News & Updates

The meaningfulness of journalists’ work is a phenomenon that both the media industry and journalism research have long taken for granted. And for good reason: journalism plays a significant role in society and the functioning of democracy, giving meaning to journalists’ everyday work.

Research literature, however, shows that meaningful work is a more multifaceted phenomenon. For journalists, it cannot be reduced to fulfilling journalism’s societal mission alone. This is why, in the project Guardians of Power or Saviours of the World?, funded by the C. V. Åkerlund Media Foundation, we set out to investigate what meaningful work actually means in the Finnish media landscape, at a time when journalism’s position and professional ethos are undergoing change.

On the one hand, meaningful work involves a relatively enduring sense that one’s work has value, both personally and to others. On the other hand, it is a more fluctuating experience that varies in everyday working life and can sometimes give way to a sense of meaninglessness, for example when tasks feel pointless. The experience of meaningfulness is influenced by factors such as whether the work draws on one’s strengths, offers an appropriate level of challenge, and provides a sense of accomplishment and success.

Meaningfulness also depends on other people. A sense of belonging in the workplace and the feeling that one’s work is recognised and valued by colleagues and the wider work community are essential to experiencing work as meaningful. In short, meaningfulness stems from the ways in which work connects people to others. In journalism, these connections are formed both with audiences and society through the service journalism provides, and within the work community itself.

Our research was motivated in particular by two perspectives on meaningful work that have not previously received much attention in journalism research or in the industry.

Meaningful work is generally understood as a basic human need and a positive force that supports well-being, with many beneficial effects on both individual employees’ well-being at work and organisational performance. In recent years, however, this view has been complemented by the recognition that meaningful work also has a darker side.

When work is deeply meaningful, people may be driven to extremes, such as working excessive overtime or accepting poor working conditions. In such cases, meaningfulness no longer promotes well-being; instead, it becomes one of the greatest threats to employees’ ability to cope at work.

In media organisations, familiar phenomena include journalist burnout, the tendency to work regardless of the time of day or year, and excessive commitment to one’s work and organisation. Yet these are not widely understood as potential downsides of meaningful work, even though recognising this connection could provide important keys to addressing some of the industry's most pressing workplace well-being challenges. This is why the central task of managing workplace well-being in the media sector is to set boundaries around work and its meaningfulness.

Challenging the assumption that work is inherently meaningful is particularly important because anything taken for granted tends to receive little attention in organisational management. Alongside setting boundaries around work and its meaningfulness, newsroom leaders should ensure that the foundations of meaningful work—the human needs for autonomy, belonging and recognition for good work—are met fairly and equally for everyone.

Finnish media organisations cannot simply assume that everything is well as long as journalists are able to fulfil journalism’s societal mission. Journalists must be cared for as individuals whose strong need to experience their work as meaningful is both their greatest strength and a threat to their well-being.

Pinja Päivänen, Doctoral Researcher in Journalism, University of Jyväskylä

Minna Koivula, Postdoctoral Researcher in Journalism, University of Jyväskylä

Mikko Villi, Professor of Journalism, University of Jyväskylä