Working toward a purpose: Examining the cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of work characteristics on sense of purpose

Objective: Employment appears to influence employees’ sense of purpose, insofar as work roles can provide life direction and allow individuals to fulfill meaningful aims or have regular goal-related activity engagement. However, research is needed on which specific characteristics of the work predict employees’ sense of purpose. The current study sought to quantify the degree to which specific work characteristics, including skill variety, autonomy, coworker support, and supervisor support, were associated with initial levels and changes in purpose. Additionally, we examine positive and negative work-home spillover as moderators of these relationships. Methods: We examined hypothesized relationships in a subsample (N = 4,963) of a nationally representative panel study which included between two and three assessments of work characteristics, spillover, and sense of purpose, each roughly 10 years apart. Results: Using multilevel models to assess within-person associations and lagged effects, we found that greater skill variety and coworker support but not autonomy or supervisor support, were associated with higher levels of purpose. Moreover, increases in purpose were associated with higher initial levels of skill variety. These relationships were not moderated by spillover. Conclusion: Individuals with skill variety and coworker support at work appear to experience the strongest levels of sense of purpose.