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When regular meets remarkable: Awe as a link between routine work and meaningful self-narratives

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  • Sheprow, Elizabeth
  • Harrison, Spencer H.

Abstract

Daily narratives of work can include a mix of ordinary actions and awe-inspiring moments that reveal a vaster, more meaningful reality. When awe is experienced in the context of work, it can prompt self-referential sensemaking about what these experiences mean for the work individuals do and who they are. Leveraging an inductive study of 3,095 daily reports from 49 crews that spent two weeks each in a Mars simulation environment, as well as 13 semi-structured interviews, we examine (1) how individuals narrate experiences of awe during daily work and (2) how these experiences of awe influence individuals’ construction of self-narratives. We present a process theory of how individuals craft narrative anchors of awe and meaning from the raw materials of their daily work experiences, and later draw on these anchors to incorporate an enduring sense of meaning into their summary narratives of work and their self-narratives. Our emergent findings build theory by highlighting the importance of awe at work and by inducing awe as a link between narratives of routine, daily work and meaningful self-narratives.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheprow, Elizabeth & Harrison, Spencer H., 2022. "When regular meets remarkable: Awe as a link between routine work and meaningful self-narratives," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:170:y:2022:i:c:s0749597822000231
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2022.104139
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lee Cunningham, Julia J. & Cable, Daniel M. & Petriglieri, Gianpiero & Sherman, David K., 2023. "Advances in self-narratives in, across, and beyond organizations," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).

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