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Time reclaimed: temporality and the experience of meaningful work

Author

Listed:
  • Catherine Bailey

    (University of Sussex, UK)

  • Adrian Madden

    (University of Greenwich, UK)

Abstract

The importance of meaningful work has been identified in scholarly writings across a range of disciplines. However, empirical studies remain sparse and the potential relevance of the concept of temporality, hitherto somewhat neglected even in wider sociological studies of organizations, has not been considered in terms of the light that it can shed on the experience of work as meaningful. These two disparate bodies of thought are brought together to generate new accounts of work meaningfulness through the lens of temporality. Findings from a qualitative study of workers in three occupations with ostensibly distinct temporal landscapes are reported. All jobs had the potential to be both meaningful and meaningless; meaningfulness arose episodically through work experiences that were shared, autonomous and temporally complex. Schutz’s notion of the ‘vivid present’ emerged as relevant to understanding how work is rendered meaningful within an individual’s personal and social system of relevances.

Suggested Citation

  • Catherine Bailey & Adrian Madden, 2017. "Time reclaimed: temporality and the experience of meaningful work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(1), pages 3-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:31:y:2017:i:1:p:3-18
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017015604100
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Haridimos Tsoukas, 1994. "Refining Common Sense: Types Of Knowledge In Management Studies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(6), pages 761-780, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Laura Toraldo & Gazi Islam & Gianluigi Mangia, 2019. "Serving Time: Volunteer Work, Liminality and the Uses of Meaningfulness at Music Festivals," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 617-654, May.
    2. Zhen Wang & Haoying Xu, 2019. "When and for Whom Ethical Leadership is More Effective in Eliciting Work Meaningfulness and Positive Attitudes: The Moderating Roles of Core Self-Evaluation and Perceived Organizational Support," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 919-940, June.

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