Outcomes of Meaningful Work in the Context of Indian Blue-collar Employees: The Moderating Role of Relational Identification and Organisation-based Self-esteem

Abstract

The study investigates the moderating effect of relational identification and organisation-based self-esteem (OBSE) on the relationship between meaningful work and prudence, as well as meaningful work and civic virtue behaviour, in the context of blue-collar employees working in the Indian aeronautical manufacturing sector (IAMS). Survey data collected from 312 blue-collar employees showed that meaningful work has a positive influence on prudence as well as civic virtue behavior only at high levels of relational identification and OBSE. These relationships were insignificant at the lower level of the moderators. The findings of the study hold significant research, practice, and societal implications, because meaningful work in the context of blue-collar employees of the aeronautical industry has not been studied before, though this industry has high growth potential.

Keywords

Blue-collar employees civic virtue Indian aeronautical manufacturing sector meaningful work public sector units prudence relational identification

Introduction

Meaningful work for blue-collar employees assumes much salience with the changing work standards across the globe (Bailey et al., 2019).Work is perceived as meaningful when the person executing it finds it to be worthwhile and it adds value to the greater good of self and others, even beyond the work-specific context (Steger et al., 2012). Extant literature suggests the positive influence of meaningful work on a host of outcomes like organisational commitment, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), and performance (Allan et al., 2019). However, meaningful work still remains quite an unexplored territory. Researchers in the area have called for deeper exploration of the relationship of the construct with other variables to contribute to the literature of meaningful work (Bailey et al., 2019).

This study responds to this call by empirically investigating the influence of meaningful work on civic virtue behaviour and prudence. It further tests the moderation effect of relational identification and organisation-based self-esteem (OBSE) on the relationship of meaningful work with both the dependent variables (i.e., prudence and civic virtue behavior). Such a research model adds new and unique insights to the scholarly literature.

Studies reveal that the yearning for meaningful work is the same across white- and blue-collar employees; however, the repetitive and often ‘less dignified’ nature of blue-collar jobs makes it difficult for blue-collar employees to perceive meaningful work (Lips-Wiersma et al., 2016; Lucas, 2011), which might result in less motivation and job satisfaction and higher turnover for blue-collar employees as compared to white-collar professionals (Anjum & Parvez, 2013; Chang et al., 2011; Singh et al., 2016). However, studies exploring meaningful work in the context of blue-collar employees are few (e.g., Lips-Wiersma et al., 2016; Lucas, 2011). In the Indian context, barring a few studies (e.g., Jena et al., 2019; Pradhan & Jena, 2017; Jena & Pradhan, 2017), there is hardly any research where the construct has been linked to civic virtue behaviour or prudence, in the presence of proposed moderators.

We empirically explore the concept of meaningful work for blue-collar employees in the Indian aeronautical manufacturing sector (IAMS). With the increasing attention of the Modi 2.0 government (Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second regime that started in 2019) on strengthening defence by possessing more combat jets (Sagar, 2019) and the burgeoning Indian civil aviation sector with its double-digit annual growth rate of almost 18 per cent (Sinha, 2019), the IAMS has unlocked huge potential for growth. Further, the “Make-in-India” initiative in 2014 that aims at making India a manufacturing hub and the Indian IDMM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category introduced into the 2016 Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) (Junaid, 2018) have further secured the growth prospects in the sector. However, the challenge to such envisioned growth could be the acute shortage of blue-collar employees in the Indian labour market (Agarwal, 2011). Hence, it is imperative for the organisations in this sector to devise blue-collar retention strategies by understanding the sentiments of that cohort of the workforce. Hence, this study contributes significantly to both theory and practice.

Literature Review and Hypotheses Development

Meaningful Work

Work is considered to be meaningful if it provides psychological meaningfulness to the person engaged in doing it, enhances the meaning of life as a whole for that person, and contributes towards the greater good of the society as a whole (Steger et al., 2012). Lips-Wiersma and Wright (2012) describe that construct as work which contributes towards ‘being’ (self-actualisation) and ‘doing’ (feeling that one is contributing to the greater good through one’s work). Meaningful work often leads to a positive psychological state of mind wherein the person engaged in the work perceives the work to align with his or her self-concepts and values (Allan et al., 2019; Bailey et al., 2019). Allan et al. (2019) stated that meaningful work could positively influence a host of organisational as well as individual outcomes. Recent years have seen a surge in interest in the construct; yet, much in the territory remains undiscovered, as the construct could be highly influenced by leadership style, work design, and organisational culture (Bailey et al., 2019).

Civic Virtue Behaviour and Prudence as Potential Outcomes of Meaningful Work

Civic Virtue Behaviour

Civic virtue behaviour is a form of OCB that refers to employees demonstrating responsible behaviour and actively participating in the political life of the organisation by attending meetings that are not mandatory, keeping track of organisational updates, and so on (Podsakoff et al., 1997). It is the most organisationally directed dimension of OCB (Robinson & Morrison, 1995) and has two dimensions: a) civic virtue—information; and b) civic virtue—influence (Graham & Van Dyne, 2006). “Civic virtue—information” refers to the “affiliative-promotive” behaviours that require employees to gather organisational information, whereas “civic virtue—influence” refers to “change-oriented-promotive” behaviours that need employees to exercise voice power to influence corrective measures or herald positive organisational changes (Graham & Van Dyne, 2006, p. 95). While “civic virtue—influence” behaviours might not be aligned with managerial views and might contradict managerial decisions at times (non-affiliative to managerial decisions), they could still benefit the organisation by proposing pro-organisational changes. Hence, they must never be ignored (Graham & Van Dyne, 2006). Though the construct assumes much salience in the present-day business scenario (Frese & Fay, 2001), it has been a relatively unexplored area of research (Graham & Van Dyne, 2006; Lepine et al., 2002, Podsakoff et al., 1997).

This study focuses on the relationship between meaningful work and civic virtue behaviour using the scale borrowed from Podsakoff et al. (1997) that comprises items capturing both “civic virtue—information” and “civic virtue—influence.” Further, since civic virtue–related findings have differed significantly between white-collar and blue-collar employees (Podsakoff & MacKenzie, 1994; Podsakoff et al., 1997) and studies exploring the construct in a blue-collar context are limited, the findings of this study could contribute towards closing this research gap.

It is not difficult to see the linkage between meaningful work and civic virtue. Arguing using the norms of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960), people feel obliged to positively reciprocate a favourable treatment that they receive. When organisations provide meaningful work that helps employees derive greater meaning from their life and boosts their self-esteem, they reciprocate by taking an active interest in the organisation’s political life or contributing towards positive organisational change. Steger et al. (2012) also mentioned that meaningful work could lead to enhanced employee interest in organisational welfare. Meaningful work could also help organisations fulfil their psychological contract with employees (Bailey et al., 2019; Bowie, 1998), thereby leading to enhanced civic virtue behaviour from them (Chambel & Alcover, 2011; Robinson & Morrison, 1995).

Prudence

Sharma (2007, p. 14) defined prudence as a “personal cultural orientation that represents planning, perseverance, thrift, and future orientation.” Puri (1996) stated that prudence could be considered a broader aspect of planning per se. Prudent employees engage in meticulous planning, demonstrating a long-term orientation at work (Sharma, 2010). In his book, Passion before Prudence, Richard M. Gray (2014) argued that a person who is extremely passionate about his or her job to the extent that he or she experiences a calling in work would also be more prudent. Meaningful work ensures that a person enjoys better mental health and less life distresses (Allan et al., 2019; Bailey et al., 2019; Jena et al., 2019; Steger et al., 2012) by deriving more meaning out of life as a whole (Michaelson, 2005). This might lead the person to enjoy greater peace of mind, remain calmer, and invest time in better future planning, thus demonstrating prudence. Furthermore, an employee experiencing meaningful work displays lower turnover intention, thereby forging a long-term bond with the job as well as with the organisation. This could lead the employee to be more prudent in chalking a long-term career plan in the job and with the organisation. Further, exploring the linkage between meaningful work and prudence would be interesting to study in the context of Indian professionals as they are found to be high on long-term orientation compared to their western counterparts.

Moderators of the Meaningful Work-prudence and Meaningful Work-civic Virtue Relationships

Relational Identification

The path-breaking research of Ashforth and Mael (1989) unveiled the construct of organisational identification (OID) as being distinct from organisational commitment and defined it as a cognitive connection of an employee with his or her organisation, such that the employee perceives his or her fate to be intertwined with that of the organisation and derives a part of his or her self-concept from the organisational membership. Since then, scholars of organisational studies have been exploring different foci (workgroup, occupation, etc.) and forms (relational and collective) of identification.

Collective identification is derived from perceived connection with the positive qualities of the group, whereas relational identification is largely based on the perceived connect with fellow colleagues and the identity that one derives out of those relationships (Sluss & Ashforth, 2008; Zhang et al., 2014). Relational identification might be reflected in behaviours like attending social events organised by fellow colleagues, helping them even outside work, and sharing mutual respect with team members. It positively influences satisfaction with group members and citizenship behaviours directed towards group individuals. Relational identification, as of now, is a nascent concept and has not been explored in many studies. Further, task interdependence is a prevalent feature in the blue-collar work schedule that has been posed as an antecedent to relational identification (Zhang et al., 2014). Hence, it is worth exploring the construct in this study that is based on blue-collar employees in the IAMS.

Jena et al. (2019) stated that OID could be a probable outcome of meaningful work, along with others like job satisfaction, commitment, or engagement. Drawing on the social exchange theory (SET) (Blau, 1964), one can argue that if an organisation fulfils an employee’s needs of meaningful work, the employee reciprocates by establishing a strong relationship between self-concept and organisational concept, resulting in higher OID. A particular case of OID, relational identification, describes a cognitive state where an employee derives a part of his self-identity through the workplace relationships that he or she establishes with his or her colleagues. In the case of blue-collar employees (our study sample), where there exists unionised labour and a high degree of task interdependence, identification could be predominantly relational identification that can further result in OCBs (Zhang et al., 2014).

Further, relational identification leads people to lower their turnover intention and invest more time in future planning, since they want to stay in their job and continue with their organisation (Zhang et al., 2014). This long-term orientation could result in more prudence at work. Also, strong workplace relationships might help employees to be morally strong enough to bounce back after failure, reinforcing prudent behaviour. Relational identification might also lead employees to be more cautious and plan diligently to avoid any potential harm to colleagues or the organisation because of planning failure. Hence, relational identification could be a potential moderator for the meaningful work–prudence relationship. Thus, we hypothesise that:

H₁: Relational identification moderates the positive relation between meaningful work and prudence such that the relationship is stronger for individuals who are higher on relational identification than for those who are lower on relational identification.

Further, Zhang et al. (2014) stated that relational identification positively influences OCBs. It has also been seen that people with relational orientation demonstrate higher civic virtue (Chambell & Alcover, 2011). This might be because forging stronger workplace relationships with colleagues might lead employees to be better informed about the organisational state of affairs and take an active interest in attending events or meetings, driven by the power of the relationship they share with colleagues. This is again aligned with the SET in the sense that since the organisation is playing a role in satisfying the socio-emotional needs of employees through workplace relationships, the employees reciprocate with more responsible civic behaviours towards the organisation. Hence, relational identification could be a potential moderator for the meaningful work–civic virtue relationship. Accordingly, we propose our second hypothesis as:

H₂: Relational identification moderates the positive relation between meaningful work and civic virtue such that the relationship is stronger for individuals who are higher on relational identification than for those who are lower on relational identification.

Organisation-based Self-esteem

Self-esteem is the level to which an individual evaluates himself or herself as competent (Korman, 1976), and the construct is perceived concerning experiences within different contexts. For instance, experiences while performing a particular task might lead to the perception of task-related self-esteem, whereas group experiences lead to the formation of group self-esteem. Organisation-based self-esteem (OBSE) is defined as the value an employee assigns to self while functioning as an organisational member and consider self as being valued and meaningful in the organization (Pierce et al., 1989).

Together, these perceptions result in a global perception of self-esteem of an individual. Aligned with self-consistency motivational theories (Korman, 1976), self-esteem is seen to positively influence attitudes and behaviours, such that the effect is more apparent when the construct is contextualised. This means OBSE might have a stronger influence on organisation-oriented variables (like civic virtue) as compared to global self-esteem perception.

As stated earlier, OBSE is defined by the degree to which a person feels valued and meaningful in his or her organisation. Job characteristics, managerial respect, and meaningful work can play a role in enhancing an employee’s OBSE (Zhang et al., 2014) by providing more empowerment (Jena et al., 2019). Based on the need theory (Maslow, 1943) and self-enhancement theory (Dipboye, 1977), it can be argued that people behave in a way that would reinforce their present cognitive state. This means an employee with a high level of OBSE would engage in behaviours that could translate to positive organisational results and, in turn, enhance the level of OBSE of the employee. Hence, it is possible that an employee with high OBSE would be committed to organisational welfare and therefore demonstrate more civic-virtue behaviours. Also, there is a probability that he or she would be a diligent planner, so as to avoid any mistakes that might result in organisational loss, and would have the resilience to retry things upon failure, because he or she would be more driven to achieve organisational results and would be persistent with his or her cognitive state of high OBSE. Hence, we propose our last two hypotheses, whereby we posit OBSE as a moderator of the meaningful work–prudence and meaningful work–civic virtue relationships:

H₃: OBSE moderates the positive relation between meaningful work and prudence such that the relationship is stronger for individuals who are higher on OBSE than for those who are lower on OBSE.

H₄: OBSE moderates the positive relation between meaningful work and civic virtue such that the relationship is stronger for individuals who are higher on OBSE than for those who are lower on OBSE.

Method

Sample

Data for the study were obtained from 312 blue-collar employees working in the organisations in the IAMS located in northern part of India. The survey was carried out during the months of February and March in the year 2019. Four hundred and sixty-eight paper-and-pencil survey questionnaires were distributed, and 331 were returned by the sample respondents, resulting in a response rate of 70.7 per cent. After rejecting the incomplete survey sheets (n = 19), 312 (i.e., 66.6%) were retained for the study. The survey respondents in the present study were full-time blue-collar employees, and they got employment in the age range of 22–25. Table 1 presents the sample demographics.

Table 1.

Sample Demographics (total respondents, N = 312)

Gender	Male	Female
Gender	64%	36%
Age group	<25 Years	26–40 Years	41–50 Years	>50 Years
Age group	33%	27%	28%	12%
Experience	≤5 Years	>5 Years
Experience	46%	54%
Education	Diploma in Engineering	BTech/BE	ITI/NCVT
Education	63%	9%	28%

Source: Authors’ own.

Notes: *BTech = Bachelors in Technology; BE = Bachelors in Engineering; ITI = Industrial Training Institutes; NCVT = National Council of Vocational Training.

Participants responded to the survey questionnaire covering measures of meaningful work, relational identification, OBSE, and prudence. Their immediate bosses rated the construct of civic virtue behaviour. For arresting the common method bias (which is a measurement error), the sequence of the statements was jumbled up, so that the respondents would not cognitively link the items. This has also helped in reducing the priming effect.

Researchers distributed the questionnaires, along with a blank envelope, among the sample respondents. They were instructed to seal the completed questionnaire in the given envelopes and return it directly at the worksite.

Measures

A 6-point Likert type scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’ was used for all items. Si and Cullen (1998) documented in their research findings on Asians that, given such a survey, respondents prefer to select the mid-point in odd-numbered scales. Thus, to reduce the central tendency bias among Indian respondents, a 6-point Likert-type scale was used in the present study instead of a 5-point one. This approach is consistent with the research work carried out on Chinese samples (e.g., Hui et al., 2004). The reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha) for scales used were above 0.8 (see Table 2), which is more than the 0.6 threshold needed for further analysis (Sekaran, 1992). Demographic variables such as age, gender, and educational qualification were controlled to study the possible confounding effects of these on the study variables.

Table 2.

Mean, SD, AVE, CR, and Correlations (N = 312)

Variable	Mean	SD	AVE	CR	1	2	3	4	5
1. Meaningful work	4.34	0.61	0.68	0.84	(0.86)
2. Prudence	3.78	0.52	0.71	0.82	0.39**	(0.81)
3. Civic virtue	4.12	0.43	0.69	0.77	0.28**	0.19**	(0.92)
4. Relational identification	4.04	0.48	0.82	0.89	0.14**	0.17*	0.22*	(0.84)
5. Organisation-based self-esteem	4.71	0.61	0.73	0.88	0.22*	0.04**	0.42**	0.29*	(0.92)

Source: Authors’ own.

Notes: Diagonal values (italicised and bracketed) represent the scale reliabilities.

*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01.

SD = Standard deviation; AVE = average variance extracted; CR = composite reliability.

Meaningful work: Ten items from the “work as meaning inventory” scale having three distinct dimensions (positive meaning, meaning making through work, greater good motivations) of Steger et al. (2012) was used to measure meaningful work. Two sample items of the scale are: “I have a good sense of what makes my job meaningful” and “My work helps me make sense of the world around me.”

Prudence: Four items on prudence were adopted from the “personal cultural orientation” instrument developed by Sharma (2010). His work reconceptualised five cultural factors proposed by Hofstede (1980) as 10 personal cultural orientations. Two sample items of the scale are: “I do not give up easily even if I do not succeed on my first attempt” and “I believe in planning for the long term.”

Civic virtue behaviour: Three items on the “civic virtue” dimension from the OCB scale (Podsakoff et al., 1997) were used in the study. This set of questions were answered by the direct supervisors of blue-collar employees who participated in the survey. Two sample items of the scale are: “(members of my machine crew) provide constructive suggestions about how the crew can improve its effectiveness” and “are willing to risk disapproval to express their beliefs about what is best for the crew.”

Relational identification: Seven items from Zhang et al. (2014) were used to measure relational identification among employees. Two sample items are: “I coordinate my work well with other members” and “I share mutual respect with other members.”

OBSE: Pierce et al.’s (1989) 10-item scale was adapted in the study. It is a unidimensional scale capturing the degree to which organisational members “believe that they can satisfy their needs by participating in roles within the context of an organization.” Two sample items are: “I am trusted around here” and “There is faith in me around here.”

Results

The descriptive statistics of the variables are presented in Table 2.

The correlations among the variables are in the range of moderate to small. Harman’s single-factor test was carried out, wherein all the items were forced into one fixed factor (Podsakoff et al., 2003). The single factor explained variance of less than 50 per cent (44.12%), indicating that common method variance was not a significant threat. In addition to that, we followed Bagozzi’s method (Bagozzi & Phillips, 1991), which suggests that any correlation between the focal study variables, if more than 0.9, means the presence of common-method bias. As shown in Table 2, the highest correlation between any two constructs is a mere 0.42.

Measurement Indices

The scale reliabilities are well established, since both Cronbach’s alpha as well as composite reliability (CR) values are above the minimum cut-off of 0.7 (Nunnally, 1978) for all scales (refer to Table 2). Further, the average variance extracted (AVE) of all constructs is above 0.5, which proves the convergent validity of the constructs used. Also, the square root of AVE for all constructs is greater than any inter-construct correlations, establishing discriminant validity for all constructs (MacKenzie et al., 2011).

We have also carried out separate confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to provide evidence of discriminant validity between the variables of civic virtue and relational identification, as they share conceptual proximity. The CFA findings indicated a significantly better model fit while enumerating them as two discrete factors than a model framing them as a single factor (∆X² [1] = 63.41, p < 0.001). It is observed from Table 2 that there was a relatively high correlation between civic virtue and OBSE (r = 0.42, p < 0.01). A separate CFA on them indicated that specifying them as two distinct factors got a significantly better model than modelling them as a single factor (∆X² [1] = 44.29, p < 0.001).

Moderation Effects

For testing the moderation effects of relational identification and OBSE on proposed associations between predictor and criterion variables (Figure 1), moderated hierarchical regression analysis was carried out. Demographic variables (age, gender, educational qualification) were used as control variables in the model. However, the effect of controls on study variables was insignificant, and hence, they were not included in further analysis (Becker, 2005; Bernerth & Aguinis, 2016). Through a sequential block, the predictor variables were entered to evaluate the incremental variances among the measures (Cohen et al., 2003). In the first step, the independent variable was entered. Next, the interaction term was entered for assessing the incremental variance described for checking the moderation effect. Prior to computing the interaction effect, the interactive variables (i.e., meaningful work, relational identification, and OBSE) were mean-centred.

Figure 1.

Source: Authors’ own.

H₁ states that relational identification moderates the positive relation between meaningful work and prudence such that the relationship is stronger for individuals who are higher on relational identification than for those who are lower on relational identification. Table 4 presents the findings of moderating hypothesis that was tested through hierarchical regression analysis.

Table 3.

Regression Findings for Prudence as Dependent Variable

Predictor	Step IMain Effects	Step II(interaction of relational identification)	Step IIa(interaction of organisation-based self-esteem)
Step I
Constant	3.34**	3.57**	3.41**
Meaningful work	0.49**	0.53**	0.69**
Relational identification	−0.31^ѱ	−0.22	−0.19
Organisation-based self-esteem	0.08*	0.12	0.18
∆ R²	0.11**
Relational identification–meaningful work interaction		0.52**
Step II (∆ R²)		0.05**
Organisation-based self-esteem–meaningful work interaction			0.69**
Step IIa (∆ R²)			0.08**

Source: Authors’ own.

Notes: Dependent variable = Prudence.

N = 312.

Estimates are non-standardised regression coefficients.

Step IIa specifies the alternative model that excludes the relational identification–meaningful work interaction.

Bold and italic values are applicable for testing the proposed hypothesis.

^ѱp < 0.10; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01.

Figure 2.

Source: Authors’ own.

The proposed interaction was supported (b = 0.52, p < 0.01, ∆ R² = 0.05), signifying that the positive association between meaningful work and prudence was stronger for individuals with higher relational identification compared to those with lower relational identification. This was supported through a simple slope test (Cohen et al., 2003) that exhibited that there was no relation between meaningful work and prudence for individuals low on relational identification (refer to Figure 2).

H₂ states that relational identification moderates the positive relation between meaningful work and civic virtue such that the relationship is stronger for individuals who are higher on relational identification. Table 4 presents the hierarchical regression analysis envisaging civic virtue as an outcome variable.

The proposed interaction was supported (b = 0.82, p < 0.01, ∆ R² = 0.06), signifying that the positive association between meaningful work and civic virtue was stronger for individuals with higher relational identification compared to those with lower relational identification. The simple slope test exhibited that there was no relationship between meaningful work and civic virtue at lower levels of relational identification (refer to Figure 3).

H₃ states that OBSE moderates the positive relation between meaningful work and prudence such that the relationship is stronger for individuals who are higher on OBSE. Findings presented in Table 3 indicate that the proposed interaction was supported (b = 0.69, p < 0.01, ∆ R² = 0.08), signifying that the positive association between meaningful work and prudence was stronger for individuals with higher OBSE. Tests of simple slope (Figure 4) revealed no relation between meaningful work and prudence at lower levels of OBSE.

Table 4.

Regression Findings for Civic Virtue Behaviour as Dependent Variable

Predictor	Step IMain Effects	Step II(interaction of relational identification)	Step IIa(interaction of organisation-based self-esteem)
Step I
Constant	4.19**	4.27**	4.18**
Meaningful work	0.31**	0.37**	0.37**
Relational identification	0.27*	0.32**	0.31*
Organisation-based self-esteem	0.04	0.09	0.07
∆ R²	0.07**
Relational identification–meaningful work interaction		0.82**
Step II (∆ R²)		0.06**
Organisation-based self-esteem–meaningful work interaction			0.23*
Step IIa (∆ R²)			0.03*

Source: Authors’ own.

Notes: Dependent variable = Civic virtue behaviour.

N = 312.

Estimates are non-standardised regression coefficients.

Step IIa specifies the alternative model that excludes relational identification–meaningful work interaction.

Bold values are applicable for testing the proposed hypothesis.

*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01.

Figure 3.

Source: Authors’ own.

H₄ proposes that OBSE moderates the positive relation between meaningful work and civic virtue such that the relationship is stronger for individuals with higher OBSE. The hierarchical regression analysis tested the moderating hypothesis in Table 4. The proposed interaction was supported (b = 0.23, p < 0.05, ∆ R² = 0.03), suggesting that positive association between meaningful work and civic virtue was substantially stronger for individuals higher on OBSE. The simple slope test (Figure 5) presented no relation between meaningful work and civic virtue behaviour for sampled blue-collar employees who were low on OBSE. Hence, all the proposed hypotheses (H₁ to H₄) in the present study were empirically supported.

Figure 4.

Source: Authors’ own.

Figure 5.

Source: Authors’ own.

Discussion and Implications

The results confirmed the strong moderation effect of both relational identification and OBSE on the meaningful work–prudence as well as meaningful work–civic virtue relationships, such that the relationships were insignificant at lower levels of the moderators. That meaningful work has a positive relationship with civic virtue and prudence is aligned with findings from past studies (Chambel & Alcover, 2011; Robinson & Morrison, 1995). However, what is interesting is that Indian blue-collar employees experiencing meaningful work demonstrate the civic virtue behaviour or prudence only when they also experience high levels of relational identification and OBSE. What could be the possible reasons for such findings? Blue-collar employees in the IAMS operate in a unionised environment where tasks are interdependent and decisions are often collective (Zhang et al., 2014). Hence, a workman might individually experience meaningful work, but peer relationships are crucial in deciding if the experience of meaningful work would translate to positive organisational outcomes. Similarly, employees with low OBSE might find work meaningful, but might not engage in organisational welfare, to reinforce the negative cognitive state of lower OBSE through their activities (Dipboye, 1977; Maslow, 1943). This has serious implications for organisations and management. Organisations could employ job redesigning techniques to enrich blue-collar jobs such that blue-collar employees derive more meaning from their jobs. However, that would not be enough. Organisations also need to focus on enabling mechanisms such as OBSE and relational identification of these employees in order to capitalise on their experience of meaningful work.

What are some steps that can be taken to enhance employee OBSE and relational identification along with ensuring provision of meaningful work to them? Robust top-down communication enables blue-collar employees to visualise how their work integrates with the broader organisational strategy. Not only does this increase the meaning of work for them, but it also enhances their OBSE by communicating the worth of their contribution in the organisational context. Similarly, top-management involvement at the blue-collar-employees level that can be achieved through town halls and intermittent departmental (or small group) meetings could enhance OBSE by increasing the perceived managerial respect for them (Zhang et al., 2014). These meetings could be physical or virtual using technology such as Skype. Organisations must also look at building participative forums or workplace committees where blue-collar employees could voice their opinions, ideas and grievances, which could lead to enhanced OBSE through the employees perceiving more empowerment (Jena et al., 2019). Organizing skill development workshops or training could also lead blue-collar employees to think that they are being valued in the organization. Technology like machine learning or chatbots could come in handy here.

Further, organisations could look at setting rituals that provide opportunities for blue-collar employees to mingle and bond with each other. Events such as award ceremonies, family get-togethers, sports or other competitions, company outings, etc. for blue-collar employees could be efficient ways of enhancing relational identification. Small rituals like birthday celebrations, shop floor tea time when all blue-collar employees come together for, say, 10 minutes at a particular time of the day when tea is served, or a once-in-2-months potluck for a blue-collar-employee group could be a fun way of enhancing blue-collar employees’ bonding. Outbound training on themes like teamwork, interpersonal relationships, or emotional intelligence could lead blue-collar employees to understand and connect with colleagues better, which could result in higher levels of relational identification. Again, organisations could leverage the power of technology like WhatsApp or mobile apps to connect blue-collar employees. For instance, Airtel uses an app called ‘Airtel Hive’ to share all organisational news and keep employees connected with the organisation and each other. Similarly, Coca-Cola has launched a Vietnamese version of the Leena AI chatbot for its blue-collar employees in Vietnam. However, blue-collar employees should be adequately trained to make most use of these systems.

Specifically, in the context of the IAMS that is about to experience fast growth, blue-collar employees’ productivity and retention could be the game changers in a labour market like India, which is experiencing blue-collar-employee shortage (Agarwal, 2011). Hence, the sector must use the findings from this study to soon implement practices that enhance blue-collar employees’ OBSE and relational identification such that they deliver positive organisational results that would help the sector cater to rising demands. At the macro level, the recommended policies and practices, when implemented, would result in a happier bunch of blue-collar employees, which would lead to a happier society where blue-collar employees would be treated with as much respect and dignity as their white-collar counterparts, and their work would be perceived as more meaningful than ever before. This, surely, would be a leap towards the Gandhian philosophy of a democratic social order where the distinctions between social strata seem blurred.

Limitations and Scope for Future Research

In spite of relevant contributions to the area of meaningful work in the context of blue-collar employees, the study is constrained by its limitations. First, the study draws its sample exclusively from organisations in the IAMS. Future studies could replicate the model across samples from different industries and countries to study the differences in findings with the present study. Second, we used only supervisory ratings to measure civic virtue behaviour, which could be vulnerable to rater bias. Combining them with self and peer ratings could make the data on civic virtue behaviour more robust. Third, this study controlled for demographic variables like age, gender, and educational qualification. Other control variables like organisational tenure, total work experience, hierarchical level, or even personality variables could be embedded in the model to test differential effects. Finally, this study is cross-sectional and, hence, could be affected by the same-source bias for variables except for civic virtue behaviour (that was collected from supervisors). A longitudinal study with a pre-decided time gap between the collection of independent and dependent variables could add more empirical rigour to the study.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Lalatendu Kesari Jena

Subhra Pattnaik

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