Towards a Sociology of Meaningful Work: Objective and Subjective Dimensions of Autonomy, Dignity, and Recognition

Abstract

Over the last decade, meaningful work has become a major focus in organizational studies, sociology of work, and
human resource management, driven by growing interest from scholars, labour organizations, and international
institutions. Despite this attention, the field remains fragmented, particularly around the divide between subjective
interpretations of meaning based on individual purpose and objective explanations centred on job characteristics and
organizational structures. This paper addresses this dichotomy by advancing a sociological framework that integrates
both perspectives. Drawing on the work of Knut Laaser and Jan-Ch Karlsson, the study adopts a critical realist
approach grounded in the politics of working life, theories of agency, and social theories of dignity and recognition. It
conceptualizes meaningful work as an emergent outcome of the interaction between structural conditions and workers’
subjective practices. The analysis develops a three-dimensional framework based on autonomy, dignity, and recognition,
each examined through objective and subjective dimensions. This approach highlights how institutional arrangements,
managerial practices, and informal worker solidarities shape experiences of meaningfulness. The paper critically reviews
existing approaches, including the Job Characteristics Model, humanist perspectives, and democratic theories of work,
demonstrating their limitations in capturing the relationship between structure and agency. It further identifies five
scenarios of meaningful work—strong and balanced, weak and unstable, constrained, struggle-oriented, and absent
meaningfulness—to illustrate variations in workplace experiences. By integrating subjective and objective dimensions,
the framework bridges key theoretical divisions in the sociology of work and offers analytical tools applicable across
diverse occupational contexts, including precarious and low-skilled work. The study contributes to debates on
workplace democracy, dignity, and labour politics, and emphasizes that meaningful work emerges through contested
social practices within capitalist labour processes.