Feeling Good and Being Inspired on Campus : Meaningful Work in Academia

Abstract

Theories related to good and caring organisations have gained interest amongst researchers. In particular, the concept of meaningful work has been under discussion recently in academia. This study contributes to knowledge of the concept of meaningful work by examining it from the perspective of good and caring organisations in the higher education context. Our focus this chapter is on the positive opportunities individual lecturers have to make their own work meaningful and to promote their students’ experiences of meaningfulness. The empirical findings are based on the analysis of qualitative data collected from a management course with special attention to relational features, such as dialogue, collaboration and communication, that have been found to be crucial to meaningful work and good organisations.