The Search for Meaning at Work: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Cognitive Crafting Intervention

Many employees struggle to experience a sense of meaning in their work, posing a challenge to workplace flourishing. Cognitive crafting—the process of reframing how one interprets their work—can enhance meaningful work and well-being. However, strategies to effectively promote it remain unclear. Building on positive psychology interventions, self-determination theory, and job crafting theory, we developed a brief online intervention using meaning-based reflection and cognitive reframing. Its effectiveness was evaluated in a pre-registered randomized controlled trial (N= 260) with an active control group, assessing outcomes post-intervention and at one-month follow-up. Compared to the control group, the intervention group reported significantly higher levels of meaningful work, work engagement, and job satisfaction. However, these differences were driven by lower scores in the control group compared to baseline, while the intervention group remained stable. These findings highlight the complexity of designing effective cognitive crafting interventions and underscore the need for further theory-driven research to identify strategies that reliably enhance positive work evaluations and work-related well-being.