Structural Relationships between Counselors' Sense of Calling, Meaning of Work, Living a Calling, and Psychological Burnout

This study examined the influence of counselors' sense of calling on psychological burnout, mediated by meaning of work and living a calling, based on the work as a calling theory (WCT) and preceding studies. Furthermore, the sequential mediating effects of meaning of work and living a calling were investigated. Data were collected from 420 Korean counselors working in counseling centers located nationwide and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results revealed that a sense of calling negatively impacted psychological burnout. Second, the sense of calling did not affect psychological burnout through the mediation of meaning of work. Third, the sense of calling negatively impacted psychological burnout through the mediation of living a calling. Fourth, the sense of calling negatively affected psychological burnout through the sequential mediation of meaning of work and living a calling. Based on this study's findings, implications can be provided to enhance counselors' professional calling and reduce psychological burnout, thereby aiding them in resolving their psychological issues during counseling practice and providing higher-quality psychological services to clients. Suggestions for improvements and future research are also discussed.

Living a Calling During COVID-19: A Resource Gain Perspective

Massive disruptions to work and threats to employee well-being due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have highlighted the need to identify resources which enable employees to gain other valuable resources. Using a resource gain perspective, we examined the role of living a calling as a potentially robust resource, enabling employees to gain work readiness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and, in turn, resulting in a greater well-being in the form of lower job strain. Using a sample of clergy (N = 216) from various denominations, we provide initial evidence that living a calling may be associated with lower levels of job strain through increased COVID-19 work readiness. This study underscores the relevance of living a calling in a time of high potential or actual loss of resources.

The Mediating Effect of Self-Regulation on the Association Between Growth Mindset About Work and Living a Calling Among Primary and Secondary School Teachers

Purpose

Given that extensive studies have documented the wide-ranging benefits of living a calling, determining whether and how living a calling can be improved is of great importance. Although recent research implies that a growth mindset about work may link to self-regulatory processes and living a calling, little research to date has directly examined the relationships between these variables. Building on Burnette’s SOMA model, this study was designed to examine the premise that a growth mindset about work was a predictor of living a calling and to explore the mediating role of self-regulation in the growth mindset about work—living a calling link.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted among educational professionals in China. Data were collected from 608 primary and secondary school teachers on growth mindsets about work, self-regulation and living a calling. A structural equation model was used to test the hypothesis that self-regulation would mediate the relationship between a growth mindset about work and living a calling.

Results

Consistent with our premise, a growth mindset about work was positively associated with living a calling. Also, a growth mindset about work was significantly associated with self-regulation strategies in terms of goal setting, perseverance, decision making, and learning from mistakes. As hypothesized, a growth mindset about work was related to higher levels of living a calling via goal setting, perseverance, and learning from mistakes.

Conclusion

The findings contribute to the increasing breadth of the growth mindset literature across various contexts and its consequences for one’s living a calling, which expand the nomological web of correlates of growth mindset about work. Furthermore, these findings suggest that fostering a growth mindset about work may facilitate adaptive behaviors and, thereby, serve as a calling intervention.

Surviving an infectious disease outbreak: How does nurse calling influence performance during the COVID-19 fight?

AIM

To assess the performance of front-line nurses, who believed they were living out their calling, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

BACKGROUND

Although as a profession nursing generally requires high levels of performance, the disruption arising from an infectious disease outbreak increases the work stress and decreases the performance of front-line nurses. How this situation can be improved has yet to be thoroughly examined.

METHOD

We used a snowball sampling technique to recruit 339 nurses who were originally from outside Hubei but volunteered to join medical teams going to Hubei to tackle COVID-19.

RESULTS

Drawing on the theory of work as a calling, we found that living a calling had a positive effect on front-line nurses' performance through the clinical and relational care they provided. Perceived supervisor support strengthened these mediated relationships.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that despite the constraints associated with pandemics, front-line nurses who are living a calling are able to provide better clinical and relational care to infected patients, which in turn improves their performance.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

The findings of this study suggest that hospitals can introduce career educational interventions to enhance nurses' ability to discern and live out their calling to improve their performance.