Meaningful work in historical perspective

Meaningful work is an area of growing interest for economists, sociologists, and psychologists focused on recent trends and possible future developments. This chapter looks backward to historical analysis of work, exploring how historians have discussed work meaningfulness, past changes in work meaning, and whether historical experiences offer precedents for current discussions. The chapter first surveys research on labor in economic history, which has followed traditional views in economics by seeing work as a disutility, and intrinsic motivations for work have been entirely neglected. The chapter then describes the self determination theory of human behavior developed in psychology and constructs a Historical Work Meaningfulness Framework. The chapter uses this framework to examine literature in labor and social history on work and meaning. Research into deskilling, conflicts over workers’ control, the development of working-class identity, and enslaved workers’ social relations illuminate levels and shifts in work meaningfulness. The main causal factors suggested by historians are changes in technology, management practices, and worker representation. The chapter concludes by discussing how qualitative and quantitative historical research can contribute to understanding long-run changes and determinants of work meaningfulness.