Work Identity and Future Research on Work as a Calling. (October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Reed, Americus; Jones, Samuel; Dik, Bryan J.
• Is Part Of: Current directions in psychological science. Volume 31:Number 5(2022)
• Page Start: 457
• Page End: 463
• Publication Date: 2022-10
• Subjects: calling -- identity -- vocation -- cognitive model -- vocational identity; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150
• DOI: 10.1177/09637214221112118
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0963-7214

Abstract

Research on work as a calling is gaining momentum, and work-as-a-calling theory is providing a helpful deductive structure to the consistent evidence that people who view their work as a calling and can actively live out that calling usually experience both career-related and general well-being. What is less clear are the key processes that may lead people to perceive a calling in the first place. By bringing work identity into sharper focus, we propose an especially promising framework for constructing a sense of calling, one that uses a cognitive approach. This cognitive approach to eliciting a sense of calling builds on four key work-identity precursors: effort calculation, reflection, appraisal, and fusion. These forward-looking processes are supported by extant research and are promising areas for future research that can illuminate how people may come to perceive a calling.