Transcript Slide 1

Meaningful Work through
Social Contribution
M. Teresa Cardador
May Meaning Meeting
May 15, 2008
Setting the Stage…
 Dissertation
 About half of data collected
 Just started coding
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Overview
 Thumbnail sketch of dissertation
 Preliminary data
 Reactions to data
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Meaning and Contribution
The service we render to others is really the rent we
pay for our room on this earth. It is obvious that man is
himself a traveler; that the purpose of this world is not
“to have and to hold” but to “give and to serve.” There
can be no other meaning.
---Sir Wilfred T. Grenfell
Don’t aim at success…For success, like happiness,
cannot be pursued; it must ensue as the unintended
side effect of one’s personal dedication to a course
greater than oneself.
---Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
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Meaning and Contribution
through Work
 Work is a major avenue through which
we can improve the lives of others
(Baumeister & Vohs, 2002)
 Workers desire the opportunity to benefit
others and find meaning in the ability to
do so (Gerber, 2006; Grant, 2007; Martin,
2000; Wrzesniewski, 2003)
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Yet…
Opportunities to experience meaningfulness through a
sense of contribution may be harder to come by:
 Shift to large organizations makes individual
contributions more difficult to see/realize (Elliott & Turnbull,
2003)
 Increased downsizing, contingent, part-time
arrangements (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996) have resulted in
weakening of attachments to organizations (Bettis, et al.,
1992)
 Workers find it harder to see how personal aspirations
connect with social aspirations, or a common good
(Bellah, et al., 1985)
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Central Problem/Questions
People desire the opportunity to have a positive
impact on others through work, YET
Modern work may make this more difficult to realize
1) How do workers make contributions to others
through work?
2) When and why are these contributions
meaningful?
3) What factors influence worker ability to
experience a sense of contribution?
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In Short:
My purpose is to elaborate theory
concerning the nature of social
contribution through work, the factors
which contribute to it, and its relationship
to meaningful work
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What is Social Contribution?
 Occurs when individuals perceive that
they make a positive impact on others
through work (Keyes, 1998)
 Includes both obligatory and chosen actions
(in-role and extra-role)
 Perceptual
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Research Context
Banking Industry
 Workers have opportunity to impact
multiple individuals/groups
 Diversity of missions
 Common perception that social mission
creates potential for meaningful work,
and commercial mission equates with
concern for money
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Contrasting Case Study –
(Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 1984)
unique mission and ideologies
A. Credit Union
“Credit unions didn't play the, ‘Hey, there's
more profit to be had by loosening our
[lending] standards because they're memberowned, any dollar that's lost is a dollar of the
membership's money, not some faceless
shareholder, [so] they don't take the risk."
--WSJ, April 2008
B. Commercial
Bank
“Banks are conditioned to push a moneymaking idea until it breaks. Risk management
is for the faint of heart and those not driven
by massive bonuses for generating profits. It's
a system that works for those working the
system.”
--WSJ March 2008
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Data Collection: Interviews
 Organization
 Unique missions
 Hierarchical Position (3)
 may experience differential levels of social
contribution
 may experience the mission differently
 Have done the credit union thus far (3 branches, 22
employees)
 Brief description of credit union
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Really, really preliminary
data….
1. Targets of social contribution
2. Relationship between social contribution and
meaningfulness
3. Organizational influences on sense of
contribution
4. A note about the nature of meaningfulness
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1. Targets of Social Contribution




Members: Individual
Coworkers
Bosses
Peers
Individuals: Work
 Other Departments/Organization
 Subordinates
 Members: As a group
 Family
 Larger community (e.g., strip mall vendors)
Groups: Work
Individuals/Groups:
Non-Work
* All social contribution seems to be “local”
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2. Relationship Between Social
Contribution & Meaningfulness
Types of contribution might be associated with
unique sources of meaningfulness?
Target of Contribution
Source of Meaningfulness
Mechanism
Members (as a
group), subordinates,
family, larger
community
Sense of purpose
Being part of something larger;
Connectedness
It’s everything to know that what I’ve done makes a difference…the importance is,
how well did I do with the tools I had? And how well I did is defined by how many
people would remember me if I was gone? How many people did I have an influence
or a touch or have meaning to? Whether it was for one specific transaction over a
length of time - how many people were better because they knew me? How much of
what I believed in was I able to impart on others and spread geometrically…I would
be lost if I didn’t feel that connection, if I felt like either I was the only one that was
gaining because yeah, I’ve become some expert and I was vastly wealthy, but I did so
at the expense of others, that wouldn’t do anything for me, and nor would it do
anything for me to have all of this knowledge and have the ability, but to not be able to
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touch anybody with it. (3217)
2. Relationship Between Social
Contribution & Meaningfulness
Target of Contribution
Source of Meaningfulness
Mechanism
Coworkers, individual
members
Sense of Belongingness
Feeling part of a distinctive
community
EMPLOYEES: If I just came in here everyday and you didn’t forge any forms of
relationships and so forth over time, by the fact that you’re having an impact on
somebody else and vice versa, them having an impact on you, I think it would be pretty
empty over time. You may as well just work in a room by yourself and not have any
interaction with people…I’m with my employees and my peers five days a week and you
forge those much deeper relationships. The customer part of it is there—that’s our
common bond. Our interests are to take care of the customers and provide them the
best service that we can, but the relationships and the real meaning of it all comes from
the employees and peers you work with everyday. (3219)
MEMBERS: So, I just feel good knowing that they can come here and not be judged, not
be criticized, that it’s kind of a safe place. If you’re ever in the lobby on a payday and you
see them, they haven’t seen each other in months and, “Hi, how are you?” and “Where
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you at now?” It’s their own little family out there, too and it’s nice to see that. And they
count the credit union as part of the family, too.(2116)
2. Relationship Between Social
Contribution & Meaningfulness
Target of Contribution
Source of Meaningfulness
Mechanism
Other departments,
subordinates, peers
Being part of a team
Feeling valued and competent,
having something to give
You want them (subordinates) to have that loyalty and that trust and when you
can see that happening slowly over time, you know, just what you can do
because when you have someone like—I’ll share Mary’s name, she’ll always
tell people, “You were the best manager I’ve had and I’ll do anything for you.”
Those kinds of things that I don’t expect to hear that, but when she does say it,
it’s like, “Wow,” you don’t realize how much you meant to that person or what
you did for them. (2116)
I think it makes me feel like a better team player like I’m actually participating
and involved in the whole credit union.(1222)
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3. Organizational Influences
on Sense of Contribution
 Position: What I do
 Mission: Why we are here
 Identity of Members: Who we serve
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Position & Sense of Contribution
related to opportunities for certain types of contribution
From the “Top”
It’s meaning on every level. I find meaning in the ability to have some influence and set
direction for employees and help them achieve their own career goals. I find meaning in
helping set a course for a financial institution that can truly improve the qualities of lives
for people that provide a very meaningful service to our society. I look at it as though the
men and women of the police department are out doing the things that none of us either can do
or want to do to keep us safe and our businesses prosperous. And if we can find a way to take
one worry out of their equation, that’s great. And people’s finances, next to their health, tend to
be the biggest aspect of their lives. (3217)
Frontline
…you can really see that you’ve turned someone’s life around—and it’s funny because when
somebody is in a horrible credit position, one day you start talking to them and they’re almost
embarrassed and their body language shows it and the day after—the day comes where
everything’s been completed and we’ve got all the paperwork and we know that these checks are
gonna get paid off and we’ve filled out disputes to get their credit repaired, they’re just like—and
they’re hugging me and kissing me and saying, “Oh my god, you’re an angel,” that’s what
it’s about. You get emotional. It’s pretty powerful. (1115)
Being Caught in the “Middle”
Well, when we went to this whole leadership development program, it just—you would hear the
managers of the front office, “Members this and when we do this and we do that” and honestly,
back office, we’re in the back office, we’re not in the spotlight, we’re not… So, that’s where
that division comes in and I’ve brought that up at our—we have weekly manager meetings and I
finally said, “You know, I realize that front office has interaction with the members and I
realize that they are a critical part of the organization, but we’re keeping track of all these
transactions, we’re also a critical part and I feel like we’re getting shorthanded.” (2120) 19
Mission & Sense of Contribution
provides focus for employees, provides clarity for goals
and services
Yeah, because you have a true picture of what you’re trying to
accomplish. If I was sitting there and I was like, “I don’t know what I’m trying
to do. I know I’m trying to help people, but I don’t know in what way,” we
know in what way. All of us are on the same page of how we’re
supposed to help them in their financial needs. (2108)
And again, that mission statement is what I do. There’s no other way to
sort of, to put that. My job description says one thing, but really I’m doing
that. I’m helping to help them {the members} to be fiscally responsible and
help them with products and services.…If it’s our mission then we sort of
set up our products and services and culture around that, so that we do
have those good results. (2118)
Well, you know what, when I applied here, I just got the feeling that—I don’t
know, there was just a feeling that this is the place I think I’d want to
work….Maybe because I believe in the mission statement, but even though
it’s our mission statement, maybe that’s just how I operate. So to me, I don’t
focus on the mission statement because I live it. (1115)
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Identity of Members
& Sense of Contribution
facilitates clarity, focus, sense of caring
Well, for me personally, I’ve always had an affinity for law enforcement. And so again, it’s another
example of being able to capitalize on what you’ve done previously and the skills you’ve developed
to help somebody that means something to you. I certainly know it would not be the same for me,
had I answered an ad for a community credit union…I don’t know that I would get the same
gratification and I don’t—I think the ability to create a distinction would be diluted. I think identity is
very important. You’ve gotta know who you are and why you’re there and what you’re doing
and who you’re doing it for. And any time you take something out of that or water it down a
little bit, I think it’s just harder to achieve that. (3217)
I think just because of the way that the members are makes it feel differently, but I’ve worked at other
credit unions where we did serve the whole community and I guess it didn’t— what we did there
didn’t seem like it has as much impact as what we do here. Like we tailor our services
specifically for our members, whereas there we didn’t really have a way to tailor it to specific
members because everybody was different, which here they all have the same type of
profession, so we can—we know more about the profession and can tailor it more to them.
(1101)
..when I have people at my desk, sometimes they need—for some reason, it’s like we are like that
bartender or we’re the close psychologist for them—or for me, I don’t know…If you can come here
and feel comfortable enough to unload, we’re not gonna turn them away. It’s part of the package.
And with the police officer, there’s just not a lot of places they can go to and feel comfortable
and at ease and this is a place they do. So, I take pride in that. This is one of the places where
they feel—it’s kinda like being at their station.…And they’re very—they don’t trust a lot of
people and I think when they do trust you, you know I think it’s just with everything. (1115)
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4. A Note About the Nature
of Meaningfulness…

For most, not grandiose; rather fleeting, fragile or
momentary

Meaningfulness is an “emergent accomplishment”
…but it’s very fleeting because by the nature of what we do, there’s
always a next. You keep it and you keep it for that moment, but
then there’s always another phone call, there’s always another
crisis, there’s always another something and we’re on to the next.
So, it can be fleeting. You do sort of experience that job well
done— (then) somebody’s yelling at you or you have to do that
same situation for the next person. (2118)

More “moments” = More meaningfulness?
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Concluding Thoughts
 Reactions?
 What is the most interesting?
 What should I follow-up on with contrast
organization?
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THANK YOU!
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Important Dimensions of
Social Contribution




Direct Contact
Frequent
Visible Effects
Identity of Member - hero, proud population, don't trust
just anyone - feeling that you know them and care
about them
 Nature of service - affects people lives
 Both in-role/extra-role - proactvity
 Identity of Recipient - nice versus not nice, treat with
respect vs. not – doesn’t change whether you help but
HOW you feel about it - impact is socially constructed
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