Do contemporary job demands challenge calling at work? Evidence from a follow-up study among Finnish teachers
Calling has been studied quite a long time and it has been shown to constitute a significant personal resource improving one’s well-being and happiness. However, there is little research whether and how contemporary working conditions affect calling at work. Particularly job demands that characterize today’s working life would need more attention in relation to calling. The present study examined whether topical job demands (i.e., work intensity, interruptions at work, unnecessary and unreasonable tasks) predict calling at work cross-sectionally and over time (lagged effects). Participants were Finnish teachers (N = 507), who responded to an online survey twice (in 2018 and 2019). Data sets were analyzed via cross-sectional and longitudinal regression models. The results showed that unnecessary and unreasonable tasks as well as interruptions at work predicted decreasing calling over time. In the cross-sectional model, also work intensity (e.g., increased pace of work) was related to lower calling, but this result did not replicate in the longitudinal model. A positive finding was that overall Finnish teachers reported calling at work: over 60 percent of them experienced moderate or very strong calling.