Finding meaning at work : entrepreneurship as a way of achieving higher meaningfulness

Abe, Blaž (author)

This study examines the role of entrepreneurship in fostering meaningful work. Using a qualitative approach, in‐depth interviews were conducted with entrepreneurs and employees to explore differences in their perception of work meaning. The findings suggest that entrepreneurs experience higher levels of meaningfulness at work due to greater autonomy, purpose‐driven engagement, and self‐actualization opportunities. Employees, on the other hand, often experience constraints that hinder the experience of meaningfulness. This study contributes to the understanding of work meaningfulness by highlighting the distinct factors that influence the entrepreneurial and employee work experience. Additionally, the discussion explores implications for organizational design, policy recommendations, and the broader impact of work meaningfulness on well‐being, productivity, and economic sustainability. The research findings provide a deeper insight into the impact of meaningful work on individual and organizational success.

• Language: English
• Keywords: meaningful work, meaningfulness entrepreneurship, employee well‐being, autonomy
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 101-113
• Numbering: Vol. 14, no. 1, article no. 6
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180007
• UDC: 159.9:331.101
• ISSN on article: 2232-5867
• DOI: 10.17708/DRMJ.2025.v14n01a06
• COBISS.SI-ID: 238321667

Copyright

Na spletni strani založnika navedeno, da članki izhajajo pod licenco CC BY-NC 4.0.

• Publication date in RUL: 27.02.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Dynamic relationships management journal
• Publisher: Slovenian academy of management
• ISSN: 2232-5867
• COBISS.SI-ID: 262077952

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

Ta študija raziskuje povezavo med delom in smiselnostjo, pri čemer se osredotoča na podjetništvo kot možno pot do globljega doživljanja smisla pri delu. Na podlagi spoznanj iz organizacijskega vedenja, pozitivne in eksistencialne psihologije preučuje, kako podjetniki in zaposleni dojemajo pomen svojega dela ter kateri dejavniki prispevajo k občutku smiselnosti. Kvalitativna raziskava, ki temelji na poglobljenih intervjujih s podjetniki in zaposlenimi, razkriva, da so ključni dejavniki smiselnega dela avtonomija, kreativnost in občutek namena. Podjetniki pogosto poročajo o večji smiselnosti svojega dela v primerjavi z zaposlenimi, saj imajo večjo svobodo pri oblikovanju svojega delovnega okolja. Študija poudarja vlogo samotranscendence pri doživljanju smiselnosti ter nakazuje, da podjetništvo lahko ponuja edinstveno priložnost za posameznike, ki iščejo izpolnitev onkraj finančnega uspeha. Ugotovitve prispevajo k širšemu razumevanju smiselnega dela in imajo pomembne posledice za oblikovanje delovnih mest ter organizacijsko vedenje.

• Keywords: podjetništvo, psihologija dela, motivacija, management