The mediating role of the meaning of work in the effect of workload on work alienation

Nowadays, academicianship is one of the professions that is highly preferred by individuals due to its economic and social opportunities and the benefits it provides to society. However, despite all these advantages, there are also disadvantages. One of them is the workload caused by the increase in course load, number of students and administrative duties, as well as scientific studies. The role of the meaning of work in overcoming work alienation caused by the increase in workload is an important issue worth investigating. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating role of the meaning of work in the relationship between workload and work alienation. Another aim is to reveal whether the variables workload, work alienation and the meaning of work show significant differences in terms of various demographic characteristics. The research was carried out on academics working at state universities in Turkey. Data were obtained from a total of 406 academicians as part of the research by completing an online survey using the convenience sample approach. The collected data was analyzed with the SPSS 20 program, to test the research model and hypotheses. First, reliability analysis was performed, and then t-test and Anova analysis were used to determine whether there was a significant difference between the variables examined in the analysis and demographic characteristics. Correlation and regression analyzes, which are parametric tests to determine the effects and relationships between variables, were performed. The result of the rsearch shows that the meaning of work plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between workload and work alienation.