Abstract
Orientation: Meaningful work and personal engagement are important dimensions of flourishing of employees, especially when individuals work in challenging jobs.Research purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between demands–abilities fit, work beliefs, meaningful work and engagement in individuals in nature-based jobs.Motivation for the study: Individuals working in nature often work under challenging circumstances without the necessary resources. A research gap exists regarding the effects of demands–abilities fit and work beliefs on meaningful work. It is also not clear how these antecedents and meaningful work will impact the engagement of individuals working in nature.Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey was used with a convenience sample of 161 nature-based employees. Data were collected using a structured online questionnaire consisting of items from the demands–abilities fit scale, work–life questionnaire, work and meaning Inventory, work engagement scale and a biographical questionnaire.Main findings: Work beliefs (calling, career and job) and demands–abilities fit predicted a large percentage of the variance in meaning making. Work beliefs (calling and job) and demands–abilities fit also predicted a large percentage of the variance in greater good motivations. Demands–abilities fit and a calling work orientation indirectly affected work engagement via meaningful work. The scales which measured calling and job orientations showed insufficient discriminant validity in relation to the scales which measured positive meaning and work engagement.Practical and managerial implications: Managers should consider implementing interventions to affect the demands–abilities fit (through human resource management interventions) and work beliefs of individuals working in nature (through job crafting). Promoting perceptions of meaningful work might contribute to higher personal engagement.Contribution or value-add: This study contributes to scientific knowledge regarding the effects of meaningful work and its antecedents on personal engagement.
Highlights
Individuals spend more than a third of their lives engaged in work-related activities (Wrzesniewski, McCauly, Rozin, & Schwartz, 1997)
This study focused on the relationship between demands–abilities fit (D–A fit), work beliefs, meaningful work and personal engagement
The results showed that an increase in the value of R2 (DR2 = 0.01, p > 0.05) was recorded when D–A fit was included in the regression equation
Summary
Individuals spend more than a third of their lives engaged in work-related activities (Wrzesniewski, McCauly, Rozin, & Schwartz, 1997). Work is an important context to provide opportunities for self-expression, meaningfulness and engagement for individuals (Cameron, Dutton, & Quinn, 2003). People experience meaningfulness when they feel useful, valuable and worthwhile (Kahn, 1990; Kahn & Heaphy, 2014). Meaningful work, in turn, results in personal engagement. Research showed that approximately 20% of employees in organisations worldwide are highly engaged in their work, whereas 20% are actively disengaged (Attridge, 2009). Similar tendencies were found in South Africa (Rothmann, 2014). In a South African context, no studies have been found relating to nature-related employees’ experiences of meaningful work and work engagement
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