Meanings of Work among Hindu Indian Women: Contextualizing Meaningfulness and Materialities of Work through Dharma and Karma

Abstract

Interviews were conducted with 77 Hindu Indian women across socioeconomic classes and occupations to examine the cultural-religious influences that underlie individuals’ understanding of their world of work. Participants indicated that work had meaning if it (a) served Indian society; (b) engaged them in paid employment; (c) enabled standing on one’s own feet; and (d) fulfilled their role-related kartavya (responsibilities, obligations). Findings highlight how the Hindu cultural-religious-spiritual-philosophical constructs of dharma and karma act as non-conscious ideologies in participants’ work values. Such culture-centered meanings of work and attendant societal Discourses (i.e., macro discourses) offer insight into the secularization of religious and philosophical aspects of everyday life in India.