Meaningful Workplace Research Articles

Protestant ethic: Contributing towards a meaningful workplace

Little did Max Weber know that his essay ‘Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism’, written in 1905 (which was republished in 1920), would survive the times and still be a source for discussion and interpretation during the 21st century. Today as in previous times, work and the workplace poses its challenges. The common thread through history seems to be attempts to enhance the workplace, to better it, to convert it into a place where people could work with a free spirit. Yet, in spite of all the attempts, one failure after the other has been recorded. In a research program that endeavoured to construe the meaningful workplace, Protestant ethic was identified as one possible contributory towards such an ideal. This article explores the contribution of Protestant ethic as a contributory and sets it within the framework of universal individual values pertaining to work and work-specific values. The article also indicates that the Protestant ethic can indeed contribute towards a meaningful experience whilst performing work-related tasks in workspace. The Protestant work ethic is more than a cultural norm that places a positive moral value on doing a good job. Based on a belief that work has intrinsic value for its own sake, it represents a value system that contributes to the experience of meaningfulness whilst performing work.

Book review: Neal E Chalofsky, Meaningful Workplaces: Reframing How and Where We Work

Book review: Neal E Chalofsky, <i>Meaningful Workplaces: Reframing How and Where We Work</i>

Meaningful workplaces: reframing how and where we work

Meaningful workplaces: reframing how and where we work

Meaningful Workplace Protection Factor Measurement: Experimental Protocols and Data Treatment

Workplace performance measurement of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) is fundamental to the understanding of how well wearers are protected. It forms the basis for guidance on which the selection of appropriate equipment is based. However, the measurement of this performance is open to many sources of interference and inaccuracy, reducing the value and relevance of the results, and is most difficult for devices providing the highest levels of protection. In this paper, a method for critically assessing collected workplace protection factor (WPF) data is validated. This method rejects unreliable data, using criteria based on the detection limits of the analytical measurement system. An iterative approach is also described which arrives at a supportable estimate of given non-parametric percentiles of the distribution of measured WPFs [such as the fifth percentile, conventionally taken to be the assigned protection factor (APF)]. Further pragmatic criteria, based on a combination of experimental experience and consideration from first principles, are suggested as the basis for any future studies of RPE performance. These will maximize the chances of valid measurements being made, and also provide insight into the level of confidence which can be placed on any of the results. A consequence of these criteria is that typical working environments and measurement methods are incapable of generating WPF data which can be considered reliable.

Core values behind 115 years of development: a case study of G.C. Rieber &amp; Co., Bergen, Norway

Points out that while most companies are lucky to survive even 15 years, there are some that exist and develop for a hundred years or more. Suggests that the reason for this contrast is to be found in a developed and self‐propagating corporate culture. Examines the core values or “commercial principles” of G.C. Rieber &amp; Co. in Norway, which was founded 115 years ago and is still going strong. Although this culture has developed over the years, its spirit and core features remain essentially the same. In particular, a long‐term and proactive perspective has been a pervasive characteristic, together with a high degree of care for employees. Over the years, these values have provided the stability and direction needed to make effective decisions, to be proactive and adapt to more or less continuous changes in procedures, technology, products and services, markets and society at large. Since the culture provides a meaningful workplace, a highly stable aspect of the company has been its employees. As a result there are many instances of second‐generation employment, even some of third generation. In particular, the company has been led by a continuous line of four generations of the Rieber family. This has reinforced the culture and made it more resilient to change.

President's page: Creating your future—Career opportunities in an era of change

Hallet ( 1. Hallett J The workplace of the present future. J College Placement. 1990; (Winter): 44-46 Google Scholar ) predicts that “the creation of a productive and meaningful workplace in the future will require nothing less than a complete shift in the basic models and assumptions that have driven our ideas of work and employment for the past 80 years” (p 43). Although he was not addressing the impact of restructuring the health care industry, Hallet's advice is appropriate for those in our profession who are experiencing positive and negative effects of health care reform. The structure of the industry is changing so rapidly that past predictions of employment trends are not appropriate for future professional roles. Similarly, as health care organizations continue to incorporate business strategies, such as strategic planning, and cost-benefit analysis into new organizational structures, job requirements for all health professionals will be substantially altered. The assumption that we will have only one job or one profession throughout our careers is no longer valid; nor is the assumption valid that institutionally based positions will dominate our professional membership. All indicators point to a new workplace for members of our profession.

The implications of work organization for occupational health policy: the case of Canada.

This article examines occupational health and safety developments in Canada during the decade of the 1970s when most government jurisdictions replaced former factory Acts with new health and safety legislation recognizing the right of workers to be involved in work environment matters. During the latter part of the 1970s, health and safety "activists" and trade unionists began to perceive the need for a wider conception of occupational health and safety. Canadian reformers were influenced by Scandinavian developments, especially the research of Dr. Bertil Gardell and his associates. Unfortunately, during the late 1970s Canada experienced a recession and a political shift to conservatism. Consequently, during the 1980s there have been no meaningful workplace health and safety reforms. Further, the article suggests that there is strong resistance by management and government to extension of worker rights in occupational health and safety. All major political parties ground their work environment policies in utilitarian concepts that trade worker health and safety for economic considerations. The author, therefore, argues for the development of an "ethics of the work environment" based upon egalitarian principles, and the transformation of the primary work group into a community of workers who can shape the character of their work environment. Ideally, the relationship between the major "actors" in our industrial relations system ought to be based on obligation instead of the present language of worker protest based on rights. Nonetheless, there is a need to extend and deepen worker rights in the workplace. Finally, the author argues that the appropriate relationship in industry to reflect a democratic work environment is "partnership"--the coming together of the primary work groups as equals.