The Good Working Life

This exciting new book covers Zacher’s pioneering research that applies grand theories about the good life to the everyday activity of work. Whether you are a young worker trying to choose a line of work, or a senior manager seeking to design a workplace that will engage employees better, this book is an essential read. – Roy F. Baumeister, Professor, Harvard University, USA This book adapts the ancient philosophical notion of the “good life” to the context of modern work and organizations. It outlines a vision of the good working life as the simultaneous experience of high levels of job satisfaction, work meaningfulness, and work psychological richness. In the chapters, these three dimensions of the good working life are related to various individual differences, such as demographic and personality characteristics, as well as different work characteristics, including job demands and job resources. The three dimensions of the good working life are also analysed across different industries, and differentially related to important work outcomes, such as job engagement, performance, and occupational health, as well as key life outcomes, including life satisfaction, health, societal contributions, and wisdom. Promoting a positive psychological perspective on work, this book offers a compelling read for academics, students, and practitioners interested in improving worker wellbeing and reducing stress in organizations. Hannes Zacher is Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology at Leipzig University in Germany. In his research program, he investigates aging at work and career development, occupational health and well-being, proactive and adaptive employee behavior, and organizational environmental sustainability. Across these research agendas, he employs multiple methodologies, including experimental, longitudinal, experience sampling, and meta-analytic studies. He is currently Editor of the journal Psychology and Aging published by the American Psychological Association.