After the last eZine was published, Dougal from Values AT Work, commented:

"I'd love to see the self actualization cluster in this chart as I think that would give an interesting picture as to any relationship between immersing themselves in work and wanting work that is meaningful to them.

"Also my reading of the graph is that 2001 - 2004 organization dropped, began increasing 2004 and spiked 2007/8 (it would be interesting to consider what was happening that might have caused this) dropping significantly 2008 onwards to about the same 'high' as 1990.

"What did 'go through the roof' were security and self preservation from 2001 to 2004 then plummeted to their current levels, the lowest since the data starts in 1990. This dynamic is another reason I'd like to see the trend for the self actualization cluster."

So here's the graph of the remaining four clusters:

Figure 1 - Value Cluster Priority Changes—January 1990 to December 2008

As Figure 1 shows, from 2004 onward, the priority people placed on Self-Actualization values also went 'through the roof' compared to any time since the data started in 1990. This seems to reinforce Dougal's expectation that people are not just seeking to immerse themselves in any form work as a way of dealing with the new world-view, rather people are seeking meaningful work.

This makes sense as an effective strategy:

Because work is so universal, yet so varied, it makes a tremendous difference to one's overall contentment whether what one does for a living is enjoyable or not. Thomas Carlyle was not far wrong when he wrote, "Blessed is he who has found his work; let him ask no other blessedness." Sigmund Freud amplified somewhat on this simple advice. When asked for his recipe for happiness, he gave a very short but sensible answer: "Work and love." It is true that if one finds flow in work, and in relations with other people, one is well on the way toward improving quality of life as a whole. [Csikszentmihalyi, 1998, p. 144]

Unfortunately great civilizations have never really cared whether or not the masses have work which is enjoyable and fulfilling:

For much of history, the great majority of people who lived at the periphery of "civilized" societies had to give up any hope of enjoying life in order to make the dreams of the few who had found a way of exploiting them come true. The achievements that set civilized nations apart from the more primitive—such as the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, and the temples, palaces, and dams of antiquity—were usually built with the energy of slaves forced to realize their rulers' ambitions. Not surprisingly, work acquired a rather poor reputation.  [Csikszentmihalyi, p. 144]

The latest research from neuroeconomics indicates that, when people feel they are been treated unfairly, they would rather go without [Kendall, p. 312]. Going without in the difficult economic times we face today may not be an option for many. Some organizations may seek to exploit this fact—it would be misguided because the bottom line is: people are more motivated and more productive when they are able to engage in work which gives meaning to their life.

References

Csikszentmihalyi, M. 1998, Flow: The Psychology of Happiness, Random House.

Kendall, P. 2003, 'Economy of the Mind', in PLoS Biology, Vol. 1, Issue 3, pp. 312-315 http://biology.plosjournals.org