THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG MEANINGFULNESS OF WORK, WORK ENGAGEMENT AND ...

103 Pages·2016·1.43 MB·English

by  Editor Editor

THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG MEANINGFULNESS OF WORK, WORK
ENGAGEMENT AND INTENTION TO LEAVE

A Thesis
Presented to the Faculty
of ISM University of Management and Economics
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of International Marketing

By
Oleksandra Baklaieva
May 2016
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Abstract
An employee considering his work as meaningful can have many positive outcomes.
Such worker is an asset to any organization, since perceived meaningfulness makes him/her
engaged, productive, concentrated, committed to organization, healthy and happy.
Furthermore, due to such positive experiences he/she will aim to continue working for a
company for a long time.
The purpose of this study is to investigate how psychological meaningfulness of work
relates to work engagement and intention to leave. It assesses not only direct relationship
between the concepts but also a mediation role of work engagement on relationship between
psychological meaningfulness of work and intention to leave.
Despite much research available on the relationship between the concepts, some of
the results disagree. Moreover, the mediation role of work engagement on relationship
between meaningfulness of work and intention to leave has not been studied yet.
A quantitative approach and cross-sectional design were chosen to collect the data for
the study. A sample of (N=200) 100 respondent from Ukraine and 100 respondents from
Lithuania represented different companies and positions.
The findings established a strong positive relationship between psychological
meaningfulness of work and work engagement, a strong negative relationship between
psychological meaningfulness and intention to leave as well as work engagement and
intention to leave. Moreover, work engagement was proved to partially mediate the
relationship between psychological meaningfulness and intention to leave.
The findings are useful to human resource managers and supervisors who aim to
reduce turnover, and who through the right strategies can make their employees more
engaged and productive, satisfied, etc. This thesis contributes to the knowledge on the impact
of meaningful work on work engagement and intention to leave.
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... 3
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... 6
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ 7
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 8
1.1 Relevance of the Topic ..................................................................................................... 8
1.2 Research Goal ................................................................................................................ 10
1.3 Research Objectives ....................................................................................................... 10
1.4 Research Design ............................................................................................................. 11
1.5 Research Sequence ......................................................................................................... 11
Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 13
2.1 Psychological Meaningfulness of Work ........................................................................ 13
2.2 Work Engagement .......................................................................................................... 16
2.3 Intention to Leave........................................................................................................... 20
2.4 The Relationship between Psychological Meaningfulness of Work and Work
Engagement .......................................................................................................................... 23
2.5 The Relationship between Meaningfulness of Work and Intention to Quit ................... 26
2.6 The Relationship between Intention to Leave and Work Engagement .......................... 28
2.7 Work Engagement as Mediator Between Psychological Meaningfulness of Work and
Intention to Leave................................................................................................................. 30
2.8 Conclusion. ..................................................................................................................... 32
Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 36
3.1 Research Approach ........................................................................................................ 36
3.2 Research Method ............................................................................................................ 36
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3.2.1 Research Participants ............................................................................................... 36
3.2.2 Survey Design ......................................................................................................... 37
3.2.3 Research Procedure ................................................................................................. 40
3.2.4 Statistical Analysis .................................................................................................. 40
3.3 Ethical Considerations.................................................................................................... 41
Empirical Results ................................................................................................................... 42
4.1 Data Modification and Adjustments .............................................................................. 42
4.2 Descriptive Statistics ...................................................................................................... 42
4.3 Ordinary Least Squares Model ....................................................................................... 43
4.3.1 Outliers .................................................................................................................... 44
4.3.2 Model 1. The Relationship between Psychological Meaningfulness of Work and
Intention to Leave ............................................................................................................. 47
4.3.3 Model 2. The Relationship between Psychological Meaningfulness of Work and
Work Engagement. ........................................................................................................... 47
4.3.4 Model 3. The Relationship between Work Engagement and Intention to Leave. ... 48
4.3.5 Model 4. The Mediation Effect of Work Engagement on the Relationship between
Psychological Meaningfulness of Work and Intention to Leave. ..................................... 48
4.3.6 Robustness check. .................................................................................................... 50
4.3.7 Assumptions of Ordinary Least Squares Model ...................................................... 51
4.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 52
Discussion................................................................................................................................ 54
Practical implications. Recommendations for supervisors and human resource
managers. ................................................................................................................................ 56
Limitations of the study ......................................................................................................... 58
Recommendations for future research................................................................................. 59
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Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 60
References ............................................................................................................................... 62
Appendices .............................................................................................................................. 83
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List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Model. ..................................................................................................... 9
Figure 2. The shifting Profile of the Work Concept ................................................................ 20
Figure 3. Structural model of the relationship among psychological meaningfulness of work,
work engagement and intention to leave. ................................................................................ 52
Figure 4. Adaptation of Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristic Model. .......................... 76
Figure 5. An Overview of Creating Meaningfulness ............................................................... 77
Figure 6. The Final Model After Adding Two New Paths ...................................................... 78
Figure 7. Factors affecting intention to quit among it professionals in Turkey ....................... 79
Figure 8. Structural Model of Meaningful Work. .................................................................... 80
Figure 9. WLSMV Estimates for the Hypothesized Model of Intention to Leave .................. 81
Figure 10. A Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Employee Engagement.......... 82
Figure 11. Normality of Residuals: Model 1 ........................................................................... 96
Figure 12. Normality of Residuals: Model 2 ........................................................................... 98
Figure 13. Normality of Residuals: Model 3 ......................................................................... 100
Figure 14. Normality of Residuals: Model 4 ......................................................................... 102
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List of Tables

Table 1. Definitions of Meaningfulness of Work. ................................................................... 14
Table 2. Definitions of Work Engagement. ............................................................................. 17
Table 3. Definitions of Intention to Leave ............................................................................... 21
Table 5. Descriptive Statistics and Cronbach’s Alfa of Measuring Instruments. .............Error!
Bookmark not defined.
Table 6. Assessment of Correlation Coefficients between Meaningfulness of Work, Work
Engagement and Intention to Leave. ....................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table 5. Comparison of Regression Models (PMS&ITL) With and Without Outliers. .......... 45
Table 6. Comparison of Regression Models (PMS&UWES-9) With and Without Outliers... 45
Table 7. Comparison of Regression Models (UWES-9&ITL) With and Without Outliers. ... 46
Table 8. Comparison of Regression Models (PMS, UWES-9 And ITL) With and Without
Outliers. .................................................................................................................................... 46
Table 7. Indirect Effect and Measurement of Mediation Amount. ......... Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Table 8. Sobel Test .................................................................................................................. 49
Table 9. Summary of Hypotheses Testing. .............................................................................. 53
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Introduction
1.1 Relevance of the Topic
Currently, many people claim to be unhappy in their workplace. According to the
study done by Gallup poll, merely 13% of employees from 142 countries are engaged at their
work. In other words, they are committed, motivated and satisfied workers. 63 % are not
engaged, what means that they do not put effort into achieving goals, and are not likely to be
active or innovate. Moreover, 24% are characterized as actively disengaged. This type of
employees is not only unhappy or not effective, but also tends to spread stress, depression
and negativity among coworkers. “In rough numbers, this translates into 900 million not
engaged and 340 million actively disengaged workers around the globe” (Crabtree, 2013).
According to other report, unhappy workers are expensive for all companies, since they are
more likely to leave (intention to leave). “Many unhappy workers leave the workplace and,
assuming they are talented contributors, their departure costs money – big money. However,
other unhappy workers quit and stay, leaving half their heads and hearts at home. That costs
money too” (Kaye & Jordan-Evans, 2007, p.3).
Monetary incentives are no longer effective (Gayle, 1997). Therefore, according to
Dimitrov’s study (2012), creating a meaningfulness of work lowers turnover, increases job
satisfaction and helps the company establish competitive advantage through customer loyalty.
Moreover, Vuori, San and Kira (2012) when analyzing literature in their research paper found
a connection between psychological meaningfulness of work and such positive factors as
motivation, happiness, mental and physical health, commitment to organization and
organizational change. Furthermore, another study suggests that “psychosocial work
conditions, in particular meaningfulness of the job, were independently associated with
intention to quit the job if economically possible and relevant within different job categories”
(Suadicani, Bonde, Olesen, & Gyntelberg, 2013). Thus, a research question that aims to
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clarify the problem is defined: How psychological meaningfulness of work, work
engagement and intention to leave relate? In this study, the relationship among the three
concepts builds the argument. Psychological meaningfulness of work is identified as “the
degree to which the individual experiences the job as one which is generally meaningful,
valuable, and worthwhile” (Hackman & Oldham, 1976). Work engagement is understood as
“a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication,
and absorption” (Schaufeli, Salanova, González-romá, & Bakker, 2002, p.74). Finally,
intention to leave means “an employee’s plan of intention to quit the present job and look
forward to find another job in the near future” (Purani & Sahadev, 2007).

Work
Engagement

Psychological c’ Intention to
Meaningfulness
Leave
of work

Figure 1: Conceptual Model. The relationship among psychological meaningfulness of work, work
engage ment and intention to leave
The research on the relationship between psychological meaningfulness of work and
employees’ work engagement, psychological meaningfulness of work and intention to leave,
work engagement and intention to leave is vast but still limited. Moreover, if the
meaningfulness of work is related to work engagement and intention to leave, it will help
managers find strategies, which can solve the problem of unengaged employees, who intend
to quit their jobs. According to the study by Geldenhuys, Łaba, & Venter (2014), there is a
positive relationship between psychological meaningfulness of work, work engagement and
organizational commitment. The authors believe that knowing and understanding the
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relationship between the above-mentioned variables can have long-term positive outcomes to
the company, such as “increased sales, improved productivity, profitability and enhanced
employee retention” and more autonomous employees (Geldenhuys, Łaba, & Venter, 2014,
p.2). Moreover, previous research indicates that people, who see their work as a mean to earn
money, continue to do it only for financial reasons, are unengaged, disoriented and
unproductive. On the contrary, employees who consider their job a calling or meaningful
dedicate their time, resources, energy and are completely engaged (Wrzesniewski, McCauley,
Rozin, & Schwartz, 1997). Thus, improvement in meaningfulness of work can create
productive, engaged employees, who are willing to commit to the company for a long time.
Consideration of the available knowledge and implementation of the needed changes in the
organizations that employ both Ukrainian and Lithuanian workers will not only save time of
the HR management but also save money for the business. This topic has not been deeply
researched in Ukraine and Lithuania yet, thus, the study fills the gaps in literature in these
contexts.
1.2 Research Goal
To find how psychological meaningfulness of work relates to work engagement and
intention to leave.
1.3 Research Objectives
 To assess available knowledge on the relationship among psychological
meaningfulness of work, work engagement and intention to leave.
 To create a survey and gather 100 responses from Ukrainian participants and 100
responses from Lithuanian participants to prove or disprove established hypotheses.
 To verify the existing relationship between psychological meaningfulness of work and
work engagement, psychological meaningfulness of work and intention to leave, work
engagement and intention to leave, and finally psychological meaningfulness of work