Suchergebnisse

Working in a domain to which one feels called has been heralded as a source of deep meaning and fulfilment, but not everyone is able to pursue their calling through paid employment. Current thinking positions such abandoned occupational callings as a source of regret, stress and disappointment but, by focusing on the perspectives of those still in mid-career, extant research has overlooked the potential for a calling to re-emerge in late adulthood. Drawing on life history narratives from retired individuals who felt called to music at an early age but did not pursue a musical career, we contribute to the corpus of work on unanswered callings by proposing the construct of latent callings to explain how callings may be held in the individual's identity set primed to re-emerge, and reveal the mutable calling identity scripts that re-awaken the potential to live out a calling later in life. Our research shows how latent callings may be resumed via accommodation, deferred and emergent pathways and highlights the potential for a previously unanswered calling to become a source of social connection, deep happiness and enjoyment late in life.

Lebensgeschichte Fey von Hassells, die als Angehörige eines Widerstandskämpfers vom 20. Juli von der Gestapo verhaftet, von ihren Kindern getrennt wurde und bis Kriegsende als sogenannter Sippenhäftling eine mehrmonatige Haft in mehreren KZ durchstehen musste. Rezension: Nach dem missglückten Attentat auf Hitler vom 20.07.1944 wurden die Familien der Widerstandskämpfer in sogenannte Sippenhaft genommen; Ehefrauen wurden ins Gefängnis geworfen, Kinder in NS-Kinderheime verschleppt. Auch Fey von Hassell, Tochter Ulrich von Hassells (vgl. Schöllgen: "Ulrich von Hassell 1881-1944", 2004), erlitt dieses Schicksal, deren Spuren die britische Autorin C. Bailey in dieser breit angelegten Geschichtserzählung verfolgt. Von Hassell, während des Kriegs im Friaul lebend, erlebte den italienischen Partisanenkampf gegen die Wehrmacht, wurde im Herbst 1944 mit ihren Kindern inhaftiert, aber von diesen bald getrennt. Während ihre Kinder in ein Tiroler Waisenhaus verbracht wurden, musste von Hassell zusammen mit anderen prominenten "Sippenhäftlingen" eine halbjährige Haftzeit in mehreren KZs, von Ostpreussen bis Bayern, durchstehen. Karten, Fotos. - Bailey schildert vor dem Hintergrund des kollabierenden NS-Staats die Lebensgeschichte Fey von Hassels, basierend auf deren Familiendokumenten. Lebendig erzählt; ergänzt K.v. Schulthess: "Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg" (2019). (2)

Why do individuals find their work meaningful and what is the role of worthwhile contributions in this experience? We undertake an analysis of accounts related by individuals working as nurses, creative artists and lawyers in which they explain why they find their work meaningful. Drawing on the traditions of critical discourse and narrative analysis, and informed by French pragmatic sociology, we move beyond a focus on what is said to consider how accounts are structured in explanations of meaningfulness. We find meaningfulness to be discursively constituted in the judgement that work makes a worthwhile contribution to others or wider society. We add theoretically to the literature on meaningful work, first, by revealing worthwhile contributions to be a complex, three-fold evaluation comprising the value attached by the individual to their contribution, validation from others that aligns with the individual's own evaluation concerning the worth of the contribution and the individual's self-efficacy belief that they are able to make the contribution. Second, we build bridges between hitherto disconnected branches of the meaningful work literature grounded in positive psychology on the one hand and moral worth on the other by showing how judgements of worth are fundamental to the experience of meaningfulness.

This handbook examines the concept, practices, and effects of meaningful work in organisations and beyond. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, it reflects diverse scholarly contributions from philosophy, political theory, psychology, sociology, organisational studies, and economics.

There has been an increasing focus on 'work as calling' in recent years, but relatively few empirical sociological accounts that shed light on the experience of performing calling work. Although callings have generally been referred to as positive and fulfilling to the individual and as beneficial to society, researchers have also suggested there is a 'dark side' to calling, and have drawn attention to the potential conflicts and tensions inherent in the pursuit of calling, especially for women. This article explores these themes through the first-hand experiences of one woman who felt called to work as a priest. Her narrative illustrates how callings draw the individual irresistibly towards a particular line of work. It also shows how calling work can be both satisfying individually and beneficial to the wider community but, at the same time, involves sacrifice, compromise and a willingness to defer personal rewards.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of purposeful and ethical leadership in a UK county police force – referred to by the pseudonym PoliceOrg. The paper also evaluates the extent to which officers feel their values fit with those of the organisation, and the outcomes achieved by purposeful and ethical leaders.


Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey, interviews and focus groups were conducted at PoliceOrg. The findings are compared with those from a public sector case study and with a representative sample of the UK working population.


Findings
Purposeful leaders at PoliceOrg have a positive impact on important outcomes for their direct reports and provide a sense of direction and guidance to those who do not feel a strong fit between their values and those of their organisation.


Research limitations/implications
The study focuses on a new construct (purposeful leadership) that has not previously been explored in the academic literature. Consequently, the findings cannot be directly compared with those of other studies. The survey focused on the views of police sergeants and constables, and only one police force participated as a case study; hence, the generalisability of the findings is limited.


Practical implications
Police organisations should nurture and sustain workplace environments where leaders can translate their personal moral code and ethical values into their role behaviours to address the policing challenges of the future.


Originality/value
This study elucidates the concept of purposeful leadership in the context of a police force.