The Causes and Outcomes of Meaningful Work: An Integrative Model

Abstract

Despite rapid growth, claims about the causes and outcomes of meaningful work remain diminished by reliance on correlational evidence. We review 70 longitudinal and experimental studies in which meaningful work is modeled as an antecedent, mediator, or outcome to evaluate what can be concluded about its causes and effects. Drawing exclusively on causally informative evidence, we develop an integrative model that advances prior frameworks and unifies leading perspectives, including the job characteristics model, self-determination theory, person-environment fit, and positive organizational scholarship. In doing so, we provide a rigorously grounded and integrative account of how meaningful work emerges and the outcomes it produces. Our hope is that this model provides a roadmap for future research and evidence-backed interventions to foster and prosper from meaningful work.