An investigation of the effects of hierarchical level on "work meanings"

This study investigated the meaning of working for subjects from three levels of an organizational hierarchy. Employees of a high technology manufacturing organization were surveyed using an abridged version of the Meaning of Working questionnaire (1987). Five central domains of the ’meaning of working’ concept were explored using this instrument, namely Work Centrality, Work Role Identification, Valued Working Outcomes, Societal Norms about Working and Work Goals. Results show a high level of shared perceptions by members of three hierarchal levels on ’meaning of working’ variables, a finding which is at odds with past research, which for the most part indicates clear hierarchal effects. Such findings are discussed within the context of the internal processes of the organization. Results also indicated that members of the organization in which this experiment was undertaken, which is an advocate of progressive management practices, showed little commitment to the company itself. Additionally, the instrumental gains achieved through working were found to supersede self expressive gains, for the majority of those sampled, regardless of hierarchical level