Temporary Workers Who Pursue the Contemporary Well-Lived, Flourishing Life: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Aristotle’s notion of eudaimonia guided this investigation on a growing and essential group of professionals that seeks voluntary role transitions to meaningfully advance their careers and nonwork priorities. Using the Straussian grounded theory approach, this interview-based qualitative study: (1) discusses how participants’ work arrangement enabled them to organize their work and nonwork lives in ways that were subjectively meaningful to them; (2) highlights how participants gave meaning to their work in relation to their social ties; and (3) contributes to the communication literature on meanings of work and human flourishing in communication studies.

Keywords:

• Career identity
• eudaimonia
• human flourishing
• meaningful work
• temporary work

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ivan Gan

Ivan Gan (PhD, Texas A&M University) is an assistant professor in the Department of Arts & Communication at the University of Houston-Downtown. He studies the implications of work arrangements and socialization experiences in complex organizations. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2023 National Communication Association 109th Annual Convention in National Harbor, Maryland.