The study aimed to explore the relationships between meaningful work, proactive motivation, and job crafting among Iranian EFL faculty members, with a focus on how age, rank, and tenure might moderate these relationships. To accomplish this, a sequential explanatory mixed-method grounded theory approach was employed. This involved a quantitative phase consisting of an online survey of 150 EFL faculty members, followed by a qualitative phase in which 19 faculty members were purposefully selected for semi-structured interviews. The quantitative analysis revealed direct and positive relationships between meaningful work and proactive motivation, between job crafting and meaningful work, and between job crafting and proactive motivation. Interestingly, age, rank, and tenure were found not to have a moderating effect on these relationships. In the qualitative phase, the data underwent meticulous analysis using a constant comparison for the coding process, which led to the identification of four key categories: individualistic characteristics, organizational factors, workplace environment, and student factors. It was notable that, despite variations in rank, tenure, or age, Iranian faculty members consistently demonstrated autonomous motivation for engaging in meaningful work, often emphasizing its positive impact on the lives of learners. Furthermore, they defined meaningful work as encompassing contributions to fostering communicative competence, enhancing collective efficacy, changing negative mindsets, and preparing students for their future professional endeavors. These findings carry important implications for academia and offer valuable insights for future research in this domain. By shedding light on the motivating factors and perceptions of meaningful work among Iranian EFL faculty members, the study contributes to our understanding of the intersection between motivation, meaningful work, and job crafting in educational contexts. Additionally, the study provides a rich foundation for exploring how these findings might be leveraged to enhance faculty satisfaction, student learning outcomes, and the overall quality of education in EFL settings.
