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I the ROLE of LEARNING in OVERCOMING WORK THE ROLE OF LEARNING IN OVERCOMING WORK DISSATISFACTION by DEREK B. MACDONALD (Under the Direction of Robert J. Hill) ABSTRACT Underemployment in any of its many forms can cause ill effects for workers, not the least of which is dissatisfaction with work. The Great Recession that occurred during the end of the 2000 decade caused an increase in underemployment. Many workers were forced to find jobs that were below their credential level, were accompanied by insufficient hours or benefits, and paid below the expected level based upon education and experience. The problem is that we do not know how workers overcome work dissatisfaction that has resulted from perceived underemployment. The purpose of this study was to better understand the learning that takes place as underemployed people overcome dissatisfaction with work, informed by the following three research questions. 1. How do participants make sense of their perceived underemployment? 2. How do participants make sense of their work dissatisfaction? 3. What role does learning play for people attempting to overcome work dissatisfaction from perceived underemployment? Implementing a basic interpretive qualitative design, ten formerly dissatisfied workers spoke about their experiences with underemployment dissatisfaction, and overcoming the dissatisfaction. The major findings of this study were: 1. Workers want to feel safe, valued and free. 2. Workers respond to work dissatisfaction by quitting the dissatisfying work. 3. Workers did not demonstrate the learning skills to turn a dissatisfying work situation into a satisfying one. i One important implication of this study is that we now have a better idea of how to create and maintain a satisfying work environment. A second implication is that adult educators and employment counselors have the potential to help dissatisfied workers keep their jobs and turn their situations satisfying by helping those workers become better learners. INDEX WORDS: Adult Learning, Constructivism, Dissatisfaction, Qualitative Research, Underemployment, Work ii THE ROLE OF LEARNING IN OVERCOMING WORK DISSATISFACTION by DEREK B. MACDONALD B.Sc., Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1994 M.Ed., Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1996 M.I.T.E., Dalhousie University, 1998 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2012 i © 2012 Derek B. MacDonald All Rights Reserved ii THE ROLE OF LEARNING IN OVERCOMING WORK DISSATISFACTION by DEREK B. MACDONALD Approved: Major Professor: Robert J. Hill Committee: Elizabeth St. Pierre Karen Watkins Khalil Dirani Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2012 iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my children. May the wisdom that surrounds it help them to reach all of their goals. Throughout this process I have come to accept a number of truths about being a father. This program started for me before the birth of my first daughter and has endured the births of all my children. My beliefs about patience and tolerance have developed equally through the processes of parenting and writing this dissertation. I am reminded of things each member of my family has said as I have progressed: Each time an idea for another project would arise, Tamara would gently remind, “After the Ph.D.” Jane said, “Mom, don’t be so hard on Dad.” Emma said, “Ph.D. stands for Perpetual Headache for Dad.” Kate said, “You will never be a squirrel.” The wisdom and humor inherent in these messages has helped me complete this dissertation, and helps me every day to be the best father I can. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincerest thanks go to my wife, Tamara, for her unswerving and relentless support for me through this entire process. In her unique way she helped me understand that this process was not about me, but about our family, and that we all have worked very hard to see it to its end. Thank you to Jane, Emma and Kate. A sincere thank you to Bob and Bettie for the efforts and sacrifices they made in helping me to achieve the perseverance and skills that were necessary to complete this dissertation. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 Background of the Problem .....................................................................................................1 Underemployment: A Key Source of Work Dissatisfaction ...................................................3 Meaning and Work Dissatisfaction .........................................................................................9 The Uniqueness of Workers and Work Dissatisfaction ........................................................10 Statement of the Problem ......................................................................................................11 Purpose of the Study ..............................................................................................................12 Significance ...........................................................................................................................12 Definition of Terms ...............................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................................................16 Underemployment .................................................................................................................18 Learning, Meaning Making and Work ..................................................................................38 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................................75 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................76 Review of Research Purpose and Questions .........................................................................76 CHAPTER 4: PARTICIPANT PROFILES AND CRITERIA FOR SELECTION IN STUDY, PARTICIPANT DATA ON UNDEREMPLOYMENT ........................................................102 Introduction .........................................................................................................................102 Adam ...................................................................................................................................105 vi Cameron ..............................................................................................................................110 Cecelia .................................................................................................................................115 Danny ..................................................................................................................................120 Demi ....................................................................................................................................124 Heidi ....................................................................................................................................129 Hugh ....................................................................................................................................137 Tammy .................................................................................................................................145 Venus ...................................................................................................................................150 Victor ...................................................................................................................................155 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................160 Chapter 5: FINDINGS .................................................................................................................162 Theme 1: Workers Want to Feel Safe, Valued and Free .....................................................163 Theme 2: Workers Respond to Dissatisfaction by Quitting ................................................231 Theme 3: Workers did not Show the Learning Abilities to Turn a Dissatisfying Situation into a Satisfying One .....................................................................................................246 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................270 Chapter 6: CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................272 The Proposal ........................................................................................................................272 The Participants ...................................................................................................................274 Review of the Findings ........................................................................................................278 Implications of the study’s findings ....................................................................................281 Contributions .......................................................................................................................290
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