Zach Mercurio, Ph.D.

Since the 1940s, the National Opinion Research Center has surveyed the public to assess the perceived worthiness of occupations. The jobs consistently rated lowest are cleaners, packers, and food service workers, the very jobs we all rely on.

Researchers call these occupations stigmatized occupations, jobs disrespected by society-at-large because of their undesirable nature, the low skill level required, or low pay.

I’ve seen the effect of stigma up close. I spent the last two… Show more

Since the 1940s, the National Opinion Research Center has surveyed the public to assess the perceived worthiness of occupations. The jobs consistently rated lowest are cleaners, packers, and food service workers, the very jobs we all rely on.

Researchers call these occupations stigmatized occupations, jobs disrespected by society-at-large because of their undesirable nature, the low skill level required, or low pay.

I’ve seen the effect of stigma up close. I spent the last two years studying how a group of janitors experienced meaningfulness or meaninglessness in their work.

Studies, including mine, find degrading acts and words from the public and leaders contribute to feelings of hopelessness, a loss of dignity, and despair for an already at-risk workforce. Show less

Experiencing work as meaningful has been linked to positive personal and organizational outcomes, such as increased engagement, job satisfaction, motivation, positive work behaviors, performance, and an overall sense of well-being (e.g. Lysova, Allan, Dik, Duffy, & Steger, 2019; Rosso, Dekas, & Wrzesniewski, 2010). However, while research seeking to explain the numerous factors that contribute to and result from the experience of meaningful work has proliferated, empirical studies directly… Show more

Experiencing work as meaningful has been linked to positive personal and organizational outcomes, such as increased engagement, job satisfaction, motivation, positive work behaviors, performance, and an overall sense of well-being (e.g. Lysova, Allan, Dik, Duffy, & Steger, 2019; Rosso, Dekas, & Wrzesniewski, 2010). However, while research seeking to explain the numerous factors that contribute to and result from the experience of meaningful work has proliferated, empirical studies directly investigating the lived experience of meaningful work in diverse occupational contexts are limited. Moreover, the lived experience of meaningless work and its relationship to the experience of meaningful work is not well understood. For workers in stigmatized occupations – jobs relegated by society as physically, socially, or morally undesirable due to the nature of the work – theorists have proposed numerous unique barriers to the experience of meaningfulness, thereby putting these workers at an increased risk for negative outcomes, including disengagement, lower commitment, and low satisfaction (e.g. Ashforth & Kreiner, 1999; Blustein, 2011). At the same time, the direct inquiry into the lived experience of meaningful work in stigmatized occupations remains sparse. Hence, the purpose of this study was to better understand this experience. Show less

Research consistently finds that purpose may be the most powerful influencer of our behaviors, attitudes, and motivation in organizations, work, school, and life.

Yet despite the increasing evidence of purpose's power, many of the organizations, systems, and institutions which dominate human life aren't built to elicit and leverage the fundamental human search for purpose and meaning.

In "The Invisible Leader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with the Power of… Show more

Research consistently finds that purpose may be the most powerful influencer of our behaviors, attitudes, and motivation in organizations, work, school, and life.

Yet despite the increasing evidence of purpose's power, many of the organizations, systems, and institutions which dominate human life aren't built to elicit and leverage the fundamental human search for purpose and meaning.

In "The Invisible Leader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with the Power of Authentic Purpose," international purpose and meaningful work consultant and researcher Zach Mercurio shows business leaders, educators, students, athletes, and parents HOW to discover, clarify, and deliver their reason for existence―their authentic purpose.

For fans of "Start with Why," the "Invisible Leader" takes the next step and details both how purpose works and the research-backed practices to implement it in our lives and organizations.

"Zach Mercurio has written a compelling book filled with powerful stories, cutting-edge research, and practical tools that shows us how to lead with purpose..."

- ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, Founder and CEO at Thrive Global, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Thrive and The Sleep Revolution Show less

This article explores a perspective of Human Resource Development grounded in Pragmatist philosophy and emerging theories of Practice. Pragmatism focuses on the practical outcomes of what we think and do. Thus, a core focus of Pragmatism is on practice. Practice theories frame and explain activities that are continually performed, produced, and reproduced through a dynamic entanglement of action, politics, communities, discourse, materials, tools, and agents. Pragmatism and practice theories… Show more

This article explores a perspective of Human Resource Development grounded in Pragmatist philosophy and emerging theories of Practice. Pragmatism focuses on the practical outcomes of what we think and do. Thus, a core focus of Pragmatism is on practice. Practice theories frame and explain activities that are continually performed, produced, and reproduced through a dynamic entanglement of action, politics, communities, discourse, materials, tools, and agents. Pragmatism and practice theories are complementary perspectives focused on the consequences of our ideas and the results of our actions. Both perspectives provide us with valuable insights about our world. Pragmatism is a perspective that can bridge current divides between scientific paradigms, the theory–practice gap, and academic–practitioner interests. We review the general tenets of Pragmatism related to the research, theory, and practice of Human Resource Development. Key topics include pragmatic ideas of inquiry and objectivity; epistemology, truth, and fallibilism; and practice and experience. Show less

Leaders in modern organizations seem recently concerned with workforce turnover and strategies for hiring and selecting employees who have a low risk of early departure. The concept of screening employees for “fit” with the organization as a key strategy for reducing turnover is well documented. However, communication of the research findings to practitioners is limited. Additionally, the role of Human Resource Development (HRD) in developing people and preparing the organization to implement… Show more

Leaders in modern organizations seem recently concerned with workforce turnover and strategies for hiring and selecting employees who have a low risk of early departure. The concept of screening employees for “fit” with the organization as a key strategy for reducing turnover is well documented. However, communication of the research findings to practitioners is limited. Additionally, the role of Human Resource Development (HRD) in developing people and preparing the organization to implement P-O fit strategies remains relatively understudied. To contribute to the P-O fit literature and HRD, this article performs an integrative literature review on P-O fit with a specific focus on organizational selection processes. An integrated process model for using P-O fit in the organizational selection process is present Show less

The search for meaning is a human activity that has transcended centuries of human civilization. As applied disciplines that investigate the development of organizations and the humans who comprise them, organization development (OD) and human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners have engaged in a steady stream of research and theorizing related to what “meaning” or “meaningfulness” in work is, how it develops, and most prominently in the literature, how it is operationalized… Show more

The search for meaning is a human activity that has transcended centuries of human civilization. As applied disciplines that investigate the development of organizations and the humans who comprise them, organization development (OD) and human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners have engaged in a steady stream of research and theorizing related to what “meaning” or “meaningfulness” in work is, how it develops, and most prominently in the literature, how it is operationalized. This paper seeks to add to the understanding of the concept of the meaningfulness of work through engaging in a critical analysis of the historical and theoretical assumptions of the meaningfulness of work and how these assumptions developed over time. In addition, through the interpretation of the reviewed theory, this paper will discuss the implications for future research on the meaning of work. Show less

This article responds to the call for the identification of a core essence of organizational commitment. Since this call 14 years ago, scholars studying organizational commitment
have not come to an agreement as to the nature of organizational commitment, and how
it develops. The research’s fragmentation creates a problem in a time when practitioners
are looking toward organizational commitment interventions to attract, retain, and
develop talent and enhance employee performance… Show more

This article responds to the call for the identification of a core essence of organizational commitment. Since this call 14 years ago, scholars studying organizational commitment
have not come to an agreement as to the nature of organizational commitment, and how
it develops. The research’s fragmentation creates a problem in a time when practitioners
are looking toward organizational commitment interventions to attract, retain, and
develop talent and enhance employee performance. With organizational commitment
research remaining confounding and fragmented, further clarification of what commitment
is and how it develops is warranted and important to guide future research and evidencebased
practice. Through a review of the competing and overlapping organizational
commitment theoretical frameworks and the empirical research on the consequences
of affective organizational commitment, this article proposes a conceptual framework
in which affective commitment, or the emotional attachment to the organization, is an
important core essence of organizational commitment Show less