Meaningful Work and Work Engagement Relationship: A Research on Academics

In this study, it is aimed to determine the mediating role of work centrality and job satisfaction on meaningful work-work engagement relationship. The field study was conducted on 291 academicians working in a state university. Although academic profession is thought as a meaningful job involving scientific activities and raising younger generations, it can not be said that all the academicians find their jobs as meaningful because every person are different from each other in terms of their priorities, goals, values and aims in their lives. Since the degree of meaning academicians find in their jobs may affect the quality of educational and scientific activities, it can be said that conducting the field research on academicians is important. Research results have demonstrated that participants find their jobs partially meaningful; and meaningful work has a positive impact on work centrality, job satisfaction and work engagement. Moreover, it was determined that both job satisfaction and work centrality have a mediating effect on the relationship of meaningful work and work engagement