This study investigates the relationship between purpose and meaning in life and job satisfaction among the aged. This issue is quite timely since there has been an increase in the employment rate of senior citizens in Asian countries due to the insufficient working-age population. We survey 228 seniors who are older than 55 years in South Korea. Our results suggest that purpose and meaning in life are highly associated with overall job satisfaction among the aged. We also find that vocation mediates the relationship between purpose and meaning in life and job satisfaction.
AhnY. M. (2003) A study on the relationship among meaning of life, self-esteem and mental health of the elderly. Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing12: 576–585.
2.
AscherL. M.TurnerR. M. (1980) A comparison of two methods for the administration of paradoxical intention. Behaviour Research and Therapy18: 121–126.
3.
BabbieE. R. (1998) The practice of social research, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.
4.
BaeK. J. (2008) The analysis of change in job satisfaction. Labor Review40: 84–95.
5.
Barnes-FarrellJ.MatthewsR. A. (2007) Age and work attitudes. Aging and work in the 21st century, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
6.
BaronR. M.KennyD. A. (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology51: 1173–1182.
7.
BoumansN. P.de JongA. H.JanssenS. M. (2011) Age-difference in work motivation and job satisfaction. The influence of age on the relationships between work characteristics and workers’ outcomes. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development73: 331–350.
8.
BrayfieldA. H.RotheH. F. (1951) An index of job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology35: 307–311.
9.
BurbankP. M. (1992) An exploratory study: Assessing the meaning in life among older adult clients. Journal of Gerontological Nursing18: 19–28.
10.
ChangS. O.PatriciaM. B. (2000) Meaning in life among the elderly. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing30: 259–271.
11.
ClarkA.OswaldA.WarrP. (1996) Is job satisfaction U-shaped in age?Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology69: 57–81.
12.
CrumbaughJ. C.MaholickL. T. (1964) Manual of instructions for the purpose in life test, Murfeesboro, TN: Psychometric Affiliates.
13.
DikB. J.EldridgeB. M.StegerM. F.DuffyR. D. (2012) Development and validation of the vocation and vocation questionnaire (CVQ) and brief vocation scale (BCS). Journal of Career Assessment20: 242–263.
FranklV. E. (1969) The will to meaning: Foundations and applications of logotherapy, New York, NY: New American library.
16.
FranklV. E. (1979) The unheard cry for meaning: Psychotherapy and humanism, New York, NY: Touchstone Books.
17.
FranklV. E. (1988) The will to meaning: Foundations and applications of logotherapy, New York City, NY: Plum Books.
18.
FranklV. E. (2000) Man’s search for ultimate meaning, New York, NY: Perseus Books.
19.
GoldthropeJ. H.LockwoodD.BachoferF.PlattJ. (1969) The affluent worker in the class structure, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
20.
HackmanJ. R.OldhamG. R. (1975) Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology60: 159–170.
21.
HerzbergF.MausnerB.SnydermanB. (1959) The motivation to work, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
22.
HuntJ. W.SaulP. N. (1975) The relationship of age, tenure, and job satisfaction in males and females. Academy of Management Journal18: 690–702.
23.
JeonJ. W. (2006) A test of causal model for motivation for job performance, job satisfaction and psychological well-being of the elderly. Journal of Korea Gerontological Society26: 521–545.
24.
KallebergA. L. (1977) Work values and job rewards: A theory of job satisfaction. American Sociological Review42: 124–143.
25.
KallebergA. L.LoscoccoK. A. (1983) Aging, values, and rewards: Explaining age differences in job satisfaction. American Sociological Review48: 78–90.
26.
Korea National Statistical Office (2011). Society survey. Retrieved from http://kostat.go.kr.
27.
Korea National Statistical Office (2012). Society survey. Retrieved from http://kostat.go.kr.
28.
Lee, S. A. (2008). Job satisfaction factors that affect life satisfaction among the aged. Working paper, Sungkyunkwan University.
29.
LimC. H. (2008) Human asset management, Seoul, Korea: B&M Books.
30.
LockeE. A. (1976) The nature and causes of job satisfaction. Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
MasloA. H. (1943) A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review50: 370–396.
33.
MuchinskyP. M. (2003) Psychology applied to work, 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
34.
NardiniJ. E. (1952) Survival factors in American prisoners of war of the Japanese. American Journal of Psychiatry109: 244.
35.
PinquartM. (2002) Creating and maintaining purpose in life in old age: A meta-analysis. Ageing International27: 90–114.
36.
PriceJ. L.KimS. W. (1993) The relationship between demographic variables and intent to stay in the military: Medical personnel in U.S. Air Force Hospital. Armed Forces & Society20: 125–144.
37.
RheeK. O.LeeJ. Y. (2005) The study on the adaptation process of young old men and the perspective after their retirement. Korean Journal of Social Welfare57: 93–120.
38.
Seo, S. Y. (2006). A study on the degree of satisfaction of the elderly participating in job offering campaigns (Master’s thesis). Kyungsung University, Busan, Korea.
39.
ShinY. K. (2005) Humanity based management—Organizational behavioral approach, Seoul, Korea: Dasan Publishing.
40.
SmithP. C.KendallL. M.HullinC. L. (1969) The measure of satisfaction in work and retirement, Skokie, IL: Rand McNally Company.
41.
SolyomL.Garza-PerezJ.LedwidgeB. L.SolyomC. (1972) Paradoxical Intention in the treatment of obsessive thoughts: A pilot study. Comprehensive Psychiatry13: 291–297.
42.
VroomV. H. (1964) Work and motivation, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
43.
VuongQ. H. (1989) Likelihood ratio tests for model selection and non-nested hypotheses. Econometrica57: 307–333.
