Science of Emotion and Sensibility (감성과학)

Korean Society for Emotion and Sensibility (한국감성과학회)
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Effects of Subjective Social Status on Meaning of Work

주관적 사회적 지위가 일의 의미에 미치는 영향

  • Received : 2018.03.07
  • Accepted : 2018.05.05
  • Published : 2018.06.30
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Abstract

The primary goal of this study is to investigate the effects of individual's subjective social status on meaning of work. We hypothesized that individual's subjective social status, defined as the respect and influence an individual has at her/his workplace, would promote meaning of work. Further, we hypothesized that individual's subjective social status would be more highly associated with meaning of work based on her/his occupation's subjective social status. Using two experimental studies, we found that individual's subjective social status increased meaning of work in American (Experiment 1) and South Korean working adults (Experiment 2). Participant's meaning of work was more influenced by individual subjective social status than occupation subjective social status (Experiment 1). Also, the results from Experiment 2 indicated that objective social status within an organization (i.e., rank) moderated the effects of individual subjective social status on meaning of work, such that the beneficial effects of individual subjective social status on meaning of work were found only for participants with low objective social status. In contrast, meaning of work in participants with high objective social status did not vary depending on subjective social status. We discussed the implications of these results, study limitations, and directions for future research.

본 연구의 목적은 주관적 사회적 지위가 일의 의미에 미치는 영향을 알아보는 것이다. 주관적 사회적 지위를 한 개인이나 조직이 갖는 존경과 영향력으로 정의하고, 조직 내 개인의 주관적 사회적 지위가 높을수록 일의 의미를 높게 지각할 것이라고 예상하였다. 또, 조직 내 개인의 주관적 사회적 지위는 개인이 속한 직종의 주관적 사회적 지위보다 일의 의미 향상에 더 큰 영향을 줄 것이라고 예측하였고 두 개의 실험을 통해서 이를 검증하고자 하였다. 실험 1에서 미국 직장인을 대상으로 조직 내 개인의 주관적 사회적 지위와 직종의 주관적 사회적 지위가 일의 의미에 미치는 영향을 파악하였다. 실험 2에서는 한국 직장인을 대상으로 해당 가설을 반복 검증하고, 조직 내 객관적 사회적 지위인 계급에 따라 조직 내 주관적 사회적 지위가 일의 의미에 미치는 영향이 다를 것이라는 가설을 확인하고자 하였다. 연구 결과, 한국과 미국 직장인 모두 조직 내 개인의 주관적 사회적 지위가 높을수록 일의 의미를 높게 인식했다. 또, 조직 내 개인의 주관적 사회적 지위는 직종의 주관적 사회적 지위보다 일의 의미에 더 큰 영향을 주는 것으로 나타났다(실험 1). 실험 2에서 객관적 사회적 지위인 계급에 따라 조직 내 개인의 주관적 사회적 지위가 일의 의미에 미치는 영향이 다른 것으로 나타났는데, 객관적 사회적 지위가 낮은 경우에는 개인이 조직 내에서 존경을 받고 영향력이 있다고 생각할수록 일의 의미가 향상되었지만, 객관적 사회적 지위가 높은 경우에는 조직 내 주관적 사회적 지위가 일의 의미에 미치는 영향이 유의하지 않은 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 연구 결과를 바탕으로 본 연구의 학문적 의의, 한계와 미래 연구 방향을 논의하였다.

Keywords

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