work and meaning an existential perspective on work viktor frankl’s logotherapy michael a. pitts,...

Work and Meaning

An Existential Perspective on WorkViktor Frankl’s Logotherapy

Michael A. Pitts, Ph.D.Northwest Nazarene University

Professor of CounselingLogotherapy Diplomate

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Viktor E. Frankl, MD, PhD

1905-1997 2

The Roots of Logotherapy as an Existential Philosophy

(Existential Analysis) Like Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), and Alfred

Adler (1870-1937), Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) grew up in an urban Viennese environment.

Freud lived not far from Frankl’s home. Adler practiced across the street from the home

of Frankl’s parents. His life was influenced by the same events as

Freud and Adler Political Dictatorship

Economic Stagnation

Nazi Occupation

Annexation of Austria into Germany

Anti-Jewish Legislation World War II

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The Three Schools of Viennese Psychotherapy:

1. Sigmund Freud2. Alfred Adler3. Viktor Frankl

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“Work Makes You Free”

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Viktor E. Frankl, MD, PhD

1946 he published his first book: Say ‘Yes’ to Life In Spite of Everything From Death Camp to Existentialism Now published as Man’s Search for

Meaning More than 12 million copies worldwide One of the ten most influential books in

the United States (U.S. Library of Congress)

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Logotherapy Logos: an important term in philosophy,

psychology, and religion Translated as word, plan, wisdom, and

meaning

Frankl translates logos as meaning Meaning is defined as truth, beauty,

goodness, love, rightness, and God

Logotherapy translates as “therapy through meaning Health through meaning Growth through meaning

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Logotherapy Logotherapy is an existential philosophy as well

as an internationally acknowledged and empirically based meaning-centered approach to psychotherapy.

Our Purpose: To think about how this theory and philosophy applies to work and career concerns.

My Hope: That you will consider some of the basic principles of this approach as seen through the lens of your own theoretical orientation.

Logotherapy is not meant to be a stand-alone theory.

(V.E. Frankl)8

The Three Pillars of Logotherapy

Logotherapy rests on three basic pillars, or three fundamental assumptions. These are:

1. Freedom of Will The concept that human beings have the

capacity of free choice

2. Will to Meaning Finding meaning is the primary motivation

for living

3. Meaning of Life Meaning is contained within the concrete

experiences of life

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Meaning Centered Orientationof Logotherapy

Three ways of discovering meaning:1. By creating a work or

accomplishing a task2. By experiences in life (something

or someone)3. By the attitude that a person takes

toward unavoidable suffering

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Reflections on the Meaning Triangle

A Non-Invasive and Non-Threatening Way toGet to Know a Clients Strengths

What I give to life through my creativityWhat I receive from life through experience

The stance I take toward life through my attitude

Attitude

Experiences

Creativity

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What creative gifts have I offered to others through my talents, my work, deeds done, and goals achieved, that held meaning for me?

Attitude

Experiences

Creativity

Suzanne’s 90 year old Grandmoth

er

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What experiences have I received from encountering others in relationships of all kinds, from nature, culture or religion that were deeply meaningful?

Attitude

Experiences

Creativity

Meaningcan be

found in love and

relationships

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What attitudinal values have I realized by taking a stance toward situations or circumstances that was courageous or self-transcending?

Attitude

Experiences

Creativity

Finding meaning in unchangea

ble circumstan

ces

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Reflections on Work and Meaning

I had been working as an instructor at a university and volunteering with a community project. I thought both of these titles or jobs should bring me meaning and I struggled when they did not. If only I had understood Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy, I would have realized that I had the freedom to choose my attitude toward conditions and to give of myself instead of expecting work to give me something.

(Student) 15

Work and Meaning Logotherapy is an existential theory that

focuses on at least five circumstances in which we are likely to find meaning:1. Self-Discovery2. Choices3. Uniqueness4. Responsibility5. Self-Transcendence

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It is not a person’s occupationthat creates meaning or fulfillmentbut how he or she does the work.

Viktor E. Frankl

Work can provide opportunity to activate the circumstances in which we are likely to find

meaning

Self-DiscoveryChoices

UniquenessResponsibility

Self-Transcendence17

Work and MeaningThe Work:Potting plantsPulling weedsCarrying dirtClipping leaves

The Meaning:Being appreciated for creativityConversation with a variety of peopleCaring about people with medical concernsFreedom to choose arrangement of plantsOpportunity to do something she does well

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The Realities of Work

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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The largest piece of our “everyday pie” is devoted to work and work related activities.

Doesn’t this suggest that if we hope to experience life as meaningful we need to experience our work as meaningful?

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80% of people are dissatisfied with their jobs The average person spends 90,000 hours at work

over their lifetime – more than any other category of life

On average, Americans hold seven to eight different jobs before age 30

25% of employees say work is their main source of stress and 40% say their job is “very or extremely stressful”

More than 13 million working days are lost every year because of stress-related illnesses

Business Insider Statistics21


39% of people work more than a typical workweek (40 hours)

10,000 workers per year drop dead at their desks as a result of 60 to 70 hour work weeks in Japan. The phenomenon is known as “karoshi”

39% of employees feel rage at their coworkers 24% of employees work six or more extra hours per

week without pay. That figure doubles for management.

25% of people check into work hourly while on vacation, via email and phone. 59% said they check work during traditional holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Business Insider Statistics22

Reflections on Work and Meaning

Meaning is not inherent in the work itself, but in the perceptions and understanding of the worker.

(V.E. Frankl)

A Short Story of Three Brick Masons1. “I’m laying brick”2. “I’m making a wall”3. “I’m building a cathedral”

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Work and Meaning

I don’t repair dolls for a living. I work construction for a living. I repair dolls to live.

(Expressions of creative activity) Construction Worker

This family will have heat tonight.Journeyman Plumber

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Work and Lack of Meaning

50% of workers report that they experience no meaning or significance at work.

The Energy Project, 2013

If work is not meaningful then the largest part of every day (work day) lacks meaning.

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The result of a repressed will to find meaning is an inner emptiness which Frankl called an “existential vacuum.” (1955)


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When meaning is frustrated, repressed, or blocked we will settle for pleasure or power.


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Work and Lack of Meaning Symptoms of the Existential Vacuum (in

1955): Increased laziness Tendency toward aggression Drug addiction Over emphasis on play and leisure Increase of criminal acts Excess sexuality and seeking of pleasure Discontent Increasing doubts about the world, society, and

life

What about 2015?28

Work and Lack of Meaning Symptoms of the Existential Vacuum:

Increased lazinesso On average: 3 hours per 8 hour

workday are wasted

TrendHunter Workplace Productivity Infographic

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Tendency toward aggression o 47 million Americans experience

psychological or physical aggression while on the job.o 18 month study: Science, Industry and

Businesso 14,770 workplace homicide victims

between 1992 and 2012

Bureau of Labor Statistics30


Drug addiction o Over 4 million employed adults used

illicit drugs before reporting to work or during work hours at least once in the past year, with approximately the same number working while under the influence of an illicit drug.

Working Partners for an Alcohol and Drug Free Workplace

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Increase of criminal activity (aggression)o While working or on duty, American

employees experienced 36,500 rapes and sexual assaults from 1993 to 1999

National Sexual Violence Resource Center

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Excess sexuality and seeking of pleasureo 70 % of all online porn access occurs

during the nine-to-five workday.

CNBC

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Excess sexuality and seeking of pleasureo 25% of those exposed to sexual behavior in the

workplace found it fun and flattering while half were neutral. But even employees who enjoyed the behavior tended to withdraw from work, felt less valued and reported depressive symptoms more often than employees who experienced little to no sexual behavior at the office. The results were found among both women and men.

Journal of Applied Psychology34


Discontento Just 30% of employees are engaged and inspired at

work, according to the Gallup Organization, which surveyed more than 150,000 full- and part-time workers during 2012.

o 52% of those surveyed have a perpetual case of the Mondays — they're present, but not particularly excited about their job.

o The remaining 18% are actively disengaged or, as Gallup CEO Jim Clifton put it in the report, "roam the halls spreading discontent." Worse, Gallup reports, those actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. up to $550 billion annually in lost productivity.

Gallup's 2013 State of the American Workplace Report35

Work and Lack of MeaningQuestions to Ponder

Given these “symptoms” … Have we undervalued the importance of

meaningful work? How do we fully calculate the cost of a lack

of meaning in the workplace? What do these symptoms say to those

preparing to enter the workforce – and those of us who work with them on career choices?

How do we assist clients and ourselves in discovering ways to engage in meaningful work?

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Joblessness and MeaningThe existential importance of work is most clearly seen where work is entirely eliminated from a person’s life, as in unemployment. Psychological studies of the unemployed have arrived at the concept of unemployment neurosis. Remarkably enough, the most prominent symptom of this neurosis is not depression, but apathy. The unemployed become increasingly indifferent and their initiative more and more trickles away.

(The Doctor and the Soul)During the Depression Frankl gave the unemployed volunteer work in Vienna’s youth movement. This provided meaning, which helped them survive even though their financial status had not changed.

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Joblessness and MeaningThe jobless person experiences emptiness of time as inner emptiness. Just as idle organs in the body may become the hosts for rampant growths, so idleness in the psychological realm lead to morbid inner developments. Unemployment becomes a culture medium for the proliferation of neurosis. When the human spirit idles at full throttle, so to speak, a permanent Sunday neurosis may result.

(The Doctor and the Soul)

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Joblessness and Meaning “I can afford not to work” (Adult ADD Client)

“I can’t afford not to work” (Downsized Student)

“I don’t know who I am if I’m not working” (University President)

Life change often requires attitude change “I’ll volunteer and reach out to those who struggle

like me” “I’ll pursue my dream now that I’ve been

downsized” “I’ll be a late bloomer” “I’ll get my pilot’s license”

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Work and Meaning for Late Bloomers

Carol Gardner and Zelda Wisdom Cards At age 52 her divorce attorney gave her some advice: “Get

a therapist or get a dog.” She got a dog ... and a multi-million dollar business.

Harland Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken At age 65 he had nothing but a Social Security check and a

secret recipe for fried chicken. He did okay. Jan Hively and Retirement

Received her PhD at age 69 Helped found three organizations dedicated to

empowering older adults Personal Credo: Maximize productivity and assure

“meaningful” work, paid or unpaid, through the last breath.

“I am doing my most meaningful work at 83.”40

Work and MeaningMy Work:Writing on small pads of paperCarrying plates of foodCleaning peanut shells off the floorWeaving in and out of narrow and crowded spaces while carrying trays full of water glasses

My Perspective:Working with friendsMeeting new peopleHelping families enjoy a good mealContributing to my college tuition

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Work and MeaningI have had multiple occupations in my lifetime, in part because I have varied interests, and in part because I like new challenges. I can relate to trying to find that one occupation that will, in and of itself, be fulfilling and I have yet to find it. It makes sense to me that “how I do the work is more fulfilling than the work itself.” Yet, if I truly dislike the work it is hard to be engaged and to even want to do it. I have found that if I dislike the work it becomes just a means to an end, a necessary evil and I can’t wait to get to my leisure time so I can do something that is truly fulfilling. I am seeing that I have equated fulfillment only with doing something that I like. I am challenged to approach my work from a different perspective, recognizing that only I can do the work like I do it, particularly as it impacts my coworkers and customers. Viewing each day and each hour as an opportunity for new deeds and experiences even within the same context seems exciting.

(Student) 42

Work and Meaning

… it cannot be said that this or that particular occupation offers a person the opportunity for fulfillment. In this sense no one occupation is the sole road to salvation. The work in itself does not make the person indispensable and irreplaceable; it only gives him or her a chance to be so.


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Work and Meaning

One of the reasons I want to be a counselor is because I want to help people and interact with people. By doing those things I have found meaning in my work.

(Student)

What is it that makes your work meaningful?Self-Discovery?

Choices?Uniqueness?

Responsibility?Self-Transcendence?

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Work and MeaningThe job at which one works is not what counts, but rather the manner in which one does the work. It does not lie within the occupation, but always within us, whether those elements of our existence (particularly creative values, uniqueness of human experience, and self-transcendence) are expressed in the work and thus make life meaningful.


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Being a custodian at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas isn't the most important job in America -- but don't tell that to Charles Clark.

For 25 years he has been cleaning toilets and counseling (loving) students. Most of his “clients” are referred by the school counselors.

Charles Clark has helped dozens of kids turn their lives around -- not because it was his job, but because it needed to be done. There's a lesson in there for anyone who feels trapped by their title.

The Importance of Self-Understanding

An Old Quaker Saying“Let your life speak.”

“Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.”

Parker J. PalmerLet Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation

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It is of meaningful importance to you to know who you are. Not who you seem to be behind all the masks you have learned to put on so that you will be loved, accepted, and successful, but who you really are at your core. We must come to say, “Yes, that’s the way I am. That’s how I feel, think, and react.” Every time we catch a glimpse of true self, we also have a glimpse of meaning.

(Joseph Fabry, 1988)

The story of Zusya48

Whenever you interview people who are truly successful at their chosen profession … you discover that the secret to their success lies in their ability to discover their strengths and to organize their life so that these strengths can be applied.

Now Discover Your Strengths

D. Clifton and M. Buckingham

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Our uniqueness plays a significant role in meaning fulfillment.

Being self aware of our unique make-up of personal strengths is a key to meaning fulfillment for each individual.

How do we come to a more accurate and clearer understanding of individual strengths?

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StrengtsFinder 2.0

Web-based tool

Based on over 40 years of research with more than 3 million individuals

Translated into more than 20 languages

Used by businesses, schools, and community groups in more than 100 nations around the world.

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Identifies 34 main themes of talent

Top 5 are your Signature themes

One theme is not more valuable than another

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StrengthsExplorer For Ages 10 to 14

Strengths Quest: Discover and Develop Your Strengths in Academics, Career, and Beyond(High School and College)

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The Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0

Your individual Signature Themes are unique to you. There is a 1 in 33 million chance that you will ever meet someone with your same Top 5 in the order you have them.

There is a 1 in 275,000 chance that you will ever meet someone with your same Top 5, regardless of order.

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Five Clues to Talent

1. Yearning: To what kinds of activities are you naturally drawn?

2. Rapid Learning: What kinds of activities do you seem to pick up quickly?

3. Flow: In what activities did the “steps” just come to you automatically?

4. Glimpses of Excellence: During what activities have you had moments of subconscious excellence, when you thought, “How did I do that?”

5. Satisfaction: What activities give you a kick, either while doing them or immediately after finishing them, and you think, “When can I do that again?”

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The Clifton StrengthsFinder Signature Themes

Achiever Context Input

Activator Deliberative Intellection

Adaptability Developer Learner

Analytical Discipline Maximizer

Arranger Empathy Positivity

Belief Focus Relator

Command Futuristic Responsibility

Communication Harmony Restorative

Competition Ideation Self-Assurance

Connectedness Includer Significance

Consistency Individuation Strategic

Woo

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The Clifton StrengthsFinder Signature Themes


Activator Deliberative IntellectionAdaptability Developer Learner (3)Analytical Discipline MaximizerArranger Empathy (2) PositivityBelief Focus Relator (5)Command Futuristic ResponsibilityCommunication Harmony (4) RestorativeCompetition Ideation Self-AssuranceConnectedness (1) IncluderSignificanceConsistency Individuation Strategic

Woo

Yes, th

at is t

he way I

am!

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Individuals are at their best

when they do what theynaturally do best.

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Where do you have room for your greatest growth?

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

TimeOne

90

TimeTwo

150

TimeOne

350

Average Reader

Above Average Reader

TimeTwo

2,900

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The common denominator to success or effectiveness is not a particular

set of strengths.

It is Self-Awareness

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The Lens Through Which You See The World

Your signature themesare not just the way you do what you do.

Your signature themesare the lens through which you see the

world.

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Activator Deliberative IntellectionAdaptability Developer LearnerAnalytical Discipline MaximizerArranger Empathy PositivityBelief Focus RelatorCommand Futuristic ResponsibilityCommunication Harmony RestorativeCompetition Ideation Self-AssuranceConnectedness Includer SignificanceConsistency IndividuationStrategic

Woo

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Career and Work Related Concerns

Family Life

Recreation

Life Stressors

Your Marriage

Education

Unavoidable Suffering

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Spending Habits

Friendships

Different Paths to the Same Destination

Starting a New JobResponsibili

tyCommand Learner

“What needs to be done?”

“What projects am I leading?”

“What training is available?”

“What time should I be

there?”

“When do I actually get to meet with my

clients?”

“Are there materials I can read before my first day on the

job?”

“I hope I get it right?”

“Whom did you say I am in charge of?”

“Who knows a lot about this

role?”

“Is there an example of this

report I can follow?”

“What needs to be done first?”

“When does new employee

orientation take place?”

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Different Paths to the Same Destination

Grief and LossPursuing a Love/Romantic RelationshipFacing SurgeryBuying a LawnmowerTaking on new responsibility at work

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Logotherapy focuses on the future, that is to say, on the meanings to be fulfilled by the client in his/her future.

Viktor Frankl (MSM, pg. 104)

The StrengthsFinder tool focuses on the avenues through which the individual is most likely to be successful in the pursuit of meaning fulfillment.

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Let Your Life SpeakListening for the Voice of Vocation

Vocation

The place where your deep gladness

meets the world’s deep need.

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Let Your Life SpeakListening for the Voice of Vocation

What you do is of great importance!

Thank you for the deeply meaningful work you do.

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Thank you for your participation.

You have made thisa meaningful experience for

me.

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work and meaning an existential perspective on work viktor frankl’s logotherapy michael a. pitts,...

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