Meaningful Work Scale in creative industries: a confirmatory factor analysis

Abstract

This study conducts a confirmatory factor analysis of a meaningful Canadian work model. The sample comprised 446 professionals working in creative industries based in Midwestern and Northeastern Brazil who completed the 25-item Meaningful Work Scale (MWS). This study tested both the original Canadian five-factor model and a six-factor model previously adapted into Portuguese, based on professionals from São Paulo's creative industries. The results indicate that globally, both models, when re-specified, seem to fit the data. However, an inspection of the local fit indices suggests problems with both models, specifically in two factors: development and learning, and expressiveness and identification with work. We discuss the extent to which these findings may relate to cultural and occupational influences. The paper concludes that the meaningful work model, although it can vary in content, is vulnerable to possible subculture differences in the Brazilian context. Keywords: work; meaning; employee attitudes. Escala do Trabalho com Sentido nas indústrias criativas: análise fatorial confirmatóriaResumo O objetivo deste artigo é realizar uma análise fatorial confirmatória de um modelo canadense de trabalho com sentido. Participaram desta pesquisa 446 profissionais das indústrias criativas das regiões centro-oeste e nordeste do Brasil. Esses participantes responderam à Escala do Trabalho com Sentido (ETS), composta por 25 itens. Foram testados tanto o modelo original canadense de cinco fatores como o de seis fatores previamente validado para o contexto brasileiro. Os resultados indicam que, globalmente, os dois modelos reespecificados apresentam evidências de adequação. Porém, a inspeção do ajuste local revela problemas em ambos, particularmente em relação a dois fatores: desenvolvimento e aprendizagem, e expressividade e identificação no trabalho. Discute-se em que medida esses achados podem estar associados a influências culturais e ocupacionais. Conclui-se que o constructo do trabalho com sentido, embora possa variar em conteúdo, resiste a possíveis diferenças de subculturas no contexto brasileiro. Palavras-chave: trabalho; significado; atitudes do empregado. Escala de Trabajo con sentido en las industrias creativas: un análisis factorial confirmatorio ResumenEste artículo realiza un análisis factorial confirmatorio de un modelo canadiense de Trabajo con Sentido. Participaron 446 profesionales de las industrias creativas de la región centro-oeste y nordeste de Brasil. Esos participantes respondieron a la Escala de Trabajo con Sentido (ETS) compuesta por 25 ítems. Se experimentó el modelo original canadiense de cinco factores, así como el de seis factores previamente validado para el contexto brasileño. Los resultados indicaron que, globalmente, ambos modelos re-especificados presentan evidencias de adecuación. Sin embargo, la inspección del ajuste local revela problemas en los dos modelos, particularmente en relación a dos factores: desarrollo y aprendizaje, y expresividad e identificación en el trabajo. Se ...

Sweeping the Floor or Putting a Man on the Moon: How to Define and Measure Meaningful Work

“…One article was identified through the reference list of a retrieved full text. The full texts of 72 articles were read, and 14 definitions of meaningful work were identified (Bowie, 1998; Chalofsky, 2003; Pratt and Ashforth, 2003; Miller, 2008; Lips-Wiersma and Morris, 2009; Martela, 2010; Rosso et al, 2010; Fairlie, 2011; Lips-Wiersma and Wright, 2012; Pavlish and Hunt, 2012; Steger et al, 2012; Robertson, 2013; Bendassolli et al, 2015; Lee, 2015a; Allan et al, 2016). Some authors used the same multidimensional framework for meaningful work – for example, the Kantian model, in which meaningful work can be created by certain objective normative ethical work characteristics (Bowie, 1998; Pavlish and Hunt, 2012) – but provided different definitions.…”

“…Recently, there has been more agreement that meaningful work needs to be conceptualized as a multidimensional construct, or as the result of a complex interplay of multiple dimensions (Lips-Wiersma, 2002a,b; Chalofsky, 2003; Lips-Wiersma and Morris, 2009; Rosso et al, 2010; Steger et al, 2012). Despite such agreement, there is no consensus about the exact nature of the different dimensions underlying the concept of meaningful work (Bendassolli et al, 2015). As a result, it has been defined in many different ways, and, as authors have previously noted, there is no generally agreed upon definition (Martela, 2010; Rosso et al, 2010).…”

Between Juggling, Stunts, and Antics: The Meaning of Work for Circus Artists

“…This research is justified because there has been little work on circus activities, especially in Brazil, just as the meaning of work is also little explored. There have been recent advances with the research of Morin (2001), whose database was made public by the Meaning of Work International Research Team (MOW) of the 1980s, and subsequently by Oliveira et al (2004), Brun and Monteiro (2010), Bendassolli, Borges-Andrade, Alves, and Torres (2015), Boas and Morin (2016), and Rodrigues, Barrichello, and Morin (2016). have confirmed the paradoxical effect of the dynamics of artistic works, in which uncertainty seems to have a motivational effect on artists, which highlights the importance of investigating artists' senses of work, for example, of circuses.…”

Accountancy as a Meaningful Work. Main Determinants from a Job Quality and Optimization Algorithm Approach

“…Although most researchers consider that we are dealing with a multidimensional construct, Ref. [35] warned that there is no standard criterion about the exact nature of this concept's different dimensions. In 2017, Ref.…”