Career Calling and Work Engagement Dynamics
Summary
The concept of career calling captures the degree to which individuals perceive their work as a vocation imbued with personal and often prosocial meaning. Research has shown that this sense of calling develops through a dynamic interplay between personal values, social expectations and work experiences. Individuals with a strong calling tend to exhibit higher levels of work engagement—a state of vigour, dedication and absorption that fosters resilience to stress and susceptibility to positive workplace outcomes. Theoretical frameworks such as the job demands-resources model and event system theory have elucidated how calling can operate as both a resource and a demand, buffering against burnout and fatigue under moderate levels but potentially contributing to overload and reduced well-being when taken to extremes. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies reveal reciprocal relationships whereby living out a calling deepens engagement and commitment, which in turn reinforces the calling itself. This process unfolds across diverse occupational contexts and cultural settings, highlighting the importance of tailored interventions—such as career education, job crafting and psychological capital development—to harness calling and engagement for individual flourishing and organisational performance.
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Career Calling and Work Engagement Dynamics publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in career calling and work engagement dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Career Calling: A strong internal or external sense of vocation and purpose guiding career choices and commitment.
Work Engagement: A positive, fulfilling work-related state characterised by vigour, dedication and absorption.
Presenteeism: Attending work despite illness, often leading to reduced productivity.
Psychological Capital: A composite of positive psychological resources including self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience.
Role Overload: A condition in which work demands exceed an individual’s capacity to cope effectively.
Curvilinear Relationship: A non-linear association where the direction or strength of the relationship changes across levels of a variable.
References
- The role of professional calling and student cyberbullying on teachers’ presenteeism and productivity loss. Computers in Human Behavior Reports (2024).
- Teacher career calling reduces burnout: The mediation effects of work engagement and psychological capital. Frontiers in Psychology (2022).
- The Curvilinear Relationship Between Career Calling and Work Fatigue: A Moderated Mediating Model. Frontiers in Psychology (2020).
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