Meaningful Work and Satisfaction with Life: A Case Study from a Supported Employment Program—Colombia

Abstract

Work helps to satisfy instrumental and transcendental needs. For people affected by armed conflict, work has an additional value because it helps them overcome the social disadvantage they suffer; however, topics such as meaningful work—MW—have been poorly studied in this type of population. Based on the above, we propose to analyze the relationship between meaningful work and satisfaction with life in one of the largest private supported employment programs for people involved in the armed conflict in Colombia. To this end, a nonexperimental, quantitative case study was conducted with 62 employees of that employment program. To collect the data, a survey with two measurement scales was administered: Work as Meaning Inventory and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Sociodemographic variables were also obtained. The results demonstrate that meaningful work has a significant effect on satisfaction with life (R2 = 0.28, p < 0.00). We conclude that having meaningful work that provides a sense of belonging, interpersonal connection, and attachment generates greater satisfaction with life in the workers involved in the analyzed program. We also discuss the implications of this research for companies and public policy in Colombia.