Sustainable work is circular work

Current models of work tend to view work as one-directional and individual work resources as finite and have overlooked the potential of a cross-level integration of individuals and work units. This ‘linear’ mindset neglects the regenerative power of work and is unsustainable in the longer term, as it can lead to exhaustion and loss of resources for both individuals (e.g., burnout, withdrawal from the workforce) and organisations (e.g., replacement costs, reduced productivity). A focus on work as a linear process with inputs producing outputs is restrictive as it risks viewing work resources as finite and depletable through their use. This, we believe, creates a tension in how work and people at work are managed and a resulting continued depletion of human resources, which poses a challenge for scholars and practitioners.

In this paper we focus on the circular and regenerative nature of work vis-à-vis an implicit tendency to view work as linear. We propose an alternative way of thinking about work that places the regeneration of work resources – both individual resources and unit-level processes and operations – at centre stage. Building on ideas management and organisational psychology, circular economy and systems thinking, we propose circular work (CW) as a new point of departure for understanding how work resources (i.e., individual resources and unit-level processes and operations) can be depleted or regenerated through the work process itself, positing resource regeneration as essential for avoiding their depletion and building.

We then examine possible mechanisms through which work resources can be renewed and regenerated to prevent resource depletion and loss and support healthy and productive work. We outline four principles of CW: (i) work resources are interrelated, (ii) renewable, and (iii) can be depleted or generated in the work process, and (iv) regeneration is a precondition for circular work. Finally, we discuss implications for designing circular work, preventing resource depletion or loss, and creating healthy and productive work.