Labour and Meaning

The essence of good labour is deeply connected to the meaning of work as a special human activity. To put it the other way around; from the employee’s perspective, labour that has no meaning is rarely perceived as good labour. Meaning can be described as connectibility, as functions of connections. Thus, it is important to specify from which point of view the matter of meaning of work is looked at: are only different kinds of work considered (narrow context) or the interrelationship of work and life as well (broader context)?

History shows that interrelatedness of work and meaning varies through different times and environments. Sometimes they are completely disconnected. Still, it can be assumed that the question of the meaning of work is related to questions that do not exclusively consider work-related issues, but also to questions about what makes a human life meaningful and worth living. Attempts to connect work and meaning as well as a remarkable interest in questions about what a completely successful life is (art of life, happiness research) have risen recently. Thus, an analysis of the relationship between work and meaning from a philosophical, theological, and historical point of view is imperative.

• Publikations Müller
• Publikations Seibert