Does Meaningful Work Fuel the Altruistic Behavior of Employees in the Contemporary World of Work? Evidence from Private Sector Banks in Sri Lanka

In the modern era, infinite selfless behavior patterns of employees play a central role in founding a great place of work. But it is hard to expect altruistic behaviors from employees as the game of business is frolicked in a dynamic and competitive arena. Surprisingly, most employees were concerned only about themselves and over-utilized the COVID-19 catastrophe to rationalize their egotistic behaviors. However, scholars found that employees who demonstrate altruistic behaviors are more likely to be optimistic and cheerful than egocentric employees. Hence, employers need to discover appropriate strategies to nurture altruistic behaviors at the workplace. Nowadays, employees have an inner desire to accept tasks, duties, and responsibilities which add more meaning to their work lives. No matter what the situation is, meaningful work can maintain the employee’s momentum even during a crisis. Scholars have proved that meaningful work is a significant contributor to altruistic behavior in the workplace. Hence, this study investigated the impact of meaningful work on altruistic behavior with special reference to private sector banking employees in Sri Lanka. Researchers conducted this study in a quantitative perspective along with the positivism philosophy, deductive approach, and survey strategy. Through convenience sampling, data were collected from 149 private sector banking employees in Sri Lanka. Based on the regression analysis, researchers proved that meaningful work could create 34.1% of an effect on employee’s altruistic behavior. Hence, it is evidenced that when employees receive meaningful work, they are intrinsically inspired to exhibit altruistic behaviors at the workplace. Keywords: Altruistic Behavior, Meaningful Work, Private Sector Banking Employees, Sri Lanka