A Kantian Theory of Meaningful Work

I have always believed that one of the moral obligations of the firm is to provide meaningful work for employees.2 However, just what con stitutes meaningful work has been a contentious matter. Is "meaningful work" to be defined as nothing more than what the employees say it is? Or should the term "meaningful work" be given an objective normative definition which would permit managers to say the provide it even if the employees do not agree. A standard problem with the latter approach is that it is subjective and individualistic. I cannot see how a manager could provide meaningful work in that sense since it would be practically impossible to do so. More over, I do not see how management could have a moral obligation to provide meaningful work in the subjective sense in part because one cannot be obligated to do what cannot be done and because I cannot imagine how such a duty could be justified even if it were practically possible. Why should management have a duty to provide each employee meaningful work as he or she defines it? On the other hand, a standard problem with the objective approach is that it has been difficult to find a justification for any objective normative definition that can be given. In this paper I call upon the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant to provide such a definition. In