Grounded theory

Engineering

Philosophy

Social psychology

Public relations

Qualitative research

Mechanical engineering

Identity (music)

Aesthetics

Psychology

Political science

Work (physics)

Psychotherapist

Epistemology

Sociology

Meaning (existential)

Social science

Academy of Management Proceedings

Past research has shown many benefits of pursuing work as a calling, yet, we know little about the negative implications or costs of calling. In response to recent calls, we used a grounded theory approach to examine the tensions underlying the pursuit of calling. Findings show that the artists framed subjective and objective career outcomes as paradoxical, which combined with artists’ intense relationship with their work and their inability to physically and psychologically escape from the situation, because work is an artist’s calling, created the double-bind of calling. In response to the double-bind of calling, artists employed various cognitive and behavioral strategies that had implications for artists’ self-identity and their work. Our research provides a complex and intriguing picture of the experience of deeply meaningful work, and has important implications for theory and future research on deeply meaningful work, careers in creative professions, and more broadly for organizations trying to attract, motivate and retain workers in creative occupations.

Pursuing Meaning in Work: The Double-Bind of Calling Among Artists