Family recognition of work as a source of meaningful work: Examining the roles of self-esteem and parental status

Research on meaningful work has highlighted social context as an important source of meaningful work but has primarily focused on the social context at work . This is surprising, given that much of the work-family research showed that family can enrich work experiences. To address this noticeable gap, this paper introduces the concept of ‘family recognition of work’ – a perception of family recognizing and appreciating one's work – as a critical, non-work-related social context contributing to meaningful work. Drawing on interpersonal sense-making theory, we argue that family recognition of work positively enhances meaningful work via increased self-esteem. Acknowledging shifts in life priorities and values when entering parenthood, we also argue that the indirect effect of family recognition of work on meaningful work via self-esteem is moderated by parental status. To test these hypotheses, we conducted two studies. In Study 1, a five-item scale for family recognition of work was developed and validated, utilizing two UK-based samples ( N = 196 and N = 210). In Study 2, a cross-lagged panel analysis was conducted with the three-wave survey data from the UK ( N = 466) to test the hypothesized model. The results of Study 2 confirmed a positive relationship between family recognition of work and work meaningfulness, and that this relationship was mediated by self-esteem. Additionally, parents, compared to non-parents, exhibited a stronger indirect effect of family recognition of work on work meaningfulness via self-esteem. The paper extends the literature on social context as a source of meaningful work by demonstrating the importance of family recognition of work. • Family recognition of work is introduced as the perception of family recognizing and appreciating an individual’s work. • Family recognition of work is positively related to meaningful work. • Increased self-esteem can explain why family recognition of work can contribute to an enhanced perception of meaningful work. • Family recognition of work leads to greater increases in self-esteem and perceptions of meaningful work among parents.