Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T00:21:28.348Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Sense of Identity Does Matter in Achieving Relevance and Meaning in Our Work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2015

Thomas A. Wright
Thomas A. Wright*
Affiliation:
Kansas State University
*
E-mail: [email protected], Address: Department of Management, College of Business, Kansas State University, Manhhattan, KS 66506.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

There was a phrase among the Boston immigrant Irish in the latter part of the 19th century that went something like this, “I shook the hand that shook the hand that shook the hand … of the Great John L ….” This saying was in reference to the strong sense of identity that the Boston Irish shared with one of the first of their very own to gain international recognition and fame: the heavyweight champion of the world (1882–1892), John L. Sullivan. Undoubtedly the first national sports hero and best-known American of his generation, John L. Sullivan represented the hopes and aspirations of the millions of Americans who identified with him (Isenberg, 1988). His widely heralded success story is credited for acting as a “tipping point” for many youth to forsake a life of crime.

Type
Commentaries
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , September 2010 , pp. 289 - 292
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2010 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brayfield, A. H., & Crockett, W. H. (1955). Employee attitudes and employee performance. Psychological Bulletin, 52, 396–424.Google Scholar
Hersey, R. B. (1932). Workers' emotions in shop and home: A study of industrial workers from the psychological and physiological standpoint. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Hoppock, R. (1937). Job satisfaction of psychologists. Journal of Applied Psychology, 21, 300–303.Google Scholar
Isenberg, M. T. (1988). John L. Sullivan and his America. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Lewin, K. (1948). Action research and minority problems. In Lewin, G. W. (Ed.), Resolving social conflicts: Selected papers on group dynamics (pp. 201–216). New York: Harper and Brothers.Google Scholar
Roethlisberger, F. J., & Dickson, W. J. (1939). Management and the worker. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Ryan, A.-M., & Ford, J. K. (2010). Organizational psychology and the tipping point of professional identity. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 3, 241–258.Google Scholar
Schein, E. H. (1987). The clinical perspective in fieldwork. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Wright, T. A. (2005). The role of “happiness” in organizational research: Past, present, and future directions. In Perrewe, P. L. and Ganster, D. C. (Eds.), Research in Occupational Stress and Well-Being (Vol. 4, pp. 221–264). Amsterdam: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Wright, T. A. (2003). Positive organizational behavior: An idea whose time has truly come. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 437–442.Google Scholar
Wright, T. A., & Cropanzano, R. (2007). The happy/ productive worker thesis revisited. In Martocchio, J. (Ed.), Research in personnel and human resource management (Vol. 26, pp. 269–313). Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Wright, T. A., & Sweeney, D. (1990). Correctional institution workers' coping strategies and their effect on diastolic blood pressure. Journal of Criminal Justice, 18, 161–169.Google Scholar
Wright, T. A., & Wright, V. P. (1999). Ethical responsibility and the organizational researcher: A committed-to-participant research perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 1107–1112.Google Scholar
Wright, T. A., & Wright, V. P. (2000). How our “values” influence the manner in which organizational research is framed and interpreted. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 603–607.Google Scholar
Wright, T. A., & Wright, V. P. (2002). Organizational researcher values, ethical responsibility, and the committed-to-participant research perspective. Journal of Management Inquiry, 11, 173–185.Google Scholar
Zammuto, R. F. (1984). A comparison of multiple constituency models of organizational effectiveness. Academy of Management Review, 9, 606–616.Google Scholar