Living a Calling and Perceived Work Ability in Domestic Violence Services.

Calling involves experiencing a sense of purpose to engage in work that benefits others. We contribute to the literature by studying living a calling, which we conceptualize as a resource, to examine how and why it is related to perceived work ability (i.e., one's perception of their ability to continue working in their current job) among women working in domestic violence services. We propose that by living out one's calling, domestic violence services workers may perceive fewer of the salient interpersonal demands in their jobs (relationship conflict among colleagues, workplace incivility from clients served), which may partially explain a linkage to greater perceived work ability. We tested hypotheses using 2-wave survey data. The results suggest that there are direct and indirect positive relations between living a calling and perceived work ability. Workers living out their calling perceive less relationship conflict among colleagues, which partially explains the positive relation with perceived work ability. However, we did not find support for the similarly proposed mediating role of perceived client incivility. Theoretical implications for studying calling and practical implications for career counselors and organizations are discussed. For example, career counselors may consider the presence of a calling when exploring clients' career development in domestic violence work, whereas social service providers may benefit by selecting employees for whom the work aligns with their calling and creating opportunities for their calling to be lived out to facilitate perceived work ability. Public Significance Statement: This study advances the idea that living out one's calling is a beneficial resource, especially in stressful work environments like domestic violence prevention. Women working in domestic violence services who are able to live out their calling perceive less relationship conflict among coworkers, which enhances their perceived ability to do this important work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]