiving a calling with career commitment and work meaning, such that these relations were more robust for those with a stronger sense they were living their calling. Additionally, a moderated, multiple mediator model was run to examine the mediating role of career commitment and work meaning in the relation of perceiving a calling and job satisfaction, while accounting for the moderating role of living a calling. Results indicated that work meaning and career commitment fully mediated the relation between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. However, the indirect effects of work meaning and career commitment were only significant for individuals with high levels of living a calling, indicating the importance of living a calling in the link between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Calling and Life Satisfaction: It's Not About Having It, It's About Living It

The present study examined the relation of career calling to life satisfaction among a diverse sample of 553 working adults, with a specific focus on the distinction between perceiving a calling (sensing a calling to a career) and living a calling (actualizing ones calling in ones current career). As hypothesized, the relation of perceiving a calling to life satisfaction was fully mediated by living a calling. On the basis of this finding, a structural equation model was tested to examine possible mediators between living a calling and life satisfaction. As hypothesized, the relation of living a calling to life satisfaction was partially mediated by job satisfaction and life meaning, and the link between living a calling and job satisfaction was mediated by work meaning and career commitment. Modifications of the model also revealed that the link of living a calling to life meaning was mediated by work meaning. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Living a calling and work well-being: a longitudinal study.

The current study examined the link between living a calling and career commitment, work meaning, and job satisfaction with a diverse group of working adults at 3 time points over a 6-month period. Using structural equation modeling, 3 models were tested that hypothesized that living a calling would predict career commitment, work meaning, and job satisfaction over time. However, counter to hypotheses, living a calling was best positioned as an outcome of each of these variables. Specifically, living a calling at Time 2 and Time 3 was significantly predicted by career commitment, work meaning, and job satisfaction at Time 1 and Time 2, respectively. Time 2 living a calling did predict Time 3 work career commitment and work meaning, but these effects were small. Results suggest that over time, individuals who feel committed to their career, derive more meaning from their work, and are more satisfied with their jobs are more likely to feel they are living a calling. Practical implications are discussed.

Examining Social Class and Work Meaning Within the Psychology of Working Framework

In this article, we used the psychology of working framework to examine how social class relates to the experience of meaningful work with two samples of working adults. In Study 1, participants in higher social classes were more likely to experience work meaning than people in lower social classes. Regardless of class, participants reported serving others or contributing to the greater good as the primary source of their work’s meaning. In Study 2, we used a latent, multiple mediator model to test whether the three components of work volition mediated the relation between social class and work meaning. The model was a good fit to the data and partially supported our hypotheses. Specifically, volition and financial constraints fully mediated the relation between social class and work meaning, suggesting that social class may be linked to work meaning due to increased volition and decreased financial constraints.

Examining a Model of Life Satisfaction among Unemployed Adults.

The present study examined a model of life satisfaction among a diverse sample of 184 adults who had been unemployed for an average of 10.60 months. Using the Lent (2004) model of life satisfaction as a framework, a model was tested with 5 hypothesized predictor variables: optimism, job search self-efficacy, job search support, job search behaviors, and work volition. After adding a path in the model from optimism to work volition, the hypothesized model was found to be a good fit for the data and a better fit than a more parsimonious, alternative model. In the hypothesized model, optimism, work volition, job search self-efficacy, and job search support were each found to significantly relate to life satisfaction, accounting for 35% of the variance. Additionally, using 50,000 bootstrapped samples, optimism was found to have a significant indirect effect on life satisfaction as mediated by job search self-efficacy, job search support, and work volition. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Meaning in life and work: A developmental perspective

This study examined linear and nonlinear relations between age and the presence and search for meaning in life and examined if these relations were moderated by the presence of meaning in work. Age did not significantly relate to the presence of meaning in life, but age had a significant, negative linear relation with the search for meaning in life. Moreover, work meaning moderated the quadratic relation between age and life meaning. Specifically, people high in work meaning demonstrated negative quadratic curves, with high life meaning during middle adulthood, and people low in work meaning had positive quadratic curves, with low life meaning during middle adulthood. Work meaning also moderated the linear relation between age and the search for meaning in life with people highest in work meaning showing the strongest negative relation between age and the search for meaning in life. Limitations and implications for future research 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.

Assessing Work as a Calling An Evaluation of Instruments and Practice Recommendations

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.

The development and initial validation of the Decent Work Scale.

Decent work is positioned as the centerpiece of the recently developed Psychology of Working Theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016). However, to date, no instrument exists which assesses all 5 components of decent work from a psychological perspective. In the current study, we developed the Decent Work Scale (DWS) and demonstrated several aspects of validity with 2 samples of working adults. In Study 1 (N = 275), a large pool of items were developed and exploratory factor analysis was conducted resulting in a final 15-item scale with 5 factors/subscales corresponding to the 5 components of decent work: (a) physically and interpersonally safe working conditions, (b) access to health care, (c) adequate compensation, (d) hours that allow for free time and rest, and (e) organizational values that complement family and social values. In Study 2 (N = 589), confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that a 5-factor, bifactor model offered the strongest and most parsimonious fit to the data. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance models were tested demonstrating that the structure of the instrument did not differ across gender, income, social class, and majority/minority racial/ethnic groups. Finally, the overall scale score and 5 subscale scores correlated in the expected directions with similar constructs supporting convergent and discriminant evidence of validity, and subscale scores evidenced predictive validity in the prediction of job satisfaction, work meaning, and withdrawal intentions. The development of this scale provides a useful tool for researchers and practitioners seeking to assess the attainment of decent work among employed adults.

Self-Determination and Meaningful Work: Exploring Socioeconomic Constraints

This study examined a model of meaningful work among a diverse sample of working adults. From the perspectives of Self-Determination Theory and the Psychology of Working Framework, we tested a structural model with social class and work volition predicting SDT motivation variables, which in turn predicted meaningful work. Partially supporting hypotheses, work volition was positively related to internal regulation and negatively related to amotivation, whereas social class was positively related to external regulation and amotivation. In turn, internal regulation was positively related to meaningful work, whereas external regulation and amotivation were negatively related to meaningful work. Indirect effects from work volition to meaningful work via internal regulation and amotivation were significant, and indirect effects from social class to meaningful work via external regulation and amotivation were significant. This study highlights the important relations between SDT motivation variables and meaningful work, especially the large positive relation between internal regulation and meaningful work. However, results also reveal that work volition and social class may play critical roles in predicting internal regulation, external regulation, and amotivation.