Meaningful Work, Resilience, and the Future of Employment

Introduction

This paper seeks to answer questions on meaningful work resilience and the future of work and unemployment, especially in this pandemic era. The development of meaningful work with an individual and at an organizational level is a good process that ensures that quality work is produced. Meaningful work is a collective responsibility that can only be achieved through teamwork. Due to the covid-19 pandemic work approach has changed from physical to many online employees need to be resilient to navigate through the new technological era. Professionalism is the best approach to modern work because it ensures that standards are met.

Meaningful Work

Mostly, work is described by its logical meaning. In most workplaces, people concentrate more on what their job means and what is expected of them in that job rather than the impact of their work on them, the organization, and society. Meaningful work dwells more on the significance of the work.

Meaningful work is valuable to an individual. It is defined by how well an individual is connected to their work and their purpose for the work they are engaged in. Meaningful work is achieved when a person understands the connection between the work and their life purpose and goals. There is a value attached to meaningful employment (Allan et al., 2019). The weight and worth of work are evaluated based on the performance and its impact on others. When work is significant, an individual feels satisfied for investing airtime and finances on the job. According to Baumann (2016), meaningful work has a significance that is good for others. For work to be significant, one has to have a variety of skills needed to perform the task, correctly identify the necessities of the work and understand and appreciate the importance of the study. An individual needs to be committed to the objectives of a job for it to be meaningful. Meaningful responsibility involves taking full responsibility for the task affairs.

Engaging in meaningful work needs a cycle of recognition connectivity and contribution. The hard work, competence, and professionalism of a worker need to be appreciated and acknowledged (Bailey & Madden, 2020). They recognize the efforts made in job reasons the morale of the workers and the company at large. Meaningful work only makes sense to an individual if their actions are acknowledged. Appreciation gives a sense of satisfaction. Meaningful work needs to be validated and appreciated for it to make sense.

Meaningful work involves creating connections between teams and communities to work together with. Meaningful work is only attainable through teamwork. Meaningful work is not just about the official job but also involves creating productive teams at home, in churches at work, and in any other places where teamwork is needed (Bailey, and Madden, 2017). Connectivity involves making discharge and home teams meaningful and productive. Creating connections changes the work narrative from an individual to an influential group of people. Creating meaningful connections and show us that meaningful work is achieved.

Contribution to the development of a project or successful completion of work is also an aspect of meaningful work. Individuals are old to learn to give their contributions no matter how small when needed. Contributing to meaningful work raises oneself as a team and ensures that work is done on time and quality work is produced (Lysova et al., 2019). Giving back to the community is a crucial part of meaningful work as it involves contributing once ideal finances or time to the success of work (Munn, 2013.). During the execution of a task, no ideas or thoughts should be assumed or ignored.

Meaningful work gives a sense of satisfaction to the worker and the employee. A sense of purpose is also achieved by an individual who completes meaningful work. The importance of meaningful work cannot be overlooked since it defines anyone who has been involved in the entire process of creation. The identity of an individual is structured by meaningful work. When one is engaged in a treaty that ends up being successful and means they desire to perform more tasks in an even better way a more productive way. The importance of meaningful work not only plans to the worker but also for the recipient of the work and the community.

Reference (Meaningful work)

Allan, B.A., Batz-Barbarich, C., Sterling, H.M. and Tay, L., 2019. Outcomes of meaningful work: A meta‐analysis. Journal of management studies, 56(3), pp.500-528.

Bailey, C. and Madden, A., 2017. Time reclaimed: temporality and the experience of meaningful work. Work, employment and society, 31(1), pp.3-18.

Bailey, C. and Madden, A., 2020. Contemporary challenges in meaningful work. In The Future of Work and Employment. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Baumann, I., 2016. Job search strategies and unemployment duration. In The plight of older workers (pp. 91-107). Springer, Cham.

Lysova, E.I., Allan, B.A., Dik, B.J., Duffy, R.D. and Steger, M.F., 2019. Fostering meaningful work in organizations: A multi-level review and integration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 110, pp.374-389.

Munn, S.L., 2013. Unveiling the work–life system: the influence of work–life balance on meaningful work. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 15(4), pp.401-417.

Resilience and the Future of Work

The covid-19 pandemic has affected almost all industries that contribute to the growth of the economy. Sadly so many jobs have been lost due to the pandemic. A considerable proportion of the population has been left unemployed. The future of most jobs is not certain, mainly because the pandemic is still in existence. Companies have been closed down, factories and farms have been rendered bankrupt, employers have laid down their employees, and businesspeople have closed down their businesses. Due to the effects of the pandemic, technology has evolved to accommodate new styles of work (Ackerman, 2021). Work has shifted from the traditional way of handling to a modern online version of working. The technological change has been fast and has been embraced by quite a several organizations and companies. Meetings have changed from physical meetings to online discussions, and people can work from home and submit their day-to-day work online. There is less physical contact in the new technological times. Conferences are also held on online platforms; board meetings are conducted online, and also interviews have shifted from the walk-in to an online panel-based interview.

With the introduction of online working, the future of work is now nearer than ever before. It has been easy to shift to the online mode of working to those who have been resilient. Resilience is the ability to bounce back after a challenging period and continue with everyday life (Caza, and Milton, 2012). Resilience is a key that, when embraced, enables one to pull through challenges that may have happened and get over hard times. Employers prefer to have resilient employees to cope with stress and difficult situations along the course of work (Ellis et al., 2014). Resilient employees are also quick to adapt to change and can develop their skills more easily and fast.

Resilience is essential as it enables an individual to be aware of their emotions and surroundings and their environment. Resilient people can be optimistic and strive to achieve quality and quantity work (Grant, and Kinman, 2014; Schwarze, and Wosnitza, 2018). Resilience is essential as it helps an individual remain calm during overwhelming situations and think critically and appropriately on handling cases during times of uncertainty. Resilient enables one to navigate through difficult moments and prevents an individual from running into stress and depression.

Organizations can help their employees to develop resilience for the sake of productivity in their jobs. Some of how individuals can create stability in them are; Being proactive and optimistic, writing down a vision goal in a strategy on how to achieve their goals then Sticking to the destination by working hard and being disciplined (Kimura et al., 2018). Individuals should also be mindful of the growth and take care of their health, especially mental health.

Creating a work plan and setting strategies for achieving success in the work are among the easiest ways to build resilience. Resilience in individuals is not an easy task to accomplish. However, once resilience is achieved, the employee becomes more of an asset to the company than a liability. Resilient employees can work under stressful conditions without being affected by the environment around them. They manage to settle any challenges that they may face along the way. Navigating through a technological change then becomes a walk in the park for those who are resilient.

Reference (Resilience)

Ackerman, C. E. (2021). How To Measure Resilience With These 8 Resilience Scales. Positively Psychology. https://positivepsychology.com/3-resilience-scales/

Caza, B.B. and Milton, L.P., 2012. Resilience at work. In The Oxford handbook of positive organizational scholarship.

Grant, L. and Kinman, G. eds., 2014. Developing resilience for social work practice. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Kimura, T., Bande, B. and Fernandez-Ferrín, P., 2018. Work overload and intimidation: The moderating role of resilience. European Management Journal, 36(6), pp.736-745.

Schwarze, J. and Wosnitza, M., 2018. How does apprentice resilience work?. In Resilience in Education (pp. 35-51). Springer, Cham.

Ellis, V., McNicholl, J., Blake, A. and McNally, J., 2014. Academic work and proletarianisation: A study of higher education-based teacher educators. Teaching and teacher education, 40, pp.33-43.

Unemployment

A profession is a paid occupation, usually involving advanced academic training in a specialized field, formal qualification, and professional body membership. Professionals apply their technical knowledge and skills to perform specific tasks at a fee. Most professionals rely on employment (Borghi et al., 2018). Very few professionals are self-employed or have started their businesses. Unemployment is, therefore, a higher risk for professionals.

Professionals play a crucial role in all industries, from manufacturing to service Industries to education and, most importantly, health care. According to Danson et al. (2021), some careers require one to be a professional and cannot be carried out by one who does not have the necessary skills and knowledge. Health careers require professionals to carry out various tasks. Leaving non-professionals to deal with patience is not only dangerous but unethical.

Professionals play significant roles in modern society. Professionals ensure that consumers can access quality services as well as good. Professionals ensure that up to standard products are produced for the benefit of society (Borghi et al., 2018). From head to a business, consumers have a variety of professional choices to select from. The trust of community members in services delivered to them and goods produced increases because they are sure that the professionals have made all the necessary standards.

Various professions also contribute to economic growth and development. Community members trust the production industry and services rendered. The trust they have in disciplines makes them engage more in economic activities such as purchase and consultancy. This forms the basis of increased levels of transactions which consequently leads to growth in the economy. Professions help reduce the heavy burden of regulation and supervision by the government on production (Borghi et al., 2018; Hughes et al., 2015). Jobs have to achieve certain levels of standards in the delivery of services or production processes. Professionals guided by a code of ethics that ensure that regulation is observed in quality are produced.

Proletarianisation is a social process where one stops being an employer or leaves their business employed as a casual laborer. The process is aimed at promoting division of labor and specialization.It mainly involves absorbing more people into the labor market (Martín-Artiles et al., 2021). Professionals leaving their careers and joining the informal labor market have been contentious for a very long time. This is because many people perceive professions as high-end and casual work for the poor and the less educated. However, this movie takes to make society better but not to degrade professions.

Conclusion

Desperate moments call for desperate measures. Coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of many and has also altered different approaches to life. Coronavirus, the invisible enemy, has been the greatest lesson in the past two years that everyone should be ready for abrupt change at any moment of their lives. Professionals should be quick to adapt to new technologies to enable them to navigate any challenging situations that may arise.

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References

Borghi, P., Mori, A. and Semenza, R., 2018. Self-employed professionals in the European labour market. A comparison between Italy, Germany and the UK. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 24(4), pp.405-419.

Danson, M., Galloway, L. and Sherif, M., 2021. From unemployment to self-employment: Can enterprise policy intensify the risks of poverty?. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 75, p.102164.

Hughes, A., McMunn, A., Bartley, M. and Kumari, M., 2015. Elevated inflammatory biomarkers during unemployment: modification by age and country in the UK. J Epidemiol Community Health, 69(7), pp.673-679.

Madden, A. and Bailey, C., 2019. Self-transcendence and meaningful work. In The Oxford handbook of meaningful work (p. 148). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Martín-Artiles, A., Fortunato, V. and Chávez-Molina, E., 2020. Unemployment Benefits: Discursive Convergence, Distant Realities. In Towards a Comparative Analysis of Social Inequalities between Europe and Latin America (pp. 389-417). Springer, Cham.