The Job Characteristics Model (JCM), which postulates that effective job design can foster internal work motivation and satisfaction through the inducement of positive affect, has been abundantly researched since its origination almost five decades back. Yet, little is known about which of the five job dimensions and three psychological states within the JCM bear significance for mid-career professionals, who are at a crucial point of transition in their careers, known to be marked by self-discovery. Hence, the objective of this study is to assess the extent to which the core job dimensions influence the internal work motivation and satisfaction of mid-career professionals and to evaluate whether the critical psychological states mediate these relationships. Data has been collected from a convenience sample of 221 mid-career professionals working in Bangladesh and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicate that autonomy is the job dimension with the strongest positive impact on both outcomes. In addition, the critical psychological state of experienced meaningfulness not only mediates the relationship between both outcomes and their antecedent job dimensions (skill variety, task identity, task significance), but also emerges as the only predictor with a large effect size on both motivation and satisfaction. The study, therefore, indicates that job redesign interventions should be structured with an emphasis on helping mid-career professionals connect the dots between their personal values and priorities and work experiences, which is the essence of meaningfulness. From a theoretical standpoint, the study underscores why the widespread practice of overlooking the mediating role of critical psychological states in studies utilizing the JCM may be ill-advised. From a methodological standpoint, it highlights the superiority of the SEM method, which has been underutilized in JCM research.
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