41 CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP AND FINDING MEANING AND PURPOSE life. Significance is the evaluative or self-worth component of meaning. The final more spiritual dimension of meaning addressed in the study was self-transcendence.50 This empirical study presented a framework on the way a sense of meaning emerges from these moments.51 Meaningful moments are “specific events in life that are felt to be of great value and significance.”52 Normally an emphasis is placed on atypical, out of the ordinary moments, in which a positive or negative experience occurs that disrupts every-day life. However, leaders have the opportunity to deliberately create specific moments to be meaningful and to be part of the ordinary routines of everyday life.53 These could be encouraging notes, cards and gifts, recognition and reward events, or just a thank-you or hug. Paul Wong mentioned that these moments are typically (1) deeply felt, (2) deeply processed, (3) enlightening, and (4) transforming.54 This meaning framework emphasizes that meaning is “not just an outcome or experience, but a process in which the receptive component of discovery and the active component of creation belong together like breathing in and out.”55 So in addition to purposeful meaning-making experiences or moments, leaders can endeavor to engrain intentional meaning in their organizational culture and values. According to a recent study by Sagit Shilo-Levin, Amit Shrira, and Yaakov Hoffman, “Generativity in the workplace is advantageous both to the employer and employee.”56 The study found that if a leader can show care and concern for the employee and achieve a high sense of meaning in work, there is a positive relationship with organizational outcomes, such as high organizational commitment, high work satisfaction, higher trust in the management, and better team work. The employees in the study had higher wellbeing, high engagement and performance, less absenteeism from the workplace, and less burnout.57 Thus, from an employer’s point of view, a focus on generativity may increase individuals’ meaning in work, which in turn may be associated with optimal functioning at work and in life.
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