Post on 28-Jan-2015
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10-04-23 Work Meaning: How students can create meaning in their academic
lives
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"How can I be useful, of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be?" - Vincent Van Gogh
How students can create meaning in their academic lives
Evelien Spoler
S0200565&
Rico van Leeuwen
S1237926
10-04-23 2
BEFORE WE START…
Work Meaning: How students can create meaning in their
academic lives
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
- F. Nietzsche
Why...
... are you here today?
... are you doing the things you are doing in your life?
10-04-23Work Meaning: How students can create meaning in their
academic lives
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CONTENT
The Meaning of Work
Overview on Work Meaning
Students and Work Meaning
Resilience
How to get back on track by being more positive
Job Crafting
How to create meaning in your CS master study
Research opportunities
What can YOU study?
Implications
Discussion
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WORK MEANING – WHAT IS IT?
No widely agreed definition in literature
Meaning is the output of having made sense of something, or what it signifies, as in an individual interpreting what her work means, or the role her work plays, in the context of her life (Pratt & Ashforth, 2003)
The essence of meaning is connection, and is linked to positive outcomes for both the individual and the organization (Baumeister & Vohs, 2002)
Meaning is a tool used by individuals for imposing stability on life
(Baumeister & Vohs, 2002)
THE IMPORTANCE OF WORK MEANING
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There has been a shift from a materialistic to a post-materialistic era and a rejection of individualistic cultural values, as people are seeking a greater sense of meaning and purpose in their extending working lives. (Guevara & Ord, 1996).
Employees expect work to fulfill an increasingly larger set of psychological, social, and economic needs (Casey, 1995)
Work meaning has benefits such as less depression, more work motivation, less absenteeism, improvement in work behavior, more engagement, increased job satisfaction, and increased empowerment (cited in Rosso et al, 2000)
HOW TO CREATE WORK MEANING
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There are different theoretical mechanisms of creating work meaning (Rosso et al., 2010):
Authenticity
Self-efficacy
Self-esteem
Purpose
Belongingness
Transcendence
Cultural and interpersonal sensemaking
This presentation focuses on practical mechanisms, namely:
Resilience
Job crafting
GAPS IN WORK MEANING
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Two gaps in work meaning literature can be identified and will be addressed in this research:
Literature is very theoretical, there are not many practical guidelines to be found to give
meaning to your work
There is no literature to be found about study meaning, therefore, we will make assumptions on
study meaning from what is already known about work meaning
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STUDENTS & WORK MEANING
How can you, as a student, create meaning in your academic life?
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RESILIENCE & STUDY CRAFTING
Resilience: negative incidents in your study neutral state of mind about your study
Study crafting: neutral state of mind about your study positive study meaning
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Job crafting
Resilience
Neutral state of mind about your study
RESILIENCE
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The process of, capacity for, or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenging or
threatening circumstances (Martin & Andrew, 2002; Howard & Johnson, 2000)
The heightened likelihood of success in school and other life accomplishments despite
environmental adversities brought about by early traits, conditions, and experiences (Wang,
Haertal, & Walberg, 1994, p. 46)
Academically resilient students are those “who sustain high levels of achievement motivation
and performance despite the presence of stressful events and conditions that place them at
risk of doing poorly in school and ultimately dropping out of school” (Alva, 1991, p.19).
Students' ability to deal effectively with academic setbacks, stress, and study pressure (Martin
& Andrew, 2002)
Academic gains can be lost if students are not resilient to setback, study pressure, and
stress in the school setting (Martin & Andrew, 2002)
PREDICTORS & OUTCOMES OF RESILIENCE
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Predictors:
Self Efficacy
Control
Planning
Low anxiety
Persistence
Academic resilience predicts three educational
and psychological “outcomes”: Enjoyment of school Class participation General self-esteemMartin & Marsh, 2006
BECOMING MORE RESILIENT (1)
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At meta-level you, as a student can enhance motivation and become more resilient by improving your:
Approach to schoolwork
Belief about yourself
Attitude towards learning, achievement, and school
Study skills
Reasons for learning
Martin & Marsh, 2006
BECOMING MORE RESILIENT (2)
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Having and maintaining good relationships with family and friends;
Avoid seeing crises or stressful events as unbearable problems;
Accept circumstances that cannot be changed;
Develop realistic goals and move towards them (planning);
Take decisive, conscious actions in adverse situations;
Look for opportunities of self-discovery after a struggle with loss;
Develop self-confidence (stepping outside comfort zone);
Keep a long-term perspective and consider the stressful event in a broader
context;
Maintain a hopeful outlook, expecting good things and visualizing what is wished;
Take care of one's mind and body, exercising regularly, paying attention to one's
own needs and feelings.
American Psychology Association, 2008
POSITIVE EMOTIONS
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Build resilience... AND...
Significantly better performance
Higher intelligence
Higher energy
More creative
Less burnout ... (Ong, Bergeman, Bisconti, & Wallace, 2006;Lyubomirsky, 2005).
BUILDING POSITIVE EMOTIONS
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2 minutes per day, for 21 days in a row:
3 gratitudes per day (Emmons & McCullough, 2003)
Journaling / writing about what went well that day (Seligman et al, 2005; Slatcher &
Pennebakker, 2006)
Exercise (Babyak et al, 2000)
Identifying top five strengths, and use one of these for other purposes (Seligman et al, 2005)
Meditation (Dweek, 2007)
Random acts of kindness (Lyubomirsky, 2005)
JOB CRAFTING
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What is job crafting?
Why should you craft your job?
How can you craft your study and make it more meaningful?
Things to consider when crafting your study
WHAT IS JOB CRAFTING?
Very young research field “[…] the physical and cognitive changes individuals make in the task or relational
boundaries of their work. Thus, job crafting is an action, and those who undertake it are job crafters.” (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001, p. 179)
Small changes, not completely rebuilding your job, to make your job suit you better
Job crafting can be used to make your work more meaningful Even in the most restricted and routine jobs, employees can exert some influence
on what is the essence of the work (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001)
Motivations to craft a job most often will result from situations in which employees feel that their needs are not being met in their job as it is currently designed
(Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001)
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WHY SHOULD WE CRAFT OUR JOBS?
Advantages of job crafting:
More engagement with your work (Bakker et al., 2012)
Give you the opportunity to take initiative, take control and express creativity (Chiao et al., 2011)
Increase efficiency in your work (Chiao et al., 2011)
Increased commitment to your work (Ghitulescu, 2006)
Increase the passion within your job (Brickson, 2011)
Being able to pursue unanswered occupational callings (Berg et al., 2010)
“Job crafting could be a net positive for the organization.” (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001, p. 195)
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HOW CAN YOU CREATE MEANING IN YOUR STUDY?
Four types of study crafting:
Cognitive crafting: changing task-related boundaries and mindsets
Task crafting: changing the content of work
Relationship crafting: changing the quality and amount of interaction with others at work
(Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001)
Contextual crafting: actively changing your work place/ environment/time
(Van Vuuren & Dorenbosch, 2011)
Four techniques of study crafting:
Add
Change/adjust
Repel
Solve
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Cognitive crafting (changing task-related boundaries & cognitions)
Add
Perception of your study as a meaningful whole that positively impacts others (Berg et al.,
2010)
Gain more knowledge about the topics you are interested in (Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
Find the connection between your study work and other domains and disciplines (Wellman &
Spreitzer, 2011)
Apply the things you have learned to things you do in practice (e.g. this presentation!)
(Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
Extend your knowledge by teaching other students (Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
Identify your personal talents and strenghts, so that you can strive for a meaningful study or
career (Wellman & Spreitzel, 2011)
Change/adjust
More positively interpret the study tasks you do (Van Vuuren & Dorenbosch, 2011)
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Repel
Try to not think about the ugly tasks you have to do (Van Vuuren & Dorenbosch, 2011)
Solve
Accept the ugly tasks you have to do; change your study expectations (Van Vuuren &
Dorenbosch, 2011)
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Task crafting (changing the content of the study work)
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Add
Start new projects (Tims et al., 2012)
Search for challenges, e.g.: follow extra courses, do a board year, study new and interesting
research topics, follow courses at another faculty etcetera (Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
Change/adjust
Ensure that your study, subjects and research is driven by questions that are meaningful
personally, practically and theoretically (Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
Altering the scope or nature of tasks, take on additional tasks (Berg et al., 2010)
Repel
Repel “ugly” tasks for nice tasks (Van Vuuren & Dorenbosch, 2011)
Solve
Improve your task skills and be able to solve ugly tasks by means of training (Van Vuuren &
Dorenbosch, 2011)
Relationship crafting (changing the quality & amount of interaction with others encountered at work)
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Add
Connect with fellow students, teachers (Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
Search for beneficial connections, such as researchers, teachers, people working in
organizations (Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
Search for a coach (Tims et al., 2012)
Change/adjust
Change current relationships with fellow students (Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
Ask others for feedback (Tims et al., 2012)
Repel
Avoid difficult students or teachers (Van Vuuren & Dorenbosch, 2011)
Solve
Learn how to solve interpersonal conflicts and improve interpersonal skills (Van Vuuren &
Dorenbosch, 2011)
Contextual crafting (changing the study place/environment/time)Add
Add nice elements to your study environment
Change/adjust
Re-furnish your physical study environment
Change the work environment/place: e.g. study in the middle of other students and academic books & magazines in the
library
Change the means with which you perform your tasks: e.g. try to search for interesting academic books instead of on-line
articles
Change the time at which you study
Repel
Take away disturbing factors in your study environment
Solve
Relieve discomforts in your study environment: e.g. a broken chair
Based on Van Vuuren & Dorenbosch, 2011
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THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN STUDY CRAFTING
Start small! (Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011). You might have already started the process of study crafting in the beginning of this presentation…
Students may have little autonomy to craft their studies, because of formal study designs (Based on Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
Crafting your study can be like a double-edged sword: universities desire students to be creative and receptive to changes, however it is unlikely that they desire that collective changes in studies or tasks can be enacted without their knowledge (Based on Lyons, 2008). Also: feelings of regret and stress (Berg et al., 2010)
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SUMMARY
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Study crafting through:
- Cognitive crafting- Task crafting- Relational crafting- Contextual crafting
Dealing with a setback through:
- Focus on ‘yourself’- Work on positive emotions- Take decisive action
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
The impact that study crafting actually can have on students (assumptions from this presentation have
not been tested yet)
Job crafting at different career stages (Wellman & Spreitzer, 2011)
The conditions under which job crafting can be fully positive or negative
(Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001; Petrou et al., 2012)
Focus on the dynamic process of job crafting as it unfolds over time
(Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001)
Job crafting as a part of organizational change (Petrou et al., 2012)
Job crafting in different organizational contexts (Berg et al., 2010)
Job crafting as a collective undertaking (Berg et al., 2010)
Researchers and practitioners have focused on the energy and drive of students and not so much on
their ability to deal with pressure and setback.
Surprisingly, academic resilience has not received a great deal of attention in the research literature (Martin & Andrew, 2002)
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IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS
As a student: being able to adjust your study to fulfill your unique skills, motives and
preferences (Tims et al., 2012) and give more meaning to your study.
As a manager: the importance of creating a work climate that encourages job crafting to
create more job satisfaction, commitment and performance
Job crafting could be a net positive for the organization, but is also a double edged sword
that should be considered
Development of students’ resilience
o Who is responsible? Teacher or student, or both?
o Is an individual always able to deal with setback?
o How resilient can you be? Is there a maximum?
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“Work is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor, in short for a sort of life rather than a Monday to Friday sort of dying.” (Terkel, 1972)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION! Are there any questions?
DISCUSSION POINTS
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Teachers must give more attention to (improving/creating) the study meaning of students
Teachers are responsible for students’ study meaning (by means of study-crafting and building resilience)
CS education must focus more on the practice of building positive emotions
The double-edged sword of jobcrafting: management should be involved in job crafting practices
The organization should create a work climate that facilitates job crafting