New research published in Journal of Health Psychology suggest that searching for meaning in life without feeling a pre-existing sense of purpose is associated with a higher risk of occupational burnout. The findings show that feeling meaningful tends to protect against fatigue at work, but constantly seeking purpose has a negative impact on mental health. These insights provide a more nuanced understanding of how internal psychological needs interact with workplace stress over time.
Although occupational burnout is often discussed in terms of workload, stress, and organizational pressures, personal meanings can also play an important role. Burnout is a type of occupational stress syndrome that develops from chronic pressure at work. It is usually defined by three main characteristics that tend to evolve together.
The first aspect of burnout is mental exhaustion, feeling completely drained, exhausted, and unable to meet the demands of work. The second trait is cynicism, which refers to feelings of indifference or negativity toward one’s work. This is often accompanied by a general feeling of inadequacy, feeling like you’re not achieving your goals.
In the field of psychology, the concept of meaning in life is often divided into two distinct parts that function independently. The first element is the presence of meaning, which refers to the degree to which a person currently feels that their life has purpose, meaning, and direction. The second element is an active search for meaning. This refers to how actively a person seeks to find or develop a sense of purpose.
Previous psychological theories often assumed that these two processes complement each other. According to this idea, when people lose their sense of meaning, they naturally search for it more intensely. Theoretically, a person may have a high sense of meaning but still be looking for more. Or it could be that the presence of meaning is low and you are actively trying to fill the gap.
However, early findings from the CV19 Heroes project suggest that this dynamic is not so simple. During the first year of the pandemic, researchers found that frontline workers were experiencing a decreased sense of meaning. Surprisingly, this loss was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in their search for meaning.
“We became interested in investigating this problem when we realized that the meaning of life does not follow a simple pattern of compensation,” said Rachel Sumner, co-leader of the project at the University of Bristol. “We expected that when people lost their sense of meaning, they would respond by seeking it more intensely. Instead, our previous findings suggested that a decline in meaning does not automatically accompany an increase in search. This led us to investigate whether these two aspects of meaning function independently and have different relationships with burnout.”
To explore this topic, researchers analyzed data from the CV19 Heroes Project, an ongoing longitudinal study tracking frontline workers in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The initial sample included 1,239 participants surveyed from March to April 2020. Follow-up surveys were conducted annually in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
By following the same individuals over multiple years, researchers were able to examine differences between different people and psychological changes within the same person. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the longest longitudinal study of the dynamics of meaning in life ever conducted. The findings of this study indicate that the sense of meaning is not always stable and can fluctuate during periods of prolonged pressure.
Participants primarily consisted of people working in the health and social care fields. The first baseline group was primarily female, representing approximately 87 percent of the sample. The group was also predominantly white, making up about 95 percent of participants, and the majority reported having caregiving responsibilities outside of work.
To measure meaning in life, the researchers used a 10-question psychological survey that asked participants to rate their agreement with statements about their purpose in life. Five questions assessed perceived meaning, including whether the person understood the meaning of his or her life. Five other questions assess active search for meaning, such as whether the person is always looking for something that gives them a sense of meaning in their life.
To assess burnout, scientists used a nine-item survey that measured overall workplace tension. This particular survey asks participants to rate the intensity of their recent experiences of fatigue, cynicism, and inadequacy over the past month. Participants completed these assessments at each of four time points over a three-year period.
This data suggests that feeling meaningful in life is associated with lower levels of overall burnout. This protective pattern applies both to individual changes over time and to comparisons between different participants. When a person reported higher levels of preexisting meaning, they were more likely to report fatigue, cynicism, and inadequacy.
The search for meaning showed the opposite pattern. Higher levels of purpose-seeking were consistently associated with increased overall burnout. This association was also found for both within-individual changes and between-individual comparisons.
When researchers looked at overall burnout and cynicism, they found a notable interaction between the two aspects of meaning. Specifically, the negative association between meaning seeking and workplace tension was further exacerbated for individuals who reported low presence of meaning. People who are actively searching for purpose while simultaneously feeling that their lives have no meaning tend to experience the highest levels of cynicism and overall burnout.
“What stands out is that the combination of low meaning and high search seems to be particularly problematic for cynicism and overall burnout,” said Wynand van Tilburg, a researcher at the University of Essex who led the analysis. “The findings suggest that it is not enough to know whether someone is searching for meaning; it seems important to understand whether that search occurs with a sense of meaning or in its absence.”
The relationships were slightly different for the dimensions of emotional exhaustion and feelings of inadequacy. Regardless of whether the presence of meaning in life was high or low, seeking meaning was associated with higher levels of fatigue and inadequacy. The constant pursuit of purpose can be inherently draining and lead to feelings of helplessness, even for people who already feel that their lives are relatively important.
These findings challenge the assumption that searching for meaning is always beneficial. Although some psychological theories depict the search for meaning as a positive, growth-promoting process, their results are more closely aligned with the idea that the search reflects unmet psychological needs. In professional environments characterized by ongoing pressure, the search for meaning can indicate that people are struggling to maintain a sense of purpose rather than successfully building it.
During the pandemic, frontline workers often linked a decreased sense of purpose to changes in levels of public and political support. These changes can have a profound impact on occupational well-being. Identifying exactly how a sense of purpose is supported in the workplace can help employers design better structural safety nets for their employees.
“Meaning appears to be an important psychological resource for frontline workers,” said Elaine Kinsella, co-leader of the project at the University of Limerick. “Understanding how meaning is formed and maintained may help us develop better ways to support people working in demanding occupations, especially during periods of prolonged social stress.”
One potential misconception of this research is the assumption that the search for meaning directly causes burnout. Although the data shows a correlation between the two variables, it is quite possible that people are already experiencing the early signs of burnout and begin to look for meaning as a coping mechanism. Additional research is needed to establish the exact sequence of these psychological changes.
The researchers also said they still don’t know exactly what causes changes in meaning over time. A person’s sense of purpose can be influenced by a complex mix of personal circumstances, workplace experiences, and broader social circumstances. Public and political discourse appears to have influenced workers during the pandemic, but the precise mechanisms involved remain unidentified.
This study also has some limitations regarding the sample of participants. Over three years, the number of participants decreased significantly, with only 286 people completing the final survey in 2023. The most exhausted people may have left the project, which could mean the final data actually underestimates the true severity of workplace tensions.
The demographic composition of the participants also limits the applicability of the findings. The sample was overwhelmingly white women, so the results may not accurately reflect the experiences of a more diverse population. People working in various occupational fields other than health care and social services may also exhibit different psychological patterns.
This research is part of a wider program emerging from the CV19 Heroes project. Future work will include analyzing written accounts of the experiences of frontline workers during the pandemic and examining the long trajectory of COVID-19. The research team also plans to develop a new theoretical framework aimed at improving how psychologists understand burnout and its long-term development.
The study, “The dynamics of meaning in life and its association with intra- and interpersonal burnout,” was authored by Rachel C. Sumner, Elaine L. Kinsella, and Wynand AP van Tilburg.
