Meaningful Job or Meaningful Life?: Asian American Workers' Attitudes and Strategies toward Achieving Meaningful Lives

• In Event: 50260 - Section on Asia and Asian America Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 2: Challenging the Model Minority Myth: Work, Health, and Inequality Among Asian Americans

Abstract

Drawing on 24 semi-structured interviews with Asian American workers—those with bachelor’s degree in non-elite positions—aged 26-38 in Dallas and Philadelphia, this study examines the narratives, strategies, and meaning-making practices of workers occupying an educational and occupational “middle stratum” often overlooked in the sociological literature on attitudes toward work. Participants, working in non-elite professions within healthcare, technology, business, and other fields, articulated three distinct orientations: (1) Striving for Advancement (N=7), framing work as central to self-identity and pursuing upward mobility through career-driven strategies; (2) Seeking Meaning Outside of Work (N=8), deliberately decoupling identity from occupation roles to prioritize hobbies/side hustles and “quiet quitting” tactics that safeguard work-life balance; and (3) Dissatisfied with Work (N=9), negotiating satisfaction with current employment and other opportunities, with most seeking entirely new careers (N=7) rather than incremental job changes (N=2). By centering workers’ narratives, our findings suggest that while some Asian American workers do seek meaning through work, many more find satisfaction in their non-work endeavors, interests, and passions, often employing various strategies and reconceptualizing how they sought meaning and satisfaction from work. These findings contribute to the understanding of how younger non-elite professionals pursue meaningful and fulfilling lives both in and outside of work.

Authors

• Chaewon Lee, University of Pennsylvania

• Austin (June) Souphanthalop, University of North Texas

• Phoebe Ho, University at Buffalo

• Hyunjoon Park, University of Pennsylvania