While reading the Sunday Review section of the New York Times this weekend I was struck by how important both library books and access to scholarly articles are to not only the professional study of job satisfaction and design but also to the public debate over motivation and meaning at work.

In Barry Schwartz’s article Rethinking Work old and new books and scholarly articles frame the conversation.  Falvey Memorial Library collections and services provide direct access (via print or ebooks, open access ebooks, or EZBorrow) to the sources you need to fully engage in the discussion.  See the links to the books and articles referenced in Schwarz’s opinion piece.  Research librarians are available by chat, email and research consultations to guide you through finding the full text of vaguely referenced scholarly research articles such as these underscored in Rethinking Work.

Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Principles of Scientific Management by Taylor

The Human Equation by Pfeiffer

High Commitment, High Performance by Michael Beer

Why We Work by Barry Schwartz (On order)

Grant, A. M., Campbell, E. M., Chen, G., Cottone, K., Lapedis, D., & Lee, K. (2007). Impact and the art of motivation maintenance: The effects of contact with beneficiaries on persistence behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 103(1), pp. 53-67. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.05.004

Dutton, J.E., Debebe, G. & Wrzesniewski, A. (2012). Being valued and devalued at work: A social valuing perspective.  In Qualitative Organizational Research: Best Papers from the David Conference on Qualitative Research (forthcoming). http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/janedut/High%20Quality%20Connections/Being%20valued%20%20final.pdf