Serving self or serving others? Close relations' perspectives on ethics and calling

Abstract

Research on calling reflects a shared value that work as a calling can be an ethical good, an integral part of a life well-lived. However, scholarship is unsettled on whether calling is primarily for the personal fulfillment of the worker who experiences it, or whether it must be socially valuable, serving the interests of others. This paper explores whether and how primarily self-oriented callings can be seen as having ethical value by studying third-person accounts of calling in the Portraits of Grief, memorials of 9/11 victims. We found that callings were attributed to people working in multiple occupations but were more likely for first responders than financiers. Further, we compared portraits in which callings were depicted as self-oriented with those that emphasized service to others across the same two occupations. We use ethical theory to confirm why other-oriented callings are seen to have ethical value but also to explain how self-oriented callings may be ethically valuable in the eyes of others. These insights advance research on calling and also have practical implications for workers' pursuit of careers. We also introduce other-reported, archival data as a rich source for inquiry into calling.