The meaning of work and performance-focused work attitudes among midlevel managers in the United States and Brazil

Abstract

This survey-based study investigated work meaning and performance-focused work attitudes of some 315 midlevel managers in diverse industries in the United States and Brazil to determine similarities, differences, and relationships among absolute and relative meaning of work, work role identification, desired work outcomes, and job satisfaction, career fulfillment, and organizational commitment. The study found strong levels of absolute work centrality in both countries and similar rank orderings for nonwork-related domains of life. Work role identification patterns differed, and so did the levels of intrinsic and extrinsic work values. A small number of demographic and work meaning dimensions predicted job satisfaction, career fulfillment, and organizational commitment, but this pattern was different for the samples from each country. The article concludes with a discussion of these patterns of similarities and differences for the research and application of performance theory and improvement in cross-cultural settings.