Purpose – With their specific characteristics, religious orders provide an interesting environment that can be used to deepen the understanding and dynamics of work motivation in the public sector. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The paper empirically...

We demonstrate why meaningful work, i.e. job-related activities that individuals view as purposeful and worthwhile, matters to labour economists. Building on self-determination theory, which specifies the roles of autonomy, competence, and relatedness as preconditions for motivation, we are the...