The purpose of this study is focus on the relationship among the sense of calling, workload and work satisfaction. Using police officers as the research subject, this study also intends to discuss the concept and the importance of the sense of calling. The results of this study show that older and married male, with longer tenure and higher ranking, seem to display higher degree of the sense of calling. Furthermore, the results also indicate that the sense of calling is positively related to work satisfaction, and surprisingly, is positively related to workload as well, which may imply the opposite sides of the influences of the sense of calling. Considering the strong link among the sense of calling, workload, and work satisfaction, it is believed that the sense of calling might play a critical role in the working context. Also, the concept of the sense of calling may differ from the previous illustration under the Chinese culture and in the specific occupational context, i.e. police; therefore, it should be worth to discuss in the future studies.

In the current South African context, negative work attitude of teachers has become a phenomenon to be reckoned with as it has a detrimental effect on the education system. Although research on this phenomenon is still scarce, a growing interest in work attitude and its different underlying constructs is obvious from the increase of work attitude research. It is now time to investigate ways to improve work attitude, one of which could be to invest in meaningful work. The aim of this study is to expand on the understanding of the relationship between experiencing a sense of calling and work attitude as well as to determine the influence of meaningful work on this relationship. Through this study the researcher proposed an adapted model of Steger, Pickering, Shin and Dik (2011) which will serve as an academic tool for future research. This model will also be applicable as a management tool to understand and deal with teachers’ negative work attitude. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used. The analysis was based on data from a representative sample of teachers recruited from primary and secondary schools in the Fezile Dabi district (n = 270) formerly known as the Northern Free State School district. The following measuring instruments were administered: The Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ), The Work and Meaning Inventory (WAMI), The Work Preference Inventory (WPI) and The Career Decision Profile (CDP). The researcher used the analytic approach of structural equation modelling by means of the statistical program Mplus. The results revealed that a statistically significant relationship existed between the experience of a sense of calling and work attitude. Results also supported the hypothesis that meaningful work has an indirect effect on the relationship between the experience of a calling and work attitude. The findings of this study indicated that positive work attitude tends to be enhanced by the addition of meaningful work. The Department of Education will have to take ognisance of ways to create meaningful work if they wish to succeed in educational transformation, as meaningful work has an indirect effect on the relationship between the experience of a calling and work attitude of teachers. Future studies should include longitudinal studies to validate the proposed adapted model and to identify more predictors of positive work attitude. / MA (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

In the current South African context, negative work attitude of teachers has become a phenomenon to be reckoned with as it has a detrimental effect on the education system. Although research on this phenomenon is still scarce, a growing interest in work attitude and its different underlying constructs is obvious from the increase of work attitude research. It is now time to investigate ways to improve work attitude, one of which could be to invest in meaningful work. The aim of this study is to expand on the understanding of the relationship between experiencing a sense of calling and work attitude as well as to determine the influence of meaningful work on this relationship. Through this study the researcher proposed an adapted model of Steger, Pickering, Shin and Dik (2011) which will serve as an academic tool for future research. This model will also be applicable as a management tool to understand and deal with teachers’ negative work attitude. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used. The analysis was based on data from a representative sample of teachers recruited from primary and secondary schools in the Fezile Dabi district (n = 270) formerly known as the Northern Free State School district. The following measuring instruments were administered: The Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ), The Work and Meaning Inventory (WAMI), The Work Preference Inventory (WPI) and The Career Decision Profile (CDP). The researcher used the analytic approach of structural equation modelling by means of the statistical program Mplus. The results revealed that a statistically significant relationship existed between the experience of a sense of calling and work attitude. Results also supported the hypothesis that meaningful work has an indirect effect on the relationship between the experience of a calling and work attitude. The findings of this study indicated that positive work attitude tends to be enhanced by the addition of meaningful work. The Department of Education will have to take ognisance of ways to create meaningful work if they wish to succeed in educational transformation, as meaningful work has an indirect effect on the relationship between the experience of a calling and work attitude of teachers. Future studies should include longitudinal studies to validate the proposed adapted model and to identify more predictors of positive work attitude. / MA (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The sense of calling has emerged as a burgeoning research interest for the past decade due to its tight connection to the meaning of work. However, the mechanism of the sense of calling, especially how it works in the work context remains unclear. This study aims at enhancing the understanding and knowledge of what the concept of calling is and how to apply it into organizations. Therefore, a cross-level model was proposed and the antecedents and consequences of calling along with the influence of organizational factors were examined. Data were collected from 24 organizations consisted of 186 employees, and hierarchical linear modeling techniques were applied to test the hypotheses. As a result, it is found that with certain personality traits (i.e., Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Openness), one¡¦s sense of calling is more easily to be discovered. On the other hand, it is also likely to foster or develop one¡¦s sense of calling through organization¡¦s manipulation (i.e., the emphasis of CSR and the supportive climate). More importantly, the positive impact of sense of calling on an individual¡¦s performance has been demonstrated. Consequently, by considering both organizational-level and individual-level factors into the mechanism of calling, a valuable insight and application of an individual¡¦s sense of calling in the work context have been established.

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