The Work Orientation of State Ambassadors: Beyond the Call of Duty - When Work Is a 'Way of Life'

The thesis examines the \(work\) \(orientation\) of national diplomats. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 57 Israeli State Ambassadors about their careers, this study further refines and develops Wrzesniewski et al.'s (1997) tripartite \(work\) \(orientation\) model (\(job\), \(career\), \(calling\)). Three core categories emerged from the participants' accounts: \(calling\), \(career\) and \(way\) \(of\) \(life\). Those with a \(calling\) orientation assigned \(transcendence\) significance to their work, combined with \(coherence\) meaning: they perceived their work to be a service to their country, and felt that it was their moral duty to undertake the work, despite the sacrifices it entailed. They also emphasized the fit between their work requirements and their abilities. Those with a \(career\) orientation assigned \(status\) significance to their work: they derived meaning from their position in the organization, and valued the job security of their career-for-life. The ambassadors who displayed a \(way\) \(of\) \(life\) orientation assigned dominance significance to their work: they referred to the all-consuming nature of their work, and the blurred boundaries between work, family and social life. For them work dominated and dictated both their own and their family's lives.