Spirituality in practice : relationships between meaning in life, commitment and motivation

Abstract

Increasing numbers of people are searching for meaning and spiritual significance in the workplace. Research in the field of psychiatry has consistently shown a sense of meaning in one's life to be an important correlate of mental health and well-being. In this study, we examined the relationships between a person's sense of meaning in life, with life orientation variables, biographic variables, work commitment and work motivation. Through testing six hypotheses, we found significant associations between sense of meaning in life, positive work orientations, career commitment and work motivation. Our findings point to a spiritual source of work motivation and commitment, a more fundamental source than covered in existing motivation theories - commitment and motivation can also be expressions of a sense of meaning in one's life. This study improves understanding of workplace spirituality in practice.