Meaningful Work and Work-Family Interaction: A Scoping Review

Tadas Vadvilavičius; Aurelija Stelmokienė

doi:10.18290/rpsych2025.0015

Published : 2026-05-18

Vol. 28 No. 3 (2025)

Meaningful Work and Work-Family Interaction: A Scoping Review

Tadas Vadvilavičius

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1920-1959

Aurelija Stelmokienė

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9574-9310

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rpsych2025.0015

Abstract

The aim of this scoping review was to map the current situation of research on the relationship between work meaningfulness and work–family enrichment/work–family conflict. Four databases were used to identify relevant articles. Additional strategies were applied to search for relevant studies. In total, 24 articles were analyzed, of which 10 explored the relationship between work meaningfulness and work–family enrichment, and 14 explored the relationship between work meaningfulness and work–family conflict. Additionally, a meta-analysis was performed to summarize the relationship between work meaningfulness and work–family enrichment/work–family conflict. The meta-analytic results confirmed a moderate positive relationship between work meaningfulness and a positive work–family interaction and a weak negative relationship between work meaningfulness and negative work–family interaction. Theoretical explanations of the relationships are provided. The results are discussed, and ideas for future research are proposed.

Keywords:

work meaningfulness, work–family enrichment, work-family conflict, scoping review, meta–analysis

Details

References

Statistics

Authors

Download files

pdf
pdf (Supplement)

Altmetric indicators

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Aboobaker, N., Edward, M., & Zakkariya, K. A. (2020). Workplace spirituality, work-family conflict and intention to stay: An intrinsic motivational perspective among teachers. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 12(4), 787–801. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-07-2018-0160

Allan, B. A., Batz-Barbarich, C., Sterling, H. M., & Tay, L. (2019). Outcomes of meaningful work: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Management Studies, 56(3), 500–528. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12406

Allan, B. A., Duffy, R. D., & Collisson, B. (2018). Helping others increases meaningful work: Evidence from three experiments. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65(2), 155–165. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000228

Bailey, C., Yeoman, R., Madden, A., Thompson, M., & Kerridge, G. (2019). A review of the empirical literature on meaningful work: Progress and research agenda. Human Resource Development Review, 18(1), 83–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484318804653

Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands‐resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115

Bartzik, M., Bentrup, A., Hill, S., Bley, M., von Hirschhausen, E., Krause, G., Ahaus, P., Dahl-Dichmann, A., & Peifer, C. (2021). Care for joy: Evaluation of a humor intervention and its effects on stress, flow experience, work enjoyment, and meaningfulness of work. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, Article 667821. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.667821

Biolik, E. (2025). Different shades of narcissism at work: The relationships of narcissism dimensions with work-related outcomes. Personality and Individual Differences, 233, Article 112943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2024.112943

Bragger, J. D., Reeves, S., Toich, M. J., Kutcher, E., Lawlor, A., Knudsen, Q. E., & Simonet, D. (2021). Meaningfulness as a predictor of work–family balance, enrichment, and conflict. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 16, 1043–1071. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-019-09796-z

Burghardt, J., & Möller, K. (2023). The use of management controls to enhance the perception of meaningful work – a systematic literature review and conceptional model development. Journal of Accounting Literature, 45(2), 209–255. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAL-07-2022-0073

Carlson, D. S., & Kacmar, K. M. (2000). Work–family conflict in the organization: Do life role values make a difference? Journal of Management, 26(5), 1031–1054. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-2063(00)00067-2

Casper, W. J., Vaziri, H., Wayne, J. H., DeHauw, S., & Greenhaus, J. (2018). The jingle-jangle of work–nonwork balance: A comprehensive and meta-analytic review of its meaning and measurement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(2), 182–214. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000259

Chakravorty, A., Kumar, V., Singh, P., & Baburaj, S. (2025). Does work meaningfulness hold the key? Exploring the power of meaningful work in attenuating burnout. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, 74(9–10), 3374–3391. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-08-2023-0274

Chaolertseree, S., & Taephant, N. (2020). Outcomes of meaningful work with a focus on Asia: A systematic review. The Journal of Behavioral Science, 15(3), 101–116.

Daniel, S., & Sonnentag, S. (2014). Work to non-work enrichment: The mediating roles of positive affect and positive work reflection. Work & Stress, 28(1), 49–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2013.872706

Dewi, R., Parung, J., & Artiawati, A. (2021). Family work conflict in the pandemic period for Indo¬nesian medical representatives: The meaningful role of work and psychological capital. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute: Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(4), 9914–9926.

Fisher, R. A. (1921). On the “probable error” of a coefficient of correlation deduced from a small sample. Metron, 1, 1–32.

Fisher, Z., Tipton, E., & Zhipeng, H. (2023). Robumeta: Robust variance meta-regression. R package version 1.6. https://github.com/zackfisher/robumeta

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218

Gomez, C. J., Herman, A. C., & Parigi, P. (2022). Leading countries in global science increasingly receive more citations than other countries doing similar research. Nature Human Behaviour, 6(7), 919–929. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01351-5

Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources and conflict between work and family roles. The Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.2307/258214

Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2006). When work and family are allies: A theory of work-family enrichment. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 72–92. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2006.19379625

Guidetti, G., Grandi, A., Converso, D., Bosco, N., Fantinelli, S., Zito, M., & Colombo, L. (2021). Funeral and mortuary operators: The role of stigma, incivility, work meaningfulness and work–family relation to explain occupational burnout. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), 6691. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136691

Haddaway, N. R., Collins, A. M., Coughlin, D., & Kirk, S. (2015). The role of Google Scholar in evidence reviews and its applicability to grey literature searching. PLoS ONE, 10(9), Article e0138237. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138237

Hassan, Z., Tnay, J. S., Sukardi Yososudarmo, S. M., & Sabil, S. (2021). The relationship between workplace spirituality and work-to-family enrichment in selected public sector organizations in Malaysia. Journal of Religion and Health, 60(6), 4132–4150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00971-y

Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources. A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. The American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.44.3.513

Ilies, R., Liu, Y., Aw, S., Las Heras, M., & Rofcanin, Y. (2024). Why does using personal strengths at work increase employee engagement, who makes the most out of it, and how? Journal of Occu¬pational Health Psychology, 29(2), 113–129. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000374

Jenkins, J. S., Heneghan, C. J., Bailey, S. F., & Barber, L. K. (2016). The work–family interface as a mediator between job demands and employee behaviour. Stress and Health, 32(2), 128–137. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2586

Johnson, M. J., & Jiang, L. (2017). Reaping the benefits of meaningful work: The mediating versus moderating role of work engagement. Stress and Health, 33(3), 288–297. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2710

Kashyap, V., & Arora, R. (2022). Decent work and work–family enrichment: Role of meaning at work and work engagement. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 71(1), 316–336. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2020-0133

Kim, S., Gopalan, N., & Beutell, N. (2023). Sustainability through humility: The impact of humble leadership on work–family facilitation in the US and Japan. Sustainability, 15(19), Article 14367. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914367

Liu, B., Zhang, X., Cao, W., & Cao, H. (2025). Who experiences work as meaningful? A meta-anal¬ysis of individual differences and work meaningfulness. Personality and Individual Differences, 246, Article 113364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113364

Loi, R., Xu, A. J., Chow, C. W., & Kwok, J. M. (2018). Customer misbehavior and store managers’ work‐to‐family enrichment: The moderated mediation effect of work meaningfulness and organizational affective commitment. Human Resource Management, 57(5), 1039–1048. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21883

Lozovetska, V., Pavlov, Y., & Fedorenko, L. (2024). Meaningful work literature meta-review. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 6, Article 2024ss0740. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2024ss0740

Martela, F., & Riekki, T. J. (2018). Autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: A multicultural comparison of the four pathways to meaningful work. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 327587. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01157

Mostafa, A. M. S. (2022). The moderating role of self-sacrificing disposition and work meaningful¬ness on the relationship between work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion. Journal of Hap¬piness Studies, 23(4), 1579–1597. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00463-5

Mukaihata, T., Kato, Y., Swa, T., & Fujimoto, H. (2022). Work engagement of psychiatric nurses: A scoping review protocol. BMJ Open, 12(7), Article e062507. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062507

Munn, S. L. (2013). Unveiling the work–life system: The influence of work–life balance on meaningful work. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 15(4), 401–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422313498567

Nebenzahl-Elitzur, N., Kagan, M., & Zychlinski, E. (2024). Factors associated with Israeli social workers’ intention to stay in the profession. Social Work, 69(2), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swae003

O’Laughlin, K. D., Martin, M. J., & Ferrer, E. (2018). Cross-sectional analysis of longitudinal medi¬ation processes. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 53(3), 375–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2018.1454822

Otterbring, T., & Folwarczny, M. (2024). From WEIRD to worldwide: Auditing authors’ affiliation countries over time across three leading journals publishing food-related research. Food Quality and Preference, 117, Article 105175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2024.105175

Pratt, M. G., & Ashforth, B. E. (2003). Fostering meaningfulness in working and at work. In K. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline (pp. 308–327). Berrett- Koehler.

Quintana, D. S. (2015). From pre-registration to publication: A non-technical primer for conducting a meta-analysis to synthesize correlational data. Frontiers in Psychology, Article 1549. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01549

R Core Team (2025). R: A language and environment for statistical computing (Version 2025.05.0+496). R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/

Rosso, B. D., Dekas, K. H., & Wrzesniewski, A. (2010). On the meaning of work: A theoretical integration and review. Research in Organizational Behavior, 30, 91–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2010.09.001

Rothmann, S., Weiss, L. A., & Redelinghuys, J. J. (2019). Cultural, national, and individual diversity and their relationship to the experience of meaningful work. The Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work, 429–442.

Sarwat, N., Hussain, A., & Khan, T. I. (2021). Investigating the relationship between work-family enrichment and psychological well-being: The mediating role of meaningful work. International Review of Management and Business Research, 10(1), 227–234. https://doi.org/10.30543/10-1(2021)-19

Shen, Y., Zhang, Z., Song, H., Zheng, J., & Bu, Q. (2022). Being helpful and being innovative: The role of psychological meaningfulness and positive affect. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 1045845. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1045845

Silva, V. H., Duarte, A. P., & Oliveira, J. P. (2023). How does authentic leadership boost work engagement? Exploring the mediating role of work meaningfulness and work–family enrichment. Administrative Sciences, 13(10), Article 219. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13100219

Sintya, S., Febriyantoro, M. T., Zulkifli, Z., Saputra, F., & Suyoto, Y. T. (2022). Influence work meaning and conditions worker individual to intention for stay mediated by work-family-conflict in employees in service companies. International Journal Multidisciplinary Science, 1(3), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.56127/ijml.v1i3.388

Sonnentag, S., Tian, A. W., Cao, J., & Grushina, S. V. (2021). Positive work reflection during the evening and next‐day work engagement: Testing mediating mechanisms and cyclical processes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 94(4), 836–865. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12362

Spurk, D., Hirschi, A., Wang, M., Valero, D., & Kauffeld, S. (2020). Latent profile analysis: A review and “how to” guide of its application within vocational behavior research. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 120, Article 103445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103445

Steger, M. F., Dik, B. J., & Duffy, R. D. (2012). Measuring meaningful work: The Work as Meaning Inventory (WAMI). Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 322–337. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072711436160

Talukder, A. M. H. (2019). Supervisor support and organizational commitment: The role of work–family conflict, job satisfaction, and work–life balance. Journal of Employment Counseling, 56(3), 98–116. https://doi.org/10.1002/joec.12125

Tan, K. L., Lew, T. Y., & Sim, A. K. (2019). Is meaningful work the silver bullet? Perspectives of the social workers. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 13(4), 612–632. https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-09-2018-0267

Tan, K. L., Sim, A. K., Yap, S. S. N., Vithayaporn, S., & Rachmawati, A. W. (2023). A systematic review of meaningful work unifying 20 years of theoretical and substantive contributions (2000–2020). Journal of Advances in Management Research, 20(3), 462–512. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-11-2022-0225

Ten Brummelhuis, L. L., & Bakker, A. B. (2012). A resource perspective on the work–home interface: The work–home resources model. American Psychologist, 67(7), 545–556. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027974

Thompson, J. A., & Bunderson, J. S. (2001). Work-nonwork conflict and the phenomenology of time: Beyond the balance metaphor. Work and Occupations, 28(1), 17–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888401028001003

Tims, M., Derks, D., & Bakker, A. B. (2016). Job crafting and its relationships with person–job fit and meaningfulness: A three-wave study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 92, 44–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.11.007

Trillo, A., Bretones, F. D., Giuliano, R., & Manuti, A. (2024). Beyond occupational exhaustion: ex¬ploring the influence of positive meaningful work on teachers’ psychoemotional well-being in the digital age. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), Article 348. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02860-6

Tummers, L. G., & Bronkhorst, B. A. C. (2014). The impact of leader-member exchange (LMX) on work-family interference and work-family facilitation. Personnel Review, 43(4), 573–591. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2013-0080

Vadvilavičius, T., & Stelmokienė, A. (2024a). The relationship between work engagement and work-family enrichment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Topics, 33(2), 259–294. https://doi.org/10.31820/pt.33.2.2

Vadvilavičius, T., & Stelmokienė, A. (2024b). Work-family enrichment and core self-evaluation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Topics, 33(3), 635–659. https://doi.org/10.31820/pt.33.3.8

Vara-Horna, A. A., & Espinosa-Domínguez, A. G. (2023). COVID-19 disruption and meaningful work: The mediating role of family–work conflict. Administrative Sciences, 13(3), Article 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13030087

Viechtbauer, W. (2010). Conducting meta-analyses in R with the metafor package. Journal of Statistical Software, 36, 1–48. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v036.i03

Zhong, R., Xia, N., Hu, X., Wang, X., & Tiong, R. (2018). How to buffer the family costs of project citizenship behavior: Investigating the role of task self-efficacy and work meaningfulness. Project Management Journal, 49(5), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756972818788784