Called to Care?

Cindy L. Cain is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She contributed to From Crisis to Catastrophe: Care, COVID-19, and Pathways to Change (Rutgers University Press, 2023) and Caring on the Clock (Rutgers University Press 2015). In addition to her scholarly work, Cain has experience as a care worker for children, adults at the end of life, and people with developmental disabilities.

• Introduction 1PART I What Is Meaningful Work?1 Seeking and Creating Connections in a Broken System2 Meaningful Progress, Situationally Defined3 Workplace Obstacles to Meaningful Work4 Cultural and Policy Obstacles to Meaningful WorkPART II Possibilities for Meaning5 Unexpectedly Meaningful Work6 Centering Connections7 Expanding the Pursuit of ProgressConclusion: The Search ContinuesMethodological Appendix: My Journey with Meaningful WorkAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

"The central tension in Called to Care? is that many of the things that healthcare workers find meaningful on the job are often at odds with what is mandated and rewarded at the organizational level. Cain's research is timely, engaging, and sociologically rich." - Clare L. Stacey, author of The Caring Self: The Work Experiences of Home Care Aides"Called to Care? is empirically and analytically unique in its investigation of burnout and its relationship to meaningful work in health care. In being attentive to care workers in a variety of occupational locations, Cain adds both breadth and depth to our understanding of burnout." - LaTonya J. Trotter, author of More than Medicine: Nurse Practitioners and the Problems They Solve for Patients, Health Care Organizations and the State