For Work / Against Work
Debates on the centrality of work

Kuhn, Timothy; Golden, Annis G; Jorgenson, Jane; Buzzanell, Patrice M; Berkelaar, Brenda L; Kisselburgh, Lorraine G; Kleinman, Sharon; Cruz, Disraelly Cultural Discourses and Discursive Resources for Meaning/ful Work: Constructing and Disrupting Identities in Contemporary Capitalism 2008 Article Meaningful Work Meaningful Work, Meaning Of Work, Well-Being, Psychology, Happiness, Culture, Discourse, Identity, Capitalism
Citation Kuhn, Timothy; Golden, Annis G; Jorgenson, Jane; Buzzanell, Patrice M; Berkelaar, Brenda L; Kisselburgh, Lorraine G; Kleinman, Sharon; Cruz, Disraelly 2008 Article Management Communication Quarterly Meaningful Work Meaning Of Work Well-Being Psychology Happiness Culture Discourse Identity Capitalism Meaningful Work

"Cultural Discourses and Discursive Resources for Meaning/ful Work: Constructing and Disrupting Identities in Contemporary Capitalism"

by Kuhn, Timothy; Golden, Annis G; Jorgenson, Jane; Buzzanell, Patrice M; Berkelaar, Brenda L; Kisselburgh, Lorraine G; Kleinman, Sharon; Cruz, Disraelly (2008)

Abstract

In their landmark The New Spirit of Capitalism, Boltanski and Chiapello (2005) show how, over time, capitalism has generated differing ideologies, or “spirits,” to justify the system's existence. To defend capitalism against criticisms of its harms for individuals, its present version frames work as a key source of personal meaningfulness and identity creation. Tracing the contours of this capitalist spirit, Boltanski and Chiapello show that finding meaning in work increasingly requires that people blur distinctions between private and …

Keywords

Meaningful Work, Meaning Of Work, Well-Being, Psychology, Happiness, Culture, Discourse, Identity, Capitalism

Themes

Meaningful Work

Links to Reference

Citation

Share


How to contribute.
Australian Research Council Ethics and Agency Research Centre
Privacy policy • Contact • Latest updates • Subscribe • RSS

Content Copyright 2026 Jean-Philippe Deranty and Macquarie University. This website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike Licence (except for journal/book abstracts and quotations which are the property of their respective authors).


Cite this page as though it were a secondary source, thus the inline citation should be (Kuhn, T.; Golden, A. G.; Jorgenson, J.; Buzzanell, P. M.; Berkelaar, B. L.; Kisselburgh, L. G.; Kleinman, S.; Cruz, D. 2008 p. 162-171 cited in Deranty et. al. 2026). In the references, use: