Vital engagement has been described as a focused, meaningful, and active relationship with work across one’s lifetime (Nakamura,
2001
,
2014
). Theoretically, vital engagement goes beyond short-term ...interest and engagement in one’s work, representing instead an ongoing, homeostatic sense of engagement that sustainably occurs across years and decades. However, it is unclear how vital engagement manifests in the modern workplace. In the footsteps of Nakamura (
2014
), we present the VIVA model, which conceptualizes sustainable work engagement as comprised of four mutually reinforcing elements: virtue, involvement, vitality, and acceptance. We first describe the rationale and conceptual underpinnings of the model. Then, we provide a preliminary empirical test of the model using archival data collected from a panel of school staff (
N
= 327) assessed five times over a three year period. Based on available data, the VIVA domains were operationalized as strengths use, work-related flow experiences, subjective vitality, and a sense of meaning in life. Using structural equation modelling, results provided preliminary support for the hypothesized model, which was relatively stable over time despite changes and challenges occurring in the school. The construct was strongly correlated with but distinct from other wellbeing measures. Although additional testing with measures that specifically align with the four theoretical dimensions is needed, the results support the relevance of the VIVA model in defining specific domains that can be supported in the workplace to help employees sustainably thrive.
Nobody seems to doubt that working toward a calling is much more rewarding than just working for financial rewards or promotions. Nevertheless, although it is acknowledged that people can experience ...callings in any activity, up to now, there are few studies on this construct in the context of commercial companies. In this paper we focus on studying calling orientation in employees of a multinational company. We test three hypotheses: 1) the different ways of relating to work (as a job, a career or a calling) is also reported among corporate employees; 2) there are differences in the levels of flow at work in accordance with the different ways that employees relate to their work; and 3) there are differences in the levels of perception that employees have of the social relevance of their work in accordance with the way in which they relate to their work. In order to verify these hypotheses we applied three instruments to a sample of employees of the Latin America brand (279 Argentinean and 193 Ecuadorian employees) of a multinational corporation: The University of Pennsylvania Work Life Questionnaire, the Work Related Flow Inventory and a scale of Social Work Relevance Perception. The results suggest that callings are identifiable among corporate enterprise employees and that employees with a calling orientation have higher levels of flow at work and a greater perception of the social relevance of their work than those employees who just relate to their work as jobs or careers.
