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Zest and Work: Notes on new article by Peterson et. al.

(April 27, 2009)

By Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D
Education Director, VIA Institute on Character

Study: Peterson, C., Park, N., Hall, N., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2009). Zest and Work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30, 161–172 (2009). Also see Wrzesniewski et al., 1997.

Overview of findings: The character strength of zest (habitual approach to life with enthusiasm, vigor, and energy) predicts one viewing one's work as a calling, work satisfaction, and general life satisfaction. Of the 24 character strengths in the VIA Classification, zest was the single biggest predictor of work as a calling.

Background: Work satisfaction is more than just the work that one does. To truly understand this, we must go deeper into what this means. Researchers Wrzesniewski et al. (1997) looked at several hundred employees across a number of occupations and deduced that individuals see their work in one of three ways:

1.) Work as a Job: Focus on financial rewards and necessity rather than pleasure or fulfillment; not a major positive part of life

2.) Work as a Career: Focus on advancement (e.g., promotion; or job is stepping stone)

3.) Work as a Calling: Focus on enjoyment of fulfilling, socially useful work

The most rewarding work and best health were found in those who viewed their work as a calling. This stance was evident across all job types.

This study: The researchers (Peterson et al., 2009) used a sample of 9800 internet responders to the Authentic Happiness website (b/n 2002-2003), who filled out three surveys – Orientation to Work as a Calling, Work Satisfaction and the VIA-IS. The resulting order of zest levels were as follows (highest to lowest): professionals, managerial workers, administrative workers, homemakers, blue-collar workers, clerical workers. Professionals and managers were most likely to view work as a calling, while clerical workers, followed by blue-collar workers, were the least.

Due to these positive findings, they suggest factors that affect zest and a  number of ways to improve workers' zest:
  • Physical health and fitness set the stage for zest
  • Optimism sustains zest
  • Prevention and reduction of depression can increase zest
  • Having good social relationships outside of work can increase zest
  • Having a supportive work supervisor can increase zest
  • They speculate that cultivating gratitude and savoring tailored to work may increase zest
The researchers also note that those high in zest are more likely to pursue flow and view their lives as meaningful.

What's next: The researchers note they are taking on longitudinal research to map out the processes by which work satisfaction develops.