For millennia humans have inquired about the nature of their existence. Why am I here? Does my life have meaning? What is the good life? Attempts have been made to encapsulate and understand the human experience using a plethora of interpretive measures and categories each invoking a methodology reflective of the times. Greek philosophy as contained within the works of Plato posited that the good life is one in which the human appetites are governed by reason. As one succeeds in effectively bridling the carnal impulses innate within the human experience, the individual is more likely to enjoy a perspective of reality that is less blemished than the one who has yet to let reason rule his or her drives. Meaning and truth are to be discovered through ratiocination and suppression.
Many of the Puritans, through the influence of Baxter, examined the good life through teleological lenses (Kalberg, 2002). The hope of finding oneself at the gates of heaven rather than the pits of hell upon death prompted his initiates to anxiously seek tangible evidence of a positive, future reward. This penetrating eternal insecurity prompted the development of a doctrine of soteriology that linked material wealth and success with destiny. Essentially, the good life was to be found through the fulfillment of one’s earthly calling to produce successful goods or services and accumulate riches thus revealing the depth of God’s favor upon them and ensuring a future, blissful existence.
Centuries later, the existential quest for meaning and fulfillment is still stirring deep within the souls of individuals. Despite radical cultural, epistemological and technological advances leading the young United States to a position of world prominence through economic and militaristic dominance, Americans find themselves in a very sobering predicament. Many people are not happy. In fact, there seems to be a considerable number of languishing individuals. Keyes defined languishing not as a mental illness like depression but the absence of emotional well-being that is experienced as an inner hollowness (Keyes & Haidt, 2003). Additionally, Maslach and Leiter (1997) have observed that there has been an astronomical increase in professional burnout in recent years. What is happening? If Baxter was correct in his assertion that there is a connection between prosperity and spirituality, why are so many Americans unhappy and burned out? The preoccupation amongst Americans to embrace a deficits-based worldview is equally troublesome. When the self is perceived as a problem to be fixed rather than a collection of unique assets to be engaged, especially within the context of the professional life, is burnout more likely to ensue?
This dissertation explores the relationship of the presence of meaning in life as it relates to calling, engagement in the workplace, and flow to the three dimensions of burnout in second and third tier leaders (i.e., those working as vice presidents, administrators, managers, and directors within the domains of government, commerce, and education). It is proposed that the presence of meaning in life, particularly within the context where work is viewed as a calling, and maximized engagement with work as flow states minimizes the chances of the emergence of burnout within the life of the individual. For the purposes of this study, three terms must be defined.
First, the concept of burnout finds much of its support within the work of Maslach and associates (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996; Maslach & Leiter, 1997). It manifests itself in the form of exhaustion, cynicism, and affected work performance. Burnout is caused by many factors, but those related to engagement and the accentuated emphasis upon the bottom line are considered more heavily.
Related to Maslach’s concept of engagement is Csikszentmihalyi’s explication of flow (1996, 1999, 2003). Flow occurs when one is so fully invested or engaged in an activity that the individual may notice that distractions are ignored, time is distorted, goals are clear, and there is a presence of challenge and a likelihood of success. Flow produces strong feelings of euphoria within the person (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999).
The third significant concept examined in this dissertation is meaning in life. There is considerable agreement among scholars that meaning is a subjectively generated phenomenon that emerges as a result of experience and reflection. Meaning must be made as it cannot be distributed. Meaning in life is the accumulation of created categories by which an individual gauges the human experience. Interestingly, though subjectively generated, meaning in life is often tied to calling as it may embody a transcendent dimension. Calling, like meaning in life, can be quite ambiguous and difficult to define. This dissertation considers calling to be a sense of purposefulness or transcendent meaning in life. An individual may assign a sacred or secular/altruistic derivation to calling.
In summary, this dissertation seeks to determine to what extent professional purposefulness or calling and engagement impact burnout. The recent writings of Keyes best encapsulate the scope of this study. “Based on a meta-analysis of numerous studies … profits, productivity, employee retention, and customer satisfaction all increase as the level of workplace well-being, particularly employee personal growth, increases. In short, bottom-line outcomes are linked with the promotion of well-being in the workplace” (Keyes & Haidt, 2003, p. 9). Despite the position held by Keyes suggesting that productivity is correlated with attentiveness to well-being, this dissertation presents ample evidence suggesting that this perspective is quite uncommon. The busyness of the workplace in combination with pressure to increase the bottom line and the popularity of a deficits-based worldview, markedly decrease the importance of the human element within the workplace. In other words, there is little time for or incentive for self-discovery and the development and application of individual strengths.
The consequences are grave for those who choose to behave in a manner incompatible with their unique design specifications. One of the main causes for professional burnout is a lack of meaningful engagement (Maslach & Leiter, 1997). When one is preoccupied with the regular recognition and remediation of a variety of deficits revealed by popular culture and within organizational life, it is unlikely that one will find their niche, especially as they exist within a professional environment that calculates organizational effectiveness through quantitative measures alone. Pratt and Ashforth (2003) argued that a professional atmosphere that helps advance the recognition and application of calling as part of one’s authentic self will promote individual wellness and a stronger likelihood of a healthy bottom line for the organization. In other words, as being is cared for, doing is enhanced. Within this paradigm both the individual and the organization are likely to develop further. When an individual is committed to living intentionally through the constant cultivation of meaning and seeks professional opportunities where his or her unique dispositions or where flow states are able to directly correspond to required tasks, the propensity for maximum engagement is present and burnout less likely.
Only a cursory critique of American culture is necessary to illuminate the existence of an alarming problem. Though deeply embedded within the fabric of the collective American psyche, a complex pattern can be discerned. The rise in popularity of self-help resources, facial treatments promising eternal youth, and the alarming increases in professional burnout suggest that Americans are dissatisfied. Interestingly, the very fabric of this country’s foundation suggests that its inhabitants refuse to remain docile during times of trouble or dissatisfaction (Gartner, 2005). The entrepreneurial spirit pervading virtually every nook and cranny of the cultural landscape invites all people, regardless of age, race, or gender, to invest in solutions that proclaim the power and potential of American ingenuity to alter circumstances to conform to a new, more desirable reality.
The 21st century is characterized by sweeping technological advances, a cultural landscape that is in a state of change, and a prevailing makeover mentality that encourages an attitude of extreme personal dissatisfaction. Americans are thrust into an incessant quest to redefine the self to correspond to the latest trends of societal acceptability. There is an extreme preoccupation as of late with human deficiencies. Television shows such as MTV’s Made and WB’s Nip Tuck cultivate a gnawing and consuming sense of incompleteness that can only be alleviated by making serious modifications to one’s appearance and lifestyle. People are essentially problems to be solved. Interestingly, the solution to the problem is elusive and defies any and every attempt to bring a lasting state of existential wholeness and completeness as societal expectations change as frequently as the climate.
Consequently, the law of diminishing returns is invoked as greater attempts to makeover the self are made while the demand for even more considerable modifications to being loom on the horizon. Interestingly, most of our attempts to construct the “proper self” inevitably deconstruct our abilities to effectively gauge our true selves. The external or outward nature of our focus stifles our aptitude for and interest in allowing our individuality to rise to the forefront of our daily activities thus causing us to live and lead critically disengaged from our soul. The 40 plus hours per week invested in professional activities carry the potential to suffocate rather than sustain, suppress instead of stimulate, as they are spent dealing with matters that are far from vocatio, or calling. An analysis of our work week more closely resembles that of a horse trained to fulfill specific tasks on the farm rather than humans infused with a divine calling or vocation. Sadly, the kinetic American lifestyle acts as a bulwark to self-realization. Consequently, Americans drift from one career to the next, one new experience to another, each promising to provide a greater return in the hope of finding something to satiate a thirsty soul. Despite self reports that amassing greater wealth will contribute to happiness, findings reveal a very different outcome. The accumulation of wealth generally leaves individuals desiring more, with happiness scores barely higher than those who possess only an average income (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). Clearly, the allurement of wealth promoted by television shows like MTV’s Cribs inadequately positions individuals on a track toward wholeness. Linder (1970) suggested that the greater one focuses upon the accumulation of wealth in order to enjoy a meaningful life, the rubric for meaningfulness undergoes a metamorphosis as time invested in activities becomes entirely quantifiable both in duration and dollars.
Therefore, individuals learn to find meaning mostly in activities that are related to increasing wealth. Csikszentmihalyi (1998) explained that one who invests his or her life becoming a powerful consumer finds diminished personal rewards in literature, religion, aesthetics, and friendship. In his popular work, If We Are So Rich, Why Aren’t We Happy? Csikszentmihalyi explained, “Nowadays the logic of reducing everything to quantifiable measures has made the dollar the common metric by which to evaluate every aspect of human action. The worth of a person and of a person’s accomplishments are determined by the price they fetch in the marketplace” (p. 824). Not only does an existential emptiness and uncertainty appear to be a defining characteristic of the contemporary human condition, but there seems to be a direct correlation between the lack of realization of self and burnout to the American way of life. The literature explores the causes of dissatisfaction, particularly within the context of work.
This dissertation explores the current epidemic of burnout in America among a variety of people. The degree to which the kinetic American lifestyle precludes individuals from discovering and engaging their purpose in life was considered. Further, activities that are likely to promote personal engagement commonly referred to within the literature as flow states were examined in relationship to the alarming increases in burnout. The consequences of burnout and disengagement are grave. Individuals find themselves languishing rather than flourishing as they become existential drifters with little sense of self identity or purpose. The levels of engagement and flow states and the presence of meaning in life as calling may be directly correlated to the degree of burnout experienced by individuals, specifically within government, commerce, and education. This literature review focuses specifically upon the nature of meaning in life, the epidemic of burnout amongst American workers, and explores the relationship of personal engagement and regularly engaged flow states to human flourishing.
Because of the topical nature of this dissertation, it is necessary to explore such concepts within three sections exploring meaning in life, flow, and burnout. These sections are presented through the epistemological lenses of both the secular and the sacred. To refrain from such an analysis would be irresponsible scholarship as all the aforementioned concepts have connotations of spirituality and are also critiqued by non-religious individuals. This dissertation considered subject matters that are fundamental to the human experience as a case can be made that all persons desire to enjoy a meaningful existence that is characterized by constant engagement through work and other activities and is as impervious as possible to the symptoms of burnout.
Exploring Meaning in Life
This section explores the relationship of meaning to human fulfillment. Due to the fluid usage of the term “meaning,” it is examined with special emphasis upon the broader, transcendent nature of the concept especially as it relates to purpose or calling. Specific instances of meaning within an ephemeral context are considered minimally. Though the words meaning, purpose, and calling enjoy frequent treatment within the English language and have multiple interpretations, the literature indicates that meaning is a subjective encounter as it requires independent action for its subsistence. In other words, meaning is not derived from an external source. Next, meaning-making disciplines are introduced as a strategy to combat the disconnectedness perpetuated by American life. Furthermore, recent efforts to quantify meaning are explored. Lastly, calling or vocation as a broader component of personal meaning is investigated from theological, economic, and philosophical perspectives.
Though nebulous in its scope yet tacit in relevance, the concept of meaning or meaningfulness has proven to be quite elusive of most attempts to categorize and standardize its breadth. Even the act of inquiring whether or not meaning exists implies logically that the statement possesses meaning in some form for the contemplative individual. What is meaning, and why is it significant for this study? Frankl (1965) noted that there is an absence of a clearly identifiable, universal definition of meaning. Consequently, there is great diversity in the description and application of meaning throughout the literature. Frankl, like many other scholars (Battista & Almond, 1973; Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1964; Shaw, 2002), agreed that meaning subjectively emerges out of the self. In other words, though the necessary ingredients and process of meaning making may vary; it cannot be made possible through the sole imposition of external forces. Meaning can only be made by the individual according to Pratt and Ashford (2003):
Meaningfulness is not a fixed property of a job (e.g., teaching = helping others) or organization (e.g., Rubbermaid = ingenuity) or something one finds on an Easter egg hunt. Rather, meaningfulness is necessarily subjective. And because individuals- and the social groups which they are embedded- differ widely, the meaning attached to a particular piece of work and work setting may vary radically not only across individuals but across historical and physical contexts. We doubt that there are many universal meanings in the sense that everyone sees a given job as meaningful for the same reasons. However, there are likely to be (1) a limited number of meaning archetypes in a given society that individuals draw from and (2) strong similarities in the processes by which meaningfulness is created. (p. 311)
Kenyon (2000) viewed meaning making as an attempt to introduce a coherent life narrative or subjective methodology through which one organizes and assigns value to the totality of one’s life. It can be implied, then, that a process is required for meaning to occur. Though the making of meaning is clearly a self-directed task, the literature refers in various ways to the initiation of some form of action to assimilate various events, situations, etc., into the category reserved specifically for those events which can be deemed meaningful. Devices utilized to name these acts include (a) create (Battista & Almond, 1973), (b) decision making and action (Maddi, 1970), and (c) purposefulness (Ryff & Singer, 1998). Contained within all of these designations for the self-directed act that accompanies these events is the element of reflection. Schuurman (2004) indicated that a meaningful human existence is futile if there is an absence of connective tissues to help make sense out of an increasingly fragmented world:
It is widely lamented that fragmentation, not integral wholeness, characterizes most modern life. Paid work is fragmented from home life and recreation; businesses pursue short-term profits rather than larger goods; value is dominated by instrumental concerns for means rather than ends; human life and identity lack integrity. A paid job, marriage, friendship, relationship, or an entire life becomes meaningless when it cannot be coherently connected with past and future. (p. 79)
Schuurman (2004) has little patience for those who are not awestruck by the magnificence of creation and proceed to ask deeper questions in the hope of arriving at meaningful perspective that seeks the connectedness of reality. He wrote:
Some dullards have no curiosity or sense of wonder at the harmony and beauty of creation; others have had it drummed out of them by suffering or deadening educational systems. But traces of the sense of wonder and the quest for meaning survive in most human beings. We find meaning by identifying parts and linking them to each other forming wholes. (p. 65)
According to Starbuck and Milliken (1988), meaningfulness is the coalescence of experience and reflection. Experience encompasses the vast degree of disparate stimuli that one encounters on a consistent basis that may be an amalgamation of auditory, visual, and kinesthetic occurrences. While an external agency may be responsible for the imposition of introduction of some form of stimuli to the person, meaning is not an automatic response mechanism. The recipient of the stimuli may only assimilate the event(s) into meaningful categories through the autonomous act of reflection “when one assigns a social or other stimulus to a category, one has ‘made sense of’ the stimulus, giving it meaning” (Pratt & Ashforth, 2003, p. 68). Merton (1961) explained that the process of meaning making is at times quite difficult for the reflective individual. Though ultimately rewarding and even worthwhile, it may not be easy.
Reflection as an Act of Struggle
In the introduction, the dangers of the kinetic American lifestyle in combination with the prevailing makeover mentality were revealed, particularly as they influence the ability of one to enjoy self-awareness. A case can be made that while the fluid lifestyle experienced by so many acts as an impediment to self-awareness, the possibility also exists that the act of reflection or critical self inquiry instigates a degree of reluctance on the part of the subject as the reality of self discovery contains frightening implications.
An analogy of the rigor and distress of the process of becoming is that of Plato’s Cave (Republic, 360 BC/1992). Though it is mainly a story of epistemology, the progression or climb toward metaphysical veracity is quite relevant to self awareness and personal meaning-making. Based upon Plato’s explanation of the men residing in the cave, it can be suggested that the cavernous inhabitants knew only a black and white, one dimensional, shadowy existence. The rigor of the ascent toward the aperture was painful but highly significant as it enabled the cavern dweller to establish that what he thought was true was in fact, a reality based upon distortions, namely shadows. This story of epistemological discovery resembles the reflective process as the participant is invited to look above and allow his or her curiosity at the light penetrating the opening to prod the individual to initiate the climb. The reflective act as a meaning-making discipline is not a behavior that should be taken lightly. The journey toward self-discovery may reveal past events, hidden motives, and self imposed and externally placed limitations that may divulge painful wounds. One must critically consider his or her motives for ascending the cave wall of the human experience as the wrong intentions could lead the person towards madness, bitterness or even tighter shackles. Merton (1961) wrote:
Let no one hope to find in contemplation as escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude of the contemplative experience awakens a tragic anguish and opens many questions in the depths of the heart like wounds that cannot stop bleeding. (p. 12)
Merton (1961) suggested that the goal of meaning-making through the reflective act is not an action solely to benefit the subject but rather others. He went on to say, “We do not go into the desert to escape people but to learn how to find them; we do not leave them in order to have nothing more to do with them, but to find out the way to do them the most good. But this is only the secondary end” (p. 80).
In his text, Leadership and Spirit, Moxley (1999) observed that leaders are often resistant to devoting time to the development of self-awareness within subordinates due to its highly subjective nature and ostensibly incompatible relationship to increasing the bottom line within the organization. Essentially, self-awareness is irrelevant, inconclusivem and soft. Moxley explained:
Of all the soft stuff that executives and managers, and all the rest of us try to avoid, inner consciousness may be the softest of all. Inner consciousness cannot be quantified. It cannot be studied empirically. It cannot be experienced by and of the senses. It is not part of the curriculum of the Harvard Business School. It is hard to understand, much less appreciate. Managers and executives have enough problems with which to wrestle; they see no need to go on an inner journey to find more. …It is easier to operate on a belief that what you see is what you get. (p. 129)
Meaning-Making and Self Awareness
The incompatibility of reflective activities with the kinetic American lifestyle is glaring. In a culture that celebrates the overactive individual, it is no wonder why people may find the act of reflection to be dull and irrelevant. It is of no surprise that many only enjoy silence during their hectic days while using the restroom (Oates, 1996). Oates called attention to the deafening roar of the noisy heart which, for most people, is self-inflicted. Identity and value are measured by busyness and commotion. Individuals fear the repercussions of a life of docility and worthlessness.
Though individuals may find themselves busied by a variety of activities promising self-actualization or increased confidence, the flurry of activity may be adverse to the path of self-discovery necessary for the elucidation of calling and meaning in life. Merton (1961) wrote:
If I never become what I am meant to be, but always remain what I am not, I shall spend eternity contradicting myself by being at once something and nothing, a life that wants to live and is dead, a death that wants to be dead and cannot quite achieve its own death because it still has to exist. (p. 70)
The search for meaning in life does not necessarily promise its attainment as many behaviors including consumption, materialism, and kinesis provide stimuli but diminish the reflective act. It is likely that the wrong questions are being asked or the pursuit of the answers to the mysteries of the self is wrongheaded and loathsome. Rilke (2004) encouraged the young poet to experience the embodiment of the question, to learn to welcome the speculative struggle as integral to the process of becoming. Learning to revere the splendor of the pursuit of the deeper questions engenders a more perfect human existence. He wrote:
Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer. (p. 27)
The capacity to reflect and make meaning is uniquely a human attribute. Denying the human spirit of its proper functioning reduces humanity to that of the other beasts inhabiting the earth. How does an absence of reflection affect the individual? The final section of this literature review shows that a kinetic life and limited reflective behavior can instigate the symptoms of burnout, particularly as it relates to meaningful engagement with work (Maslach & Leiter, 1997). Furthermore, research has shown that those who describe themselves as having less meaning in life are more likely to be depressed and anxious (Battista & Almond, 1973).
The introductory section of chapter two revealed the intertwined nature of the sacred and secular within the context of calling and meaning in life. Excluding the relationship of reflection to the making of meaning, there is a lack of research within the secular domain that identifies other disciplines that one can utilize to help maximize meaning in life. Essentially, meaning is deemed a highly subjective act only. Therefore, the next section presents those disciplines found within religious literature that relate to the concept of meaning-making. Even those readers who do not subscribe to a theistic worldview should be able to find of value the disciplines described below.
In his popular work, Spirit of the Disciplines, Willard (1988) argued that the spiritual disciplines of engagement and abstainment are critical to an undivided, meaningful life. He described those individuals who have succumbed to the external pressures to conform their lives to the standards and trends of the day as wooden because they have abdicated their individuality. Meaning-making disciplines reinforce identity and telos or purpose within the individual. It can be deduced that consistent engagement of the meaning-making disciplines can provide the individual with important tools to ascend the cave wall and prevent the limited human experience known by those in extended residency within the cave. Meaning-making disciplines equip the initiate to see beyond the singular tree and perceive the connectedness of all living matter within the forest. The disciplines of engagement and abstinence infuse the individual with the capacity to both co-exist with others and critique the human experience as a member and as an outside observer. Willard (1988) indicated that the spiritual disciplines are synonymous with asceticism. Hardman’s (1924) description of asceticism, as cited in Willard, has relevancy here. Asceticism, properly translated, refers to the gymnastics of the soul. Hardman wrote that asceticism is:
For the deliverance and protection of the soul from defilement, for the increase of its powers by the discharge of its proper functions in accordance with its own conception of the moral and spiritual order, and for the consequent achievement and enjoyment of its full status. (p. 150)
Merton (1961) likened the human soul to wax waiting for a seal. The reflective act is a prerequisite to authentic living. Merton implied that asceticism or the gymnastics of the soul helps to purify the inner self and prepare the individual to realize his or her calling and is not an easy task at all. He described the predicament some may find themselves in:
Therefore, if you spend your life trying to escape from the heat of the fire that is meant to soften and prepare you to become your true self, and if you try to keep your substance from melting in the fire- as if your true identity were to be hardwax — the seal will fall upon you at last and crush you. You will not be able to take your own true name and countenance, and you will be destroyed by the event that was meant to be your fulfillment. (p. 161)
Willard (1988) identified solitude as an important discipline of abstainment. He explained that it is in solitude that one finds freedom as he or she discovers behaviors and motives that compromise the fulfillment of calling. This fundamental spiritual discipline is likely to produce intense emotions as the inner weavings of one’s true self rise to the surface. Merton (1961) elaborated upon the nature of freedom that comes out of the act of solitude. “The contemplative is not isolated in himself, but liberated from his external and egoistic self by humility and purity of heart—therefore there is no longer any serious obstacle to simple and humble love of other men” (p. 66).
According to Nouwen (1980), “Silence is the only way to make solitude a reality” (p. 17). Silence is the act of stilling the voices competing for attention. It is a willful act; one that requires the intentional elimination of sounds that cloud reflective capabilities. In silence, one is alone with their soul and is poised to listen to what Palmer (2000) has described as the “inner voice of vocation” (p. 4). Willard (1988) indicated that silence also includes refraining from speaking and learning to truly listen to others. He suggested that silence can enhance community.
Willard (1988) explained that the disciplines of abstinence and engagement complement one another. When one abstains from certain activities, they become conditioned to engage in those activities that promote spiritual vitality and increased awareness of oneself and one’s surroundings. Willard cited study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, submission, and confession as disciplines of engagement. Based upon his reasoning, and for the purposes of this dissertation, the discipline of journaling is explored here.
The act of journaling contains many benefits for the subject. Journaling is an activity that follows solitude and silence. When one is in solitude and is silent he or she is more directly tuned to the inner frequencies of the self. New truths or creative solutions often emerge out of the stillness of solitude and silence that must be recorded. Journaling affords the individual an opportunity to critically reflect upon and categorize the stimuli of life. It acts as a psychological device enabling the individual to transfer internalized concepts and emotions to another medium, specifically paper or the computer screen. This provides the person with a greater ability to objectively critique ideas and situations in order to promote meaning-making and the desired behavior. Furthermore, journaling produces a tangible record of one’s journey of self discovery.
Though meaning in life is clearly subjective in scope, there have been attempts made to measure it with the hope of enhancing the level of meaning within the life of the individual. How does one appropriately measure meaning, especially with its extremely subjective nature? Steger, Frazier, Oishi, and Kaler (2006) argued that the three traditional measures: (a) Purpose in Life Test (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1964), (b) Sense of Coherence Scale (Antonovsky, 1987), and (c) the Life Regard Index (Battista & Almond, 1973) failed to account for other related factors such as the search for and presence of meaning in life. While advocating that meaning is a subjective condition, Steger et al. (2006) chose to approach it in the following way: “We defined meaning in life as the sense made of and significance felt regarding the nature of one’s being and existence. This definition represents an effort to encompass all of the major definitions of meaning and allows respondents to use their own criteria” (p. 80).
Steger et al. (2006) developed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) in an attempt to address some of the deficiencies present in other psychometric tests of its type. The product of three isolated studies utilizing college undergraduates as participants, the MLQ contains the subscales of presence and search. According to Steger and colleagues, presence as a subscale is interested in an individualized conception of meaning while search as a subscale measures the nature of one’s determination to find meaning in life. Though the participant pool represented a diverse population, religion, race, and gender did not produce variance among the scores (Steger et. al). Steger et al. noted that the subscale of presence is positively correlated with positive emotions, life satisfaction, intrinsic religiosity, agreeableness, and extraversion, while it is negatively correlated with neuroticism, depression, and negative emotions. Steger revealed the unexpected finding that indicated that a positive correlation between presence and conscientiousness exists. The researchers explained that the search subscale was positively correlated with depression, neuroticism, and other negative emotions cited by Frankl.
As a psychometric instrument that is considerably shorter than its predecessors, the MLQ possesses superb discriminant validity (Steger et al., 2006) and has been featured by Seligman (2006), who is considered the father of the Positive Psychology movement. Steger et al. observed that those who have undergone psychiatric care demonstrate higher MLQ scores than before the treatment. Additionally, the presence of meaning in life is directly correlated to life satisfaction in those who are searching for meaning (Steger et al.). One possible explanation for these outcomes could be the linkage between meaning and reflection. It should be noted that both contexts likely induce a contemplative reaction in people.
Meaning in Life and Calling: A Synthesis
Closely related to meaning in life, the concept of calling or vocation has embodied many forms throughout history. Specifically, it has contained elements of spirituality, economic prosperity, and psychological and physical well-being (Kalberg, 2002). For the purposes of this study, the concept of calling will be epistemologically harmonized with the concept of meaning in life/purpose in life as both possess transcendent implications and are often synthesized. This section traces the evolution of calling with an emphasis upon its relationship to the Protestant tradition as it was here that it was expanded beyond the priesthood and was also embraced by the laity. The epistemological fluidity of the concept is examined particularly in relationship to economic prosperity and spirituality. It is shown that the concept has been modified quite often throughout history to help advance various ideologies. While calling has generally possessed a transcendent nature as it is discussed in a variety of contexts, its specific meaning has varied over time. Considerable attention is given to the process of sacralization wherein one manipulates a concept somewhat subtly and strategically in order to influence others to think and behave differently. Rather than stripping a theological construct entirely of its meaning, less noticeable modifications are made which may be undetectable initially but powerful in impact (McKnight, 1989). Lastly, the recent exploration of calling in relationship to professional engagement in work is considered. Research reveals how one’s orientation towards employment affects their satisfaction, persistence, happiness, and commitment to the organization (Wrsesniewski, as cited in Keyes & Haidt, 2003). The aim of this dissertation is to determine to what extent one’s orientation towards employment, specifically within the context of calling affects burnout amongst professionals within the domains of government, commerce, and education.
This section traces the long and varied history of the concept of calling in relationship to religion, particularly Protestantism. For the purposes of this dissertation, the connection between calling and Puritan and evangelical theology is considered as it is within these sects that calling was extended beyond the priestly class of the Roman Catholic tradition to the masses. Therefore, though this dissertation is concerned primarily with the concepts of calling and meaning in life within the context of work, it is necessary to accurately trace the various ways in which it has been understood over the course of history. Furthermore, perhaps it is because of the multiplicity of meanings that have been assigned to calling that many individuals adhering to both theistic and non-theistic traditions might choose to approach the topic with a great deal of reservation.
It is shown that the concept of calling has generally been manipulated to help provide cohesion or connectivity between matters of religion, lifestyle, and prosperity. In some cases, significant unorthodox epistemic modifications grounded in immanentization have occurred in order to help advance the economic vitality of a particular group. Despite the numerous theological doctrines that have been assigned to this term over many centuries, the concept of calling has recently been reexamined and modified with the intention of introducing a more universalized belief that believers and unbelievers can ascribe to and assimilate into their lives an attempt to live more purposefully or intentionally. In order to grasp the new challenges facing the issue of calling, an analysis of its deep origins within Protestantism as a foundation is required so that its relationship to engagement, flow, and burnout can understood as closely related to the good life or a life in which the individual is flourishing due to engagement.
Within evangelical theology, the concept of calling, or more precisely effectual calling, is an act of God that allows individuals to partake of his grace through earthly and heavenly rewards (Erickson, 1998). While Erickson noted that God has issued a general invitation for salvation, it is only those who are chosen that experience a personal calling:
God works in a particularly effective way with the elect, enabling them to respond in repentance and faith, and rendering it certain that they will…Special calling is in large measure the Holy Spirit’s work of illumination, enabling the recipient to understand the true meaning of the gospel. This working of the Spirit is necessary because the depravity which is characteristic of all humans prevents them from grasping God’s revealed truth. (pp. 930-931)
Romans 8:30 offers a glimpse into the connection between calling and salvation. “And whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified” (New International Version). In the context of this passage, the concept of calling is associated with a grand, transcendent purpose (Horton, 1989). While calling or purpose in life continued to retain its nature of external imposition, the work of Max Weber elucidates the evolution of calling or meaning in life as understood by individuals, especially within the domain of economic prosperity. This concept would later be utilized both within the sacred and secular spheres as even unbelievers could be called to produce something magnificent. A synthesis of effectual calling and professional success occurred and is still present today. In other words, had the Protestant Reformation concept of effectual calling not infiltrated the American landscape, our nation would likely not be a dominant global power (Kalberg, 2002)
In his early years as a scholar, Weber (2002) noticed the declension of religious idealism as advancements in industry and technology became more and more preeminent. Weber became curious about the repercussions of this rapidly changing world. He asked:
What type of person will inhabit this new universe? How amidst the overwhelmingly material and pragmatic character of everyday life in industrialized societies will persons be able to orient their lives to ethical values? Especially now that religion has been weakened will not the sheer instrumental rational calculations typical of the modern capitalist economy push aside all ethical values? (Weber, p. 75)
In order to understand past and present controversy surrounding the issue of calling, the important work, Sacralizing the Secular: A New Perspective on Modernity, McKnight (1989) must be considered. McKnight made a differentiation between secularization and sacralization within the context of the Enlightenment. While secularization boasts “man’s self-emancipation from theological and ecclesiastical control” (p. 564), sacralization is the gradual process wherein important theological truths experience an epistemic modification or a displacement of being. In other words, the meaning of various theological doctrines are altered but not entirely changed as they correspond to the heightened position of the Enlightenment Man. “The root images and symbols of this tradition depict man as a ‘terrestrial god’— that is, as an autonomous creator and shaper of his own destiny and equate knowledge with the power to control nature and perfect society, concepts that are at the heart of modern epochal consciousness” (McKnight, p. 564). Within the context of this analysis, it is apparent that even those who identified themselves as devout Protestant believers participated in the process of sacralization as the meanings of salvation, holiness, and the blessings of God embodied a deeper, immanentized dimension. McKnight distinguished sacralization from secularization. Though the Renaissance sought to elevate the role of humanity, the Enlightenment celebrated humanity’s “self emancipation from theological control and from the Medieval Christian view of man as a dependent sinful creature” (McKnight, p. 564). It is clear that this was not the aim of Protestantism, specifically the Puritans. However, there is evidence of a gradual epistemological immanentization process that distorted the perceptions of the spiritual status and the afterlife. Humans created devices or signs by which to authenticate spiritual reality. The emphasis upon the subjective nature of spiritual reality led to a marked level of fluidity of human experience. Terms like salvation and calling assumed a multitude of meanings. The self-endowment of the ability to name and order reality based upon one’s inward inclinations was explored by Eric Voegelin.
Voegelin, a prominent political philosopher whose unique critique of the Western condition spanned nearly an entire century, identifies the elevated view of humanity and the concurrent disengagement of the transcendent as a course of personal and spiritual illumination as the immanentization of the eschaton. The displacement of the ontic logos and declension of metaphysical inquiry transforms the human into a magus who, through the manipulation of sign and symbol, redefines the relationship of humanity to the Divine (Federici, 2002). The Enlightenment’s celebration of the Death of God is not apropos here but rather an accentuation of the ability of humanity to name. The result is an ontological rift or a laceration of being as the truth of things becomes distorted. Federici described the relationship of transcendence to human experience:
To be known and articulated, experience with transcendent reality must be part of human consciousness. For this to happen, human beings must be attuned to transcendent reality as opposed to being estranged from it. Attunement implies a certain ethical condition of the soul and a corresponding state of consciousness. When the will is rightly ordered, experiences with transcendence are illuminated resulting in insights into the human condition and the meaning of history that build on each other. (p. 84)
Furthermore, the act of sacralization is a symptom of a larger spiritual crisis occurring in the West, namely the immanentization of the eschaton (Montgomery, 1999); that is, individuals denied the efficacy of objective reality as they now possessed the capacity to discover truth utilizing their innate capacities for learning apart from an external metaphysical framework. This inwardizing of the process of authenticating truth had major implications for the axiological dimension of behavior. Those in positions of authority now possessed the power to alter the reality of the masses via the manipulation of language. Modern Gnosticism, as described by Voegelin (1998) and Montgomery (1999), maintains that the process of the immanentization of the eschaton reduced the ability of humans to be able to effectively differentiate and engage objective reality. Therefore, those who wished to manipulate language in order to advance a particular agenda (i.e., the sacralized version of calling) distanced traditional terminology from that which the symbols or words referred. Montgomery elaborated upon the epistemic manipulative process of immanentization:
Smoke can be made illusionally apparent as if far removed from the actuality of the fire, the burning presence of being. Intellect as autonomous authority thus emerges whose magic practice in the manipulations of reality is through a usurped command of name in the interest of power of the thing. Not Adam under the guiding presence of God in the naming of things, but the arbitrary naming by Gnostic intellect. And the magic to which dislocated intuitive intellect becomes susceptible is that illusion of a new substantiality whose cause is purportedly the action of naming by the autonomous rationale intellect. (p. 274)
While scholars such as Voegelin and Montgomery would suggest that ideology, namely progressivism, Marxism, and Communism were inherent to the problem of immanentization, it can be implied that the displacement of being, particularly within the context of Reformationist soteriology also contributed to the crisis. Montgomery believed that the only lasting remediation for immanentization is a metaphysical purification of language:
If the poet’s highest office is, as Eliot declared to ‘purify the dialect of the tribe’, then the philosopher’s must be to orient that purified dialect in respect to the realities of human nature, within the matrix of creation out of which such dialect rises. To do so will require at once our accepting the realities of our own finite intellect, if we are to recover within community those safeguards against the manipulations of persons as persons by other persons who are perverse by neglect or intent. (p. 139)
In his work, The History of Political Ideas: Renaissance and Reformation, Voegelin (1998) traced the infiltration of the celebrated Cartesian autonomous self of the Renaissance into Protestant theology. The extreme departure from the theological tenets of papal infallibility and the clerical/Marian mediatrix endows the individual believer with priestly capabilities. The clear revocation of external authority allows the believer to discover and apprehend spiritual truths independently. This emboldened believers to formulate their own theologies of salvation, holiness, and calling. Voegelin noted that this immanentization of spiritual reality contains an inherent tendency of “opening an anarchy of conflicting interpretations” (p. 235). Interestingly, Weber (2002) pointed out that one of the consequences of the Reformation was that it caused “an unprecedented inner loneliness” (p. 104). Meaning in life was once found within the participation of the holy sacraments and priestly mediation. The deep, inexplicable loneliness felt by many Protestant believers was also prompted by the work of Rene Descartes. His disavowal for priestly authority helped to produce a generation of ecclesiastical rebels who fought for their independence. Lundin (1999), a student of contemporary hermeneutics, suggested that Descartes disillusionment with the problem of many conflicting authorities both in the religious and political spheres helped to inoculate thinkers like Descartes with a strong dose of discontentment towards authority and contributed to a conscious review of the various modes of how best to authenticate reality — even if it meant to possess a complete disregard for others favoring only that which can be ascertained through the faculties of the self, namely, intuition and deduction. Lundin called Descartes’ Cogito, a “parentless, autonomous thinking agent who is dependent upon nothing outside himself for the truth he has uncovered within himself” (p. 11). “In the Modern West, Descartes was to become the authority for all who would live without authority, the founder of the tradition of spurning tradition, and the father of all who would live without the aid or imposition of their parents” (Lundin, p. 11).
The pattern of sacralization and the immanentization of the eschaton caused an epistemic distortion in many areas, particularly those related to the relationship of economic success with spiritual status. The decline of metaphysical engagement to inform one’s behavior and lifestyle allowed individuals to harmonize scripture with the new worldview. Weber’s analysis is interested in the connection of religious beliefs to human behavior, particularly the psychological merits of being rewarded for right living. The system of harmatological amelioration within the Catholic tradition offered a variety of sacraments whereby one might find psychological purification (Kalberg, 2002). Unlike Catholicism, the Reformed tradition avows that one cannot diminish the effects of sin merely by good works, rather, one must be in full control of the self at all times pondering the important question, “Am I among the saved or among the dammed” (Weber, 2002, p. 69). A distinction must be made between the Catholic sacraments and the Protestant organization of life as they relate to the amelioration of sin. Increased good works and repentance are all that was required while an immanentized pneumastasis allowed the Protestant believer to exist in a state of spiritual insecurity as the amorphous concept of salvation by faith alone was recognized. Though Catholicism equated economic wealth with sinfulness (homo mercator vix aut numquan potest Deo placere), Protestantism found a way to integrate all human actions, including occupation, into a whole life system wherein economic success was penultimate to salvation:
In banishing the Catholic confessional and the parallel salvation paths for lay and virtuoso believers, Lutheranism distanced itself from medieval Catholicism. In doing so, and in introducing the idea of salvation through faith — penitent humility, an inward-oriented mood of piety and trust in God — as its doctrinal fulcrum, Lutheranism placed qualitatively different psychological rewards on the believers action … Luther introduced the idea that work in a ‘calling’ (beruf) was given by God. Believers, in essence, had been called by God into a vocation, or specific line of work and hence were duty-bound to it. (Kalberg, p. xxix)
Weber (2002) noted the marked anxiety and restlessness inherent within Protestants. What might assuage them of the guilt that incessantly attacked their consciences? “Restless work in a vocational calling was recommended as the best possible means to acquire the self-confidence that one belonged among the elect. Work and work alone, banishes religious doubt and gives certainty of one’s status among the saved” (p. 66). Though Lutheranism did not raise one occupation as a calling any higher than others, Kalberg noted that Weber posited that Lutherans held a position consonant with that of Catholics in regards to material wealth. The acquisition of goods had no bearing upon one’s level of sanctification. In contrast, however, Puritans fully engaged themselves in the process of sacralization as they indulged in a theological formulation the synthesized double predestination with professional status. The doctrine of predestination gained widespread recognition through the work of John Calvin. Essentially, predestination holds that God has chosen some to enjoy eternal life. Erickson (1998) observed that:
Calvin insists that the doctrine of predestination does not lead to carelessness in morality, to a cavalier attitude that we can continue in sin since our election is sure. Rather, knowledge of our election leads us to pursue a holy life. The way in which a believer can be sure of election is to see the Word of God transforming his or her life. (p. 913)
Beza (Weber) argued that if Calvin believed that God chose some for heaven, then surely he must damn others to hell. Beza charged Calvin with supporting the concept of double predestination, specifically from a supralapsarian perspective. Multiple interpretations of double predestination proliferated various theological systems, namely that of the Puritans. Puritan theology required that its adherents strive to subvert their carnal proclivities that led to an inconclusive telos by putting forth the required effort for occupational success and material rewards. This created tangible evidence that parishioners were in good standing with God in an otherwise inconclusive, volatile spiritual state (Weber).
Kalberg (2002) contended that Puritan leaders encouraged their adherents to put to death their selfish desires and other appetites of the flesh. Those who were deemed successful according to Puritan standards were considered to have experienced an imputation of grace or divine favor thus revealing to the individual and to the spiritual community that they were truly members of the elect and, therefore, predestined to enjoy life eternally.
The orientation of calling or meaning in life required the followers of Puritan leader Richard Baxter to conclude that leisure was reserved for the afterlife and that it is through a kinetic lifestyle that one could witness the glory of God. Weber (2002) observed that though Baxter believed that Sunday was the Lord’s Day or a day of rest, individuals must be engaged minimally in the activity of active contemplation. This Puritan asceticism suggests that the active life helped purify the individual from various forms of wickedness. While Lutheranism instructed people to work with excellence within their divinely assigned immutable calling, Baxter taught that his followers could enjoy simultaneous callings; those that helped advance both spiritual and economic prosperity within the life of the individual:
In his autobiography, Baxter describes the changing, evolutionary nature of calling. If God shows you a way in which you may, in accordance with His laws acquire more profit than in another way, without wrong to your soul or to any other and if you refuse this choosing the less profitable course, you then cross off the purposes of your calling. To be God’s steward and to accept His gifts, in order to be able to use them for Him when He requireth it. You may labor for God to become rich, though not for the flesh and sin. (Weber, p. 109)
Kalberg (2002) traced the evolution of capitalism as he encapsulated the shift from a sacralized worldview towards human progress to one that is entirely secular. These “frames of mind” identify the influence of Calvin, Baxter, Franklin, and the “specialist” upon American economics. Kalberg posited that the Protestant fatalism of 16th century Calvinism embraced a value rational type of action with religious belief. Baxter’s 17th century Protestant ethic was interested in a value-rational type of action that stressed this worldly activity with religious belief. Franklin’s spirit of capitalism of the 18th century was communicated within communities and was value-rational in action stressing this worldly activity with no religious belief. Lastly, within the 20th century, capitalism is viewed as a cosmos and in communicated via industrialized society, adheres to a pragmatic type of action and espouses no religious belief (Weber, 2002).
Kalberg (2002) noted that the other worldly perspective of the Puritans toward work and salvation is entirely incongruent with the contemporary secular approach to human purpose or calling. Despite Kalberg’s observation that Weber’s analysis suggests that the 20th century is characterized by a secular conception of calling, this dissertation introduces the reader to recent trends within the subject that suggests that calling or purpose in life is also being pursued as a spiritual, non-sectarian concept. The removal of oneself from the bonds of sectarian dogmatism in favor of a broadly defined, quasi-universalism that celebrates human diversity has led many to consider the concept of spirituality in the workplace a significant matter. This dissertation examines the most current utilization of calling or meaning in life within and outside of the church.
This section traced the origin and impact of various interpretations of calling throughout history with emphasis upon the Renaissance and Reformation eras. It was shown that interpretations were often closely attached to contextual utility, even to the extent of sacralization or the subtle modification of meaning in order to advance a preexisting theological agenda. The goal of this section was to demonstrate the extreme fluidity of calling particularly as a religious concept. Some might argue that because of its historically contentious nature, individuals in the present era find themes related to calling difficult to subscribe to, regardless of sectarian or even non-theistic implications. It is possible that its variegated history could promote deeply skeptical attitudes towards any form of the usage of calling. Now that Baxter’s view of calling has lost popularity and is found only in a few Protestant sects in which faith is equated with material wealth, is it still a viable term (Erickson, 1998)? Also, is calling only a theologically-infused idea? Recently published works embracing both secular and sacred worldviews suggest that calling is still a viable concept and is, in fact, more relevant than ever to the human experience. Specifically, the introduction of positive psychology as an academic domain has introduced traditionally religious ideals to a much broader, secular audience. Concepts like calling, vocation, meaning in life, and spirituality are now considered integral components to human flourishing (Keyes & Haidt, 2003).
Toward a New Vision of Calling
Presently, there is a growing interest in reintroducing meaning in life or calling into the human experience. Free from blatant economic implications, the concept of work as a transcendent calling is being critically examined. Though the term vocation has ordinarily been understood within the Catholic Church to refer to the priesthood, it has assumed a more inclusive tone in recent years. In both religious and secular circles, the terms calling and vocation are being used interchangeably to refer to one’s activities in life as meaningful (Schuurman, 2004). The Compact Oxford Dictionary (1991) defined calling as, “The summons, invitation, or impulse of God to salvation or to his service…. Position, estate, or station in life. ….Ordinary occupation, means by which livelihood is earned, business, trade” (p. 576). The Compact Oxford Dictionary defined vocation accordingly; “The action on the part of God calling a person to exercise some special function, especially or spiritual nature, or to fill a certain position; divine influence or guidance towards a definite career; the fact of being so called or directed to a special work in life” (p. 1121).
This dissertation sought to determine whether or not those who adhere to the belief in a calling or quasi-transcendent meaning in life experience burnout in a different way from those who view employment as merely a means to an end (i.e., fiscal reward). Adams (1999) provided a concise description of vocation or calling as he affirmed the significance of personal disposition and opportunities. He said that vocation “answer(s) to our need for responsibilities proportioned to our capacities” (p. 300). Interestingly, the investigation of calling as it contributes to the fulfilled life has gained increasing support even in predominately secular academic circles. For example, at the 2004 convention of the American College Personnel Association, Palmer’s (2000) book entitled Let Your Life Speak was named as their Book of the Year. Though non-sectarian in scope, the text explicitly adopts a theistic worldview. Palmer argued that the kinetic American lifestyle acts as an affront to self awareness. He indicated that people spend countless years in a state of existential restlessness as they indulge themselves in numerous experiences hoping to find a good solution to alleviate the gnawing tension of person/job-fit. Unfortunately, most professional activities do not correspond to our unique dispositions and as a result, our profession and soul are mismatched. “Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to understand what it is truly about—quite apart from what I would like it to be about—or my life will never represent anything real in the world no matter how earnest my intentions” (Palmer, p. 4). Palmer explicated that perhaps the most honest, untarnished moment in life is at birth. It is during that time that external forces have yet to infiltrate the mind and stifle creativity and individuality:
We arrive in this world with birthright gifts — then we spend the first half of our lives abandoning them or letting others disabuse us of them. As young people, we are surrounded by expectations that may have little to do with who we really are, expectations held by people who are not trying to discern our selfhood but to fit us into slots. (Palmer, p. 12)
Research indicates that ones manner of orientation towards employment is closely related to the experience one enjoys at the workplace and the quality of output. The next section considers three widely held beliefs about working.
From Work to Career to Calling
We live in a culture that is committed to productivity. People voraciously search for new strategies that can increase personal efficiency in work and daily activities. Only a peripheral inventory of the newest books in the self-help or business aisles of the local bookstore is enough to elucidate a contemporary obsession with maximizing our output. The ambitious climate of the Industrial Revolution has not yet waned as an incessant drive to accomplish and produce more and more dominates our worldview. In essence, people are what they do. When one meets a new person and learns their name, it is generally only a split second before the question is posed, “What do you do?” The person may respond by saying, “I am a dentist” or “I am a teacher.” While a person may spend in excess of 40 hours per week fulfilling a particular occupational role, it is often customary to formulate our self-identity almost exclusively within the context of our work. In other words, our doing informs our being. While the notion of productivity is as ancient as the Garden, it is imperative that self-worth and identity are not to be found solely within the realm of the job. Humans are much more complex. Any attempt to encapsulate the totality of one’s being within the context of job insults the human race. An animal can be trained to fulfill a particular work task. Machines can be engineered to produce a product. However, humans are recipients of the imago dei, uniquely created as a rare piece of art to fulfill a greater destiny. However, though America celebrates the over-involved individual and is ranked as the most workaholic nation of the planet, Americans are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their lives. Evidently, the latest fads to maximize personal efficiency are not working.
Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, and Tipton (1985) have explored the ramifications of employment within American society. They have identified three dominant orientations toward work that are reflective of most people. Generally people experience work as job, career, or calling. Bellah et al. explained that within the first orientation, people view work as job. They spend their time:
Focusing on the material benefits of work to the relative exclusion of other kinds of meaning and fulfillment. The work is simply a means to a financial end that allows people to enjoy their time away from work. Usually, the interests and ambitions of those with jobs are expressed outside of the domain of work involve hobbies and other interests. (p. 66)
For those who view work as a career:
Work for the rewards that come from the advancement through an organizational or occupational structure. For those with careers, the increased pay, prestige, and status that come with promotion and advancement are a dominant focus in their work. Advancement brings higher self-esteem, increased power, and high social standing. (Wrzesniewski, 2003, p. 190)
In contrast to the aforementioned orientations toward work, those who embrace work as a calling, “work not for financial rewards or for advancement but for the fulfillment that doing the work brings. In callings, the work is an end in itself and is associated with the belief that the work makes the world a better place” (Wrzesniewski, p. 189).
Wrzesniewski (2003) explained that those who view their job as calling used different language than those who refer to their job as work. Several examples of those who gauge their jobs as a calling follow.
It’s not (work). Work, as work goes, I could do without it. I have enough to do here at home to keep me happy for the rest of my life. I get my satisfaction from the people I’m with, my patients and their families. Work itself, forget it.
(Do you consider that work, when you’re with the patients and families?) No, not when I’m there, no. (p. 194)
Here is an excerpt from another conversation:
(What do you like most about your job?)
I’m fulfilling a personal call. It is ultimately, enduringly fulfilling. It’s like I just said, I like people and I like to see people get helped. And we’ve seen a lot of people helped. (p. 194)
Wrzeniewski (2003) noted that inherent within engagement is the presence of passion. He defined passion as an extreme interest in something that promotes intense meaningfulness. To what degree are passions present at work? To what extent do we allow our passions to reveal our calling? Pascal (as cited in Keyes & Haidt, 2003) presented a somber account of the life experienced by those who do not cultivate passion. He said, “Nothing is so insufferable to man as to be completely at rest, without passions, without business, without diversion, without effort. Then he feels his nothingness, his forlornness, his insufficiency, his weakness, his emptiness” (p. 105).
Willard (1988) described a state that many individuals find themselves in as they are unable to enjoy the consequences of intentional living. He wrote:
Some persons indeed try to abdicate their life, disown their spontaneity, seek security by ‘conforming’ to what is outside of them. But they don’t actually escape life or their responsibility for it. They only succeed in appearing ‘wooden,’ unlively. We may know what to expect from them, but we have as little delight in them as they do in themselves. (p. 60)
The prevailing makeover mentality alluded to in the introduction contributes to the epidemic of burnout and extensive career changes. Palmer (2000) implored his readers to refrain from listening so intently to the outside voices competing for our attention and instead listen to our inner voice of vocation and meaning. Palmer suggested that purpose in life “joins self and service” (pp. 16-17) as the unique assets of the individual begin to correspond with daily activities that can positively shape one’s quality of life and sphere of influence. Though not the sacralized version of calling of the Puritans, this model implies that the best way to combat and prevent personal burnout is to discover the inner voice of vocation and channel that awareness into meaningful activities of engagement. Mihaly Csiszentmihalyi (1999) identified them as flow.
Though employers may consider efforts required to create a working context for employees that is conducive to the formulation of meaningfulness or more specifically calling, a misuse of time or other resources, there is ample evidence to suggest that negligence in this vein is irresponsible. Pratt and Ashforth (2003) stated emphatically that meaningful working contexts that help foster employee identity and accurate person-job fit have immense positive ramifications upon the overall health of the organization. Further, it can be surmised that attentiveness to these issues also impact the presence of and severity of burnout in the people of the organization.
It is noted that while Maslach and others have reinforced the importance of employee engagement, inadequate attention has been devoted to burnout prevention and intervention. Flow is provided as one method of promoting engagement. Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) noted that burnout is on the opposite end of the continuum of engagement.
The introduction to this dissertation stressed the contemporary American preoccupation with human deficits. The media, education, religion, and the social sciences all possess a conceptual orientation toward (a) the perpetuation of the dissatisfaction with the self and the need for a makeover; (b) a posteriori orientation toward epistemology (i.e., tabula rasa); (c) the utter depravity of the human soul and its incapacity to self-generate a redemptive, efficacious process; or (d) the contemporary obsession of psychopathology within the field of psychology. Houston (2005) revealed the startling state of American education. She believed that non-educators have recently illuminated the dangers of one-size-fits-all pedagogical strategies particularly as they incite methodological sterility that tends to suppress individual learning processes and human creativity. She implied that the drive towards educational efficiency and quantitative evaluative measures minimizes the importance of learning within the context of quality relationships. She likened the current state of education to fresh produce at a market that is picked and packaged prematurely in an effort to maximize profit/productivity. “In exchange for plastic perfection and a longer shelf life bioengineering often leaves us with produce drained of the juiciness, sweetness, and goodness. …We are in danger of producing a product that is less than wonderfully and happily human” (Houston, p. 25).
In an effort to make progress in the competitive job market, individuals often feel as though they must relinquish their deepest existential yearnings in order to satisfy the bottom line. People may feel as though they must temporarily surrender their humanity and seek methods of engagement before or after work. A lack of meaningful engagement in combination with the popular preoccupation with deficiency at the individual and organizational level produces a bleak existence for the professional. How has the recent emphasis upon correcting what is wrong rather than reinforcing what is right affected engagement on the job? What is the relationship of psychology to professional well-being? This section provides a critique of contemporary psychology and reveals its striking commitment to psychosis rather than to human flourishing. The reinforcement of positive behavior to produce optimum functioning is proposed as an alternative to the current trend of emphasizing psychosis. Specifically, the regular incorporation flow-inducing activities are considered. It may be surmised, then, that the greater degree to which an individual experiences flow in the workplace, the greater his or her engagement with work thus increasing the level of satisfaction one experiences while on the job.
Psychology: A celebration of Human Psychoses?
Currently, psychology is a deficits-based academic discipline. Seligman (2000) indicated that about 20 years ago, the National Institute of Metal Health initiated a research project that was designed to determine how common various types of mental illnesses were. This analysis revealed the striking consistency of emphasizing psychopathology within patients rather than what is essentially right about individuals or methods to reinforce existing healthy behavior. This, in combination with various societal drives, created a therapeutic culture that was far from perpetuating a science focused upon human flourishing (Seligman, p. 415).
In a span of approximately 30 years, the psychological literature has 46,000 papers about depression and only 400 papers dealing with joy (Seligman, as cited in Gilham, 2000, p. 416). Seligman noted that the effects of World War II helped propel the tendency to dwell upon negative occurrences within the discipline. He said that abuse, isolation, early parental death, illness, and discrimination became favorite topics. How those negative occurrences might influence the individual positively never was manifest. Seligman (2000) said, “Modern psychology has been preoccupied with the negative side of life. It has understood human functioning in a disease model. Its main mode of intervention has been the repair of damage” (p. 417).
The predisposition to emphasize and correct the negative has translated itself into virtually every aspect of our lives. As we endeavor to explore vocation, our obsession with correcting or compensating for weakness can severally restrict our progress. The work of Clifton and Anderson (2004) and Csikszentmihalyi (2003) has radically altered negative based organizational leadership approaches and strategies for increasing optimal personal functioning. The perpetuation of happiness has become a chief aim of the study of positive psychology. Csikszentmihalyi (1999) explained that “people are happy not because of what they do but because of how they do it” (p. 826). The facilitation of behaviors both at the individual and organizational level that are inherently autotelic is capable of substantially enhancing the quality of life and productivity of the individuals within the organization. “If they can experience flow working on the assembly line, chances are they will be happy, whereas if they don’t have flow while lounging at a luxury resort, they are not going to be happy” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999, p. 826).
Human Flourishing Through Maximized Engagement
According to Csikszentmihalyi (1999), the study of flow came as a result of a desire to study those individuals who appeared to choose what they were doing with their lives and found enjoyment in the process. People who did what they did without the pressure of external rewards became the object of research for Csikszentmihalyi. In the mid-1970s, artists, rock climbers, musicians, and chess players amongst others, provided some valuable information. A universal sense of enjoyment of a particular activity produced such a state of euphoria that the subject would engage in that activity again and again. The reward was the activity itself. Csikszentmihalyi (2000) called this state flow because:
People describe their thoughts and actions when they are in the context as spontaneous and effortless, even though what they are doing is often difficult and risky. But at the time it feels as natural as being carried by the flow of a river, a process which does not require effort or control. (p. 389)
There are several commonly reported experiences shared by those claiming to enjoy the satisfaction of accessing their flow states. First, there are clear goals that are evident every step of the way. The near-unconscious notes played by a musical performer best describe this characteristic. Csikszentmihalyi (1996) wrote, “When a job is enjoyable, it also has clear goals: The surgeon is aware how the incision should proceed moment by moment; the farmer has a plan for how to carry out the painting” (p. 111). Next, there is immediate feedback to one’s actions. The participant knows precisely the status of their activity. A keen ability to quickly assess the nature of the situation or activity is found in those who experience flow. Third, there is a balance between challenges and skill. One’s abilities are efficiently placed in proportion to the task at hand. The task is neither too easy nor too hard, but will always be challenging.
Next, action and awareness are merged:
Many people describe it as a merging of action and awareness — one does get so involved in the chess game, or the climb, or the music one plays that action follows seemingly without the conscious intervention of an agentic self. A corollary effect of this deep concentration is that we tend to forget the worries and concerns that take up our attention in ordinary life. All of one’s mental resources are taken up by the task at hand. In fact, all critical self-reflection disappears during the flow state, particularly as it relates to the assessment of others. The satisfaction enjoyed through the flow experience evaporates negative emotions. (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996, p. 63)
People generally report a feeling of transcendence accompanying the flow state:
The climber feels at one with the rock, the wind, and the weather; the musicians feel that the sounds they produce link them with the ‘harmony of the spheres’; the surgeon becomes part of the choreography of the operating theater; the dancer gets lost in the dance. After an episode of flow there is a sense that we have moved beyond our limitations, and have actually become a part of some great force, a system or process larger and more powerful than the individual selves we were before. (Csikszentmihalyi, as cited in Gilham, 2000, p. 390)
It should be noted that this mystical state is closely akin to the state of pneumastasis described as a symptom of the activation of strengths. When one’s potentiality becomes activated, there exists a greater possibility of the emergence of an actualized being. When one enjoys flow, he or she momentarily engages the Divine in a Subject-Predicate coalescence and in effect, partakes in a highly spiritual event. A distinct characteristic of flow is the fact that activities become autotelic, that is the process alone and not just the end result provides a great deal of satisfaction (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996, p. 121):
We don’t require payment or admiration to play the guitar, hike in the woods, or read a good novel. Another way to term such activities is intrinsically rewarding, because their primary reward is simply in being involved with them. Contract these activities that are primarily exotelic or extrinsically rewarding, which we do only with the expectation of some gain, or to avoid being punished. (Csikszentmihalyi, 2003, p. 57)
It can be implied, then, that attempts made by the leader to modify the working environment in order to promote flow among staff, can not only increase productivity, and accentuate staff satisfaction, but also provide a non-material reward to employees.
Csikszentmihalyi (1999) observed two limitations of the flow experience. Much of his research spanning over 30 years involves adolescents. He noted that flow activities for some may only produce temporary happiness for the subject and even be destructive in nature. Flow is integral to happiness, but not dependent upon it. The instantaneous gratification of destructive or addictive acts may not produce long-term happiness in the individual. Next, the mystical nature of flow causes the individual to become so absorbed in the task at hand that both distractions and possibly personal responsibilities are excluded from consciousness. Individuals who experience flow may become fixated only upon the flow-inducing activity and neglect essential duties or the investigation and discovery of other important activities that may contribute to the overall health and well-roundedness of the person. Csikszentmihalyi noted that this single-mindedness may affect the person, but generally does not cause harm to others that the sole pursuit of material rewards is capable of. Flow, like all human experiences, must be tempered with meaning-making disciplines and reflection. It is within solitude that one is able to ensure that his or her motivations are consonant with one’s values and identity.
Maslach and Leiter (1997) made a poignant case that there is a relationship between follower-engagement at work and overall well-being. Similarly, in his analysis of working adults, Csikszentmihalyi (2003) reinforced Maslach and Leiter’s position:
To the extent that they can feel challenged and supported at work, that there is variety and increasing opportunities to learn and to use one’s capacity to its fullest, flow is likely to occur. In fact, variety of the job, and the support of a supervisor are the most often cited reasons for workers’ satisfaction. (p. 70)
A Synthesis of Meaning in Life/Calling and Flow
This literature review has made a case that the current preoccupation with human deficits in combination with a heightened commitment to the bottom line and increasing volatility faced within the organizational environment has led to a displacement of self or skewed sense of meaning in life or calling. Consequently, there has been an increase in professional burnout in most professions due, in part, to a lack of engagement with work. Individuals often feel as though they must force themselves to fit into a pre-established inquisitive paradigm or behavioral standard. Individuality is relinquished, self awareness as the product of introspection or reflection is diminished, and the symptoms of burnout begin to emerge. Palmer (2000) effectively argued that as humans mature, there is a subtle, systematic forfeiture of “birthright gifts” as individuals fall prey to the powerful temptation to succumb to the allurement of worldly attractions and experience the inevitable absorption into the collective consciousness. Palmer suggested that those who inhibit their individuality compromise the efficacy of community. “We will find the common ground of public life not by destroying our particularity but by pursuing it, pursuing it to the depths where we encounter the ground of being which gave rise to and sustains us all” (as cited in Intrator, 2005, p. 289). The slots in which people find themselves are generally artificial and uncomfortable and like the cave dwellers in Plato’s allegory; existence is essentially one-dimensional, shadowy, and free of color. The collective conscience tempts people to come aboard and be accepted. The reality of the consequences of conformity is rarely considered. Merton (1961) said:
How do you expect to arrive at the end of your own journey if you take the road to another man’s city? How do you expect to reach your own perfection by leading somebody else’s life? His sanctity will never be yours; you must have the humility to work out your own salvation in darkness where you are absolutely alone. (p. 100)
Listening to one’s inner voice of vocation or calling has the potential to generate meaning in life as the individual learns to construct an existence that maximizes the engagement of flow activities within the entirety of one’s life, within both the personal and professional spheres. By functioning according to one’s design or predisposition, it can be deduced that a greater likelihood exists for human flourishing as opposed to burnout. In an online audio blog, Leiter (2005) explained the benefits for those who attempt to correspond their lives toward an experience that is meaningful. Leiter maintained that those individuals, who realize that their lives matter and are meaningful, react differently to the stressors of life and are more successful in the implementation and realization of goals and find themselves to be happier, satisfied, less anxious, and self-aware.
Findings within this literature review suggest that perhaps the most effective preventative device for burnout is a greater attentiveness to one’s individuality, specifically a working environment that promotes engagement/flow states. Pratt and Ashforth (2003) strongly stated that the modification of the work experience that helps the person to ask significant existential questions such as “Who am I?” are very important. The reflective act, though at times potentially painful and/or revealing, greatly enables the subject to make informed choices about the work environment that are most conducive to the engagement of one’s calling or meaning in life. Furthermore, it can be surmised that employers who are cognizant of and responsive to those activities that are most likely to produce flow in their subordinates are likely to experience heightened employee productivity, enhanced creativity, optimal retention, and greater satisfaction. Pratt and Ashforth indicated that best practices at work are connected to how individuals orient themselves to their job:
We believe that practices that best typify meaningfulness in working are those that nurture callings. When one’s work is a calling, it is seen as socially valuable — an end in itself- involving activities that may, but need not be pleasurable. Callings have also been associated with expressing one’s ‘authentic self’ in what one does. When you answer your calling, you become the person that only you can be. As such, callings involve role, identity, and meaningfulness. (p. 320)
In conclusion, meaningful work is generally perceived as a calling containing the element of a transcendent charge leading one to the desire to make a societal contribution. “We argue that organizations that foster transcendence provide strong linkages between who we are, what we do, and why we are here in this context, while simultaneously connecting workers to something greater than themselves, their tasks, or perhaps even the organization for which they work” (Pratt & Ashforth, 2003, p. 322). It has been demonstrated that a strong relationship exists between meaning in life, calling, and engagement within the workplace. When these three components are present, there is ample evidence to suggest that the workplace promotes optimal human functioning or flourishing. The final section of this literature review critically investigates the nature of professional burnout and presents a strong case for the incorporation of the aforementioned components into the working experience as both a preventative measure and intervention strategy to sharply minimize burnout.
According to Leiter and Maslach (2005), America is facing an epidemic of burned out citizens. In fact, the severity of the problem is revealed as burnout and is described as the “biggest occupational hazard of the twenty first century” (Leiter & Maslach, p. 45). This section considers the causes and costs of burnout, environmental and behavioral patterns aiding in the predictability of burnout, strategies to fight burnout, and methods of assessing burnout. It is stressed that the rise in burnout in America necessitates a critical need for employers to more strongly consider both environmental conditions and leadership approaches of supervisors as both strongly contribute to the symptoms of burnout. It is demonstrated that increased personal engagement with work, particularly as it relates to a transcendent purpose or meaning, can minimize the chances of burnout as the individual espouses a personal orientation towards work more likely to resemble a calling or purpose.
Due to the numerous symptomatic components of burnout, multiple definitions exist. For the purposes of this dissertation, the following definition is proposed and will serve as the explanation offering the most detail. Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) defined the burnout metaphor as
A persistent, negative, work-related state of mind in ‘normal’ individuals that is primarily characterized by exhaustion, which is accompanied by distress, a state of reduced effectiveness, decreased motivation, and the development of dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors at work. This psychological condition develops gradually but may remain unnoticed for a long time by the individual involved. It results from a misfit between intentions and reality in the job. Often burnout is self-perpetuating because of inadequate coping strategies that are associated with the syndrome. (p. 36)
Though alluded to in the work of Shakespeare, burnout did not exist as a recognized concept until 1969 as it was investigated by Bradley within the framework of the helping professions (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). It was later popularized by Freudenerger who provided the impetus for Maslach and her associates to help legitimize the concept within the social science research community. Today, much research has been conducted within the discipline of burnout which reveals that its prevalence is increasing as are the costs of its effects upon the country. These issues are examined in the next section.
Causes of and Costs of Burnout
Leiter and Maslach (2005) argued that the lost energy, lost enthusiasm, and lost confidence that plagues burned out individuals has serious implications for the economy. “Job stress is estimated to cost the U.S. economy $300 billion in sick time, long term disability and excessive job turnover. …Long term disability claims based on stress, burnout, and depression are the fastest growing category of claims in North America and Europe” (p. 3).
Kalberg (2002) observed the distinct characteristics of the American workforce:
In 1999 the United States replaced Japan as the worldwide leader in number of hours worked per person per year; Europeans, in contrast, work approximately two-thirds as many hours per year as Americans. Americans read daily, on the one hand of people, who are exhausted and deprived of sleep and on the other hand of people who ‘love their work.’ Expressions that reflect the centrality of work in our lives are pervasive: we arrange ‘working lunches,’ we ‘work out’ daily; we ‘work’ on love, our relationships, our personalities, and our tans. We praise the work ethic of our peers and ‘hard workers’ are generally assumed to be people of good character. A salary increase is awarded often to the ‘most dedicated’ employee — a person who works, with pride, not only days but also nights and weekends. If we take naps, they must be ‘power naps.’ ‘Workaholics’ take ‘working vacations.’ Many people define self-worth, and even their own identity, according to their success in a profession. (p. xii)
Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) indicated that in America alone, 75% of the respondents to a survey indicated that they consider their jobs stressful and getting worse. Though many causes for job stress exist, it is shown that stress, in addition to related symptoms, directly affect the chances of burnout occurring within the workplace. There are 12 causes of burnout identified by Leiter and Maslach (2005):
1. The corporate world has become more immense and more separated from the concerns of ordinary people than ever before.
2. Corporations continue to pump up their worth on paper for the short-term gains of a limited few.
3. The outsourcing of services and the exporting of jobs to developing nations continue to disrupt the work world of post-industrialized nations.
4. It is becoming increasingly evident that some major players in the North American and European economies are capitalizing on the extra-low wages and benefits paid to immigrants of dubious, if not completely illegal, employment status.
5. Information technology continues to produce an array of nifty entertaining devices of increasing complexity, power, and versatility.
6. Centralization of power in large organizations continues to pull away from front line workers.
7. Poor corporate citizenship continues to be reflected in excessive compensation.
8. Adding unease to work life is the impact of terrorism in America.
9. The security response across the United States and Canada has amplified the impact of initial attacks.
10. The financial requirements of increased security have had a broad impact on public service organizations.
11. News media have figured out that terror gets people’s attention, raising their ratings more than other stories.
12. From all parts of the globe come new waves of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and deadly viruses…. As more people take powerful drugs to solve on problem or another, deadly side effects emerge. (pp. 4-8)
Pines (1993) explained that inherent within the human condition is a need/desire to find meaning in life. She noted that historically, individuals sought meaning within the realm of religion. However, with the increased proliferation of secularization, many individuals have shifted their derivation of meaning from the church to the workplace. Unfortunately, when the individual does not find his or her objectives met, burnout is likely to occur. Pines indicated that a problem with seeking meaning only within the work environment as opposed to the church is that there is a lack of a transcendent, infallible God. Instead, circumstances which can change at a moment’s notice are the norm. If one’s work is not perceived to be meaningful, the symptoms of burnout emerge. Additionally, Kraft (2006) warned individuals who hope to prevent burnout that merely turning off the computer at 5 pm will not produce the desired effect. Rather, individuals must find meaning in life outside of the limited context of work if they hope to minimize personal burnout.
Maslach and Leiter (1997) attributed five factors to burnout in the workplace. First, organizations possess less intrinsic worth. She posited that increased debt causes organizations to shift all attention and resources to finances. “The values that determine the quality of organizational life are not those of cohesive work groups attempting to provide excellent products for services but those of bottom-line management in an entity that is desperate for cash flow” (p. 73).
Secondly, global economics has impacted the propensity for employee burnout. Many companies have determined to transfer jobs overseas in order to alleviate costs by taking advantage of equal work for lower wages. For example, Maslach (1996) observed that companies need only provide U.S. $2.23 to U.S. $6.15 per day for a job in Mexico that would provide an American worker over $10.00 an hour. The fear of outsourcing has taken a heavy toll upon the American worker as it has promulgated a sense of paranoia:
Workers are conceding their time. They are working longer hours. They are taking work home, often continuing after hours on computer equipment that they have purchased themselves. They are devoting more time to tasks that are not personally rewarding, that is, they are not enjoyable and do not further their careers. They are giving up long-cherished benefits, like fully paid health insurance and company-financed pension plans. (Maslach & Leiter, 1997, pp. 2-7)
Thirdly, technology has contributed to burnout in the workplace. Technological advancements have eliminated or significantly altered many positions as productivity has been maintained and money saved. Furthermore, dependence upon technology can be a tremendous burden for those who have to sort email, backup files, and endure computer crashes.
Fourth, the redistribution of power has affected workers and increased burnout as individuals feel as though they have less functional autonomy. Tightened expectations have minimized perceptions of ownership and creativity. Maslach explained, “The restrictions also affect these individuals sense of efficacy because they diminish their capacity to continue what occurs in their work … people in organizations feel more constrained. In practice, problems are delegated but the power to address them is not” (Maslach & Leiter, 1997, p. 7). Maslach suggested that a poor match exists between the job tasks and working conditions and human strengths and individuality. She wrote that “it is not the person alone but the mismatch between the person and the job environment that is critical” (Maslach & Leiter, p. 70). However, the researchers do not recommend that burnout is as much of an issue with the person as it is with the environment of the organization. Burnout is experienced in three main categories: (a) an erosion of engagement with the job, (b) an erosion of emotions, and (c) a problem of fit between the person and job (Maslach & Leiter, p. 23). Alarmingly, burnout appears to be on the rise. For example, Northwestern Insurance Company experienced a 26% increase in burnout in just a 6 year period (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Furthermore, Hingley and Cooper (1986) noted an increase of 528% rise in absenteeism in Britain due to symptoms associated with burnout.
This section considers the correlation between the degree to which one is engaged with his or her work and the likelihood of personal burnout. When work is viewed as loathsome, irrelevant, or meaningless, engagement is diminished and burnout ensues. Maslach cited a common belief amongst employers that burnout is entirely caused by the employee. Furthermore, it is not the responsibility of the employer to make modifications to the job in order to better correspond to the needs, passions, or desires of the worker (Maslach & Leiter, 1997). A lack of engagement, namely efficacy, energy, and involvement promote cynicism and anger within the person who is enduring an erosion of emotions within the workplace (Maslach & Leiter). Maslach observed that the negative emotions cause a downward spiral effect ultimately causing social isolationism and volatile relationships. Though the problem of person/job-fit has reached overwhelming proportions, employers are reticent to alter leadership style, working conditions, and job responsibilities to better suit employees. Also, the relationship of the assets or strengths of the employee to job specifications often goes unnoticed by the leader. Please note Table 1 presents a detailed symptomatic analysis of burnout.
Table 1: Possible Burnout Symptoms at the Individual Level
|
Affective |
Cognitive |
Physical |
Behavioral |
Motivational |
|
Depressed mood |
Helplessness |
Headaches |
Hyperactivity |
Loss of zeal |
|
Tearfulness |
Loss of meaning/hope |
Nausea |
Impulsivity |
Loss of idealism |
|
Emotional ex. |
Fear of going crazy |
Dizziness |
Procrastination |
Disillusionment |
|
Changing mood
decreased Emotional control |
Feelings of powerlessness/ impotence
Feelings of being trapped |
Restlessness
Nervous ticks
Muscle pains |
Increased consumption of caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, tranquilizers, illicit drugs |
Resignation
Disappointment
Boredom |
|
Undefined fears |
Sense of failure |
Sexual problems |
Over and under eating |
Demoralization |
|
Increased tension anxiety |
Feelings of insufficiency |
Sleep disturbances |
High risk-taking behaviors |
|
|
|
Poor self esteem |
Sudden loss or gain of weight |
Increased accidents |
|
|
|
Self preoccupation
|
Loss of appetite |
Abandonment of recreational activities |
|
|
|
Guilt
|
Shortness of breath |
Compulsive complaining |
|
|
|
Suicidal ideas
Inability to concentrate |
Increased premenstrual tension |
|
|
|
|
Forgetfulness |
Missed menstrual cycles |
|
|
|
|
Difficulty with complex tasks |
Chronic fatigue |
|
|
|
|
Rigidity and schematic thinking |
Physical exhaustion |
|
|
|
|
Difficulties in decision making |
Hyperventilation
|
|
|
|
|
Daydreaming/ fantasizing |
Bodily weakness
|
|
|
|
Affective |
Cognitive |
Physical |
Behavioral |
Motivational |
|
|
Intellectualiz-ation |
Ulcers |
|
|
|
|
Loneliness |
Gastric- intestinal disorders |
|
|
|
|
Diminished frustration/ tolerance |
Coronary diseases |
|
|
|
|
|
Frequent and prolonged colds |
|
|
|
|
|
Flare-ups of preexisting disorders |
|
|
|
|
|
Injuries from risk-taking behaviors |
|
|
|
|
|
Increased heart rate |
|
|
|
|
|
High blood pressure |
|
|
|
|
|
Increased electro dermal response |
|
|
|
|
|
High level of serum cholesterol |
|
|
Note. Adapted From The Burnout Companion to Study and Practice: A Critical Analysis, by W. Schaufeli and D. Enzmann, 1998, pp. 21-22.
It is clear from the literature that if burnout is to be decreased within the organization, leaders must consider the well-being and professional engagement of individuals to be an extremely high priority. In fact, employees are the greatest assets within the organization. Individuals are not just a means to an end (i.e., increasing the bottom line return), but are an end in themselves. Maslach and Leiter (1997) said:
Burnout costs money. And this economic bottom line can only be controlled by paying attention to the human bottom line of its behavior in the workplace that is either costly or productive. An effective strategy of behavioral risk management has to understand what the behaviors are but why they occur. (p. 69)
When employers consider the ramifications of reducing burnout by creating an organizational environment that maximizes employee engagement, the possibilities are endless. Csikszentmihalyi (2003) wrote, “Just as climbers need a mountain peak to get their juices going, or a surgeon needs a health emergency to get involved, workers need a compelling reason to focus their energies on the job” (p. 143).
Though it might be easier for employers to embrace a transactional style of leadership only, followers desire more than a paycheck. Pollard (1996) wrote, “People want to work for a cause, not just for a living” (p. 45). Maslach and Leiter (1997) believed that there is much an employer can do in this regard — mostly by improving the non-material aspects of the job and intentionally working to promote follower satisfaction through engagement. Specifically, people desire to participate in activities that are bigger than they are. A case can be made that individuals who function according to a transcendent purpose or calling and are consequently more engaged in work are less susceptible to burnout than those who view work as a series of tasks that are incongruous with one’s soul. Job-person fit is critical if one wishes to avoid burnout.
Maslach and Leiter (1997) described an autotelic model of work that allows individuals to enjoy the process of work, not just the financial rewards:
People who are good at what they do enjoy the process of the work itself. The process of doing the work sets up a pleasant concentration of attention and energy that creates a kind of flow…. Attaining that state of mind as an individual or in a team is work’s most effective reward. The point of management is ultimately to bring about conditions that permit that sort of work to happen while pursuing the organization’s mission. (p. 47)
Csikszentmihalyi (2003) suggested that the repercussions of a lack of engagement in the workplace can be personally devastating:
A job that employs only a fraction of one’s skills quickly becomes a burden. One feels that most of one’s potential is left unused, wasted. Consider the clerk at the department of transportation whose job it is to pass out forms to endless lines of applicants for a driver’s license, and then quickly check each form for completeness — how much of her being is involved in this task….When most of one’s skills remain unengaged, involvement in the job soon falters, and it is not surprising that one begins to yearn for free time, where there is a chance to be fully alive. (p. 94)
Maslach (1982) noted that one of the leading inhibitors to effectively battling burnout is the inability of the high achievers to psychologically and behaviorally go home at the end of the day. She indicated that individuals put so much stock in their work and little else outside of it that when problems arise, the individuals feels as though their world is crumbling beneath their feet. She used the analogy of decompression that divers experiences after working underwater. In order to acclimate to their natural environment after the dive, they must first utilize this technique. To fail to do so could prove damaging to the individual. Similarly, individuals must find a method to decompress from their professional experiences prior to moving into their private lives. She noted that some may choose to engage in physical activity, reflection, or napping.
According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998), the Maslach Burnout Inventory is the most prevalent and valid instrument in existence to measure burnout. In fact, of the 5,500 studies in existence as of 1998, 90% utilized the MBI. Maslach has designed three instruments to measure burnout: (a) Maslach Burnout Inventory (General), (b) Maslach Burnout Inventory (Human Services), (c) Maslach Burnout Inventory (Educators Survey). The MBI in all three of its forms has been identified as the leading international instrument to assess burnout (Maslach et al., 1996, p. 1). Within the MBI Human Services Survey, burnout is defined as “a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment” (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998, p. 89). These characteristics of burnout serve as the subscales for this instrument.
The MBI General Survey defined burnout as, “a crisis in one’s relationship with work, not necessarily as a crisis in one’s relationship with people at work” (Maslach et al., p. 20). The instrument is interested in the continuum of burnout to engagement at work as it relates to the three subscales of emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy. Whereas the other two instruments deal more precisely with people-issues at work, the MBI-GS examines work-related issues. Schaufeli and Enzmann explained the three subscales by saying, “Exhaustion refers to feeling overextended both emotionally as well as physically; cynicism refers to a cold, distant, indifferent attitude toward one’s work; professional efficacy examines one’s level of confidence in their ability” (pp. 134-135). Maslach defined emotional exhaustion as the level of the “depletion of emotional energy, distinct from physical exhaustion or mental fatigue” (Maslach et al., p. 20). Schaufeli and Enzmann added that individuals who are emotionally exhausted feel they are psychologically drained and at the end of their rope. The cynicism subscale explores attitudes of indifference about work. The professional efficacy subscale explores occupational accomplishment and effectiveness at work.
The MBI Educators Survey is a more recent instrument designed for use with those who work in school settings. The instrument was created in response to the changing educational landscape that has contributed to burnout. The instrument contains three subscales including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment (Maslach et al., p. 28). Scores on the MBI subscales are correlated with professional domains. For example, individuals who are educators generally score high on emotional exhaustion while those that work as law enforcement officers often have low levels of exhaustion and high scores in the other areas. Those working in the human services professions regularly score high on depersonalization and personal accomplishment (Schaufeli & Enzmann). Table 2 provides a detailed analysis of how the MBI scores correlate with low, average, and high degrees of burnout.
Table 2: MBI Scores and Burnout
|
Exhaustion |
Cynicism |
Professional Efficacy |
|
Low Degree of Burnout |
|
|
|
Low (16 and below) |
Low (6 and below) |
High (39 or more) |
|
Average Degree of Burnout |
|
|
|
Avg (17-26) |
Avg (7-12) |
Avg (32-38) |
|
High Degree of Burnout |
|
|
|
High (27 or more) |
High (13 or more) |
Low (31 or less) |
Note. Adapted from Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (3rd ed.), by C. Maslach, S.E. Jackson, and M.P. Leiter, 1996.
Based upon the findings of the literature review, Figure 1 and 2 have been organized to further illustrate the dichotomization between the symptoms associated with engagement and burnout.
As a result of the findings explicated within the literature review, chapter 3 presents research hypotheses and a methodology to determine the relationship of the presence of meaning in life as calling and engagement with work and flow to the three dimensions of burnout in second and third tier leaders within the domains of government, commerce, and education.
|
Organizational Commitment |
|
Professional Efficacy |
|
Proper Person-Job Fit |
|
Creativity |
|
Engagement |
Figure 1. A summary of symptoms associated with engagement.
|
Languishing
|
|
Meaning Relegated to Job Alone |
|
Poor Person-Job Fit |
|
Kinetic Lifestyle (Minimal Reflection) |
|
Burnout EE (H) CY (H) PE (L) |
Figure 2. A summary of symptoms associated with burnout.
Tags: Anthony J. Marchese, Anthony Marchesi, Antonio Giovanni Marchesi, Antonio Marchesi, Leadership, Lee Cheek, LP, Ph.D, Positive Psychology, Regent University, Tony Marchesi, Transformation Specialists, transformingorganizations.blogspot.com
