Contemporary Career Orientations and Career Self-Management: A Review and Integration

Hirschi, A. & Koen J. (2021). Contemporary Career Orientations and Career Self-Management: A Review and Integration. Journal of Vocational Behavior.

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Abstract

Successful career development requires increased career self-management and contemporary career orientations accordingly stress the importance of being self-directed, values-driven, and flexible. This paper provides an overview of key perspectives on contemporary career orientations in relation to career self-management (CSM), as well as a systematic review of these two streams of literatures. With a focus on highly influential classic and recent papers as well as on all papers published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior on these topics, we aim to integrate the literatures on career orientations and CSM and advance future research. To this purpose, we present an integrative framework of career self-regulation which views CSM as a dynamic process consisting of goal setting and development, information seeking, planning and execution of behaviors, and monitoring and feedback processing. This process is influenced by, and subsequently affects, individual career orientations. We finish the paper by providing several directions for future research in terms of examining more dynamic and self-regulatory processes, unpacking the role of context, integrating the larger proactivity literature, applying a work-nonwork perspective, and developing and testing interventions.

Keywords: career orientations; career self-management; self-regulation; protean career; boundaryless career; proactive career behavior

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Career self-management as a key factor for career wellbeing

Wilhelm, F., & Hirschi, A. (2019). Career self-management as a key factor for career wellbeing. In I.L. Potgieter, N. Ferreira & M. Coetzee (Eds.). Theory, Research and Dynamics of Career Wellbeing (pp. 117-137). Switzerland: Springer.

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Career self-management (CSM) is an important factor for achieving career wellbeing and is becoming increasingly crucial in career environments characterized by higher volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. In this chapter, we provide an overview of current research on CSM, and conceptually and empirically clarify its relation to career wellbeing. First, we define CSM and delineate its dimensionality. Second, we concisely summarize the empirical research on predictors and career wellbeing related outcomes of CSM. Third, based on our literature review, we suggest how CSM can be promoted through interventions, and how organizations can create synergies between organizational and individual career management. Finally, we suggest avenues for further research addressing identified research gaps: conceptual refinement, investigating facilitators of CSM at different action stages, broadening the scope of investigated career wellbeing outcomes of CSM, conducting theory-based intervention studies to systematically promote CSM, and examining contextual influences emerging in Industry 4.0 work-life spaces.

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Networking as predictor of work-nonwork enrichment: Mechanisms on the within- and between-person level

Baumeler, F., Johnston, C. S., Hirschi, A., & Spurk, D. (2018). Networking as predictor of work-nonwork enrichment: Mechanisms on the within- and between-person level. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 109, 166-177. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2018.10.015

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A positive work–nonwork interface is an important aspect of successful career development because it is associated with satisfaction, positive health, and positive work outcomes. However, the role of proactive behaviors at work for work–nonwork enrichment mechanisms has thus far not received much attention. Based on the conservation of resource theory (Hobfoll, 1989) and work–family enrichment theory (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006), we investigated the instrumental (i.e., coworker support) and affective (i.e., positive affect at work) enrichment mechanisms facilitated by networking. We conducted a diary study for within-person effects and a longitudinal panel study for between-person effects. Results supported the notion that networking is positively related to coworker support and positive affect at work on both the within- and between-person level. Furthermore, the mediating effect of coworker support for the relation between networking and work–nonwork enrichment on the within-person level was supported. On the between-person level, the mediating effect through positive affect at work was supported. Implications for research and practice concerning the resources gained by networking and the different work–nonwork enrichment mechanisms on the within- and between-person levels are discussed.

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Achieving work-family balance: An action regulation model

Hirschi, A., Shockley, K. M., & Zacher, H. (2019). Achieving work-family balance: An action regulation model. Academy of Management Review, 44(1), 150-171. doi:10.5465/amr.2016.0409

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Abstract

Work and family are highly intertwined for many individuals. Despite this, individual-level strategies for achieving effectiveness and satisfaction across work and family roles have not received sufficient attention. We address this issue by conceptualizing work-family balance from an action regulation perspective as the successful joint pursuit of work and family goals. Building on insights from the work-family literature, action regulation theory, and multiple goals research, we propose a theoretical model that explains how people can jointly attain work and family goals by using four action strategies (i.e., allocating resources, changing resources and barriers, sequencing goals, and revising goals). We address the conditions under which each strategy is used, depending on the malleability of resources and barriers for goal attainment, time to deadline of goals, as well as feedback and monitoring of progress across work and family goals. Our model offers new insights and research implications regarding work-family balance and helps develop practical interventions that result in improved management of the work-family interface.

Keywords: action regulation; multiple goals; work-family balance 

The Career Engagement Scale: Development and validation of a measure of proactive career behaviors

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Hirschi, A., Freund, P. A., & Herrmann, A. (2014). The Career Engagement Scale: Development and validation of a measure of proactive career behaviors. Journal of Career Assessment, 22(4), 575-594. doi:10.1177/1069072713514813