As research on meaning in work progresses, access to theoretically integrated, differentiated survey instruments becomes crucial. In response to this demand, the present article introduces ME-Work, a modular inventory to measure meaning in work. Derived from research findings on meaning in life, the ME-Work inventory offers three modules that can be used separately or jointly. Module 1 assesses four facets of meaning in work, i.e., coherence, significance, purpose and belonging; module 2 measures the subjective assessment of work as meaningful or (...) meaningless, and module 3 records the extent to which work is perceived as a source of meaning. We report on the development of the instrument and the results of an exploratory factor analysis in a pilot study of 115 working adults. A further study with 278 working adults provided evidence for construct and incremental validity. Relationships with meaning in life, mental health, job satisfaction, socio-moral climate, burnout and work as meaning were investigated. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the factor structure. Gender-specific analyses of the four facets of meaning’s differential predictive power provided additional insights. Practical implications and further research needs are discussed. (shrink)

Does work engagement burn out? The person-job fit and levels of burnout and engagement in work This research examines the relationship between burnout, work engagement, and organizational factors that play an important role in the strain process, and in the motivational process. The aim of the study is to test the relationships of burnout and work engagement, on the one hand, and organizational factors—job demands and job resources —on the other. The results of the analysis call into doubt whether burnout (...) and work engagement are opposite poles of the same dimension, or whether they are independent, though correlated, constructs. Exhaustion and vigour are not the extremes of the same energy dimension, but in the case of cynicism and dedication, the situation is not so clear. It can be said that we are not dealing with the burnout of engagement, but rather with a change in attitude to work on the part of people not suited to their jobs. (shrink)