Dominant perspectives on meaningful work largely assume meaningfulness to be driven by conscious assessments of the features of one’s work, such as its alignment with one’s calling or its impact on other people. Yet, research on cognitive processing suggests that more “intuitive” nonconscious processes may play a key role in driving judgements of meaningfulness. Because research on meaningful work has yet to allow for this possibility, how nonconscious processes may shape workers’ experiences of meaningfulness remains obscured. To address this theoretical blind spot, I engaged in a qualitative, inductive study of linemen—the men and women who construct and repair power lines. Primarily drawing on interviews with 114 linemen, I find that their experiences of meaningful work are largely driven by intuitive “gut reactions” to the appearance of their completed utility poles. Indeed, they were often unable to articulate why completed utility poles that looked a certain way made their work seem more meaningful—a key indicator of nonconscious and intuitive processing. Moreover, I explain the social processes that allow for such nonconscious and emotional drivers of meaningful work. Namely, linemen develop “expert schemas” regarding the appearance of their work through their efforts to avoid intense criticism for “ugly” work. These expert schemas ultimately foster pride and nonconscious judgements of the work as meaningful. By explaining these processes, this research re-casts meaningfulness from an individual accomplishment to one that is dependent on social processes; and from a process requiring thoughtful reflection to one driven by intuitive judgements.
