Abstract
This chapter aims to develop a positive psychology sustainable career (PPSC) framework to foster career self-efficacy by providing an overview of how one's career may play out across their lifespan. The psychology and vocational behavior literature have tended to develop in parallel via various theories, including conservation of resources, job demand-resources, and sustainable careers. Moreover, life coaching and mindfulness have emerged within positive psychology. Yet, efforts to integrate these different theories and approaches remain in a fragmented and embryonic state. Theoretical implications come from integrating psychology and vocational behavior literature in response to uncertain and competitive labor markets. Practical implications come from highlighting the need for early intervention and continued support across the lifespan. The PPSC framework can act as part of a broader toolkit to support individuals in preparing for and navigating chance events and career shocks by giving meaning to their careers and living their best life.
TopIntroduction
The world of work can be challenging for individuals to navigate across their career spans. The COVID-19 pandemic, as a global chance event, increased stress levels in university students entering the labor market due to the rescinding of employment contracts, financial stress, and increased competition for jobs (Becker, 2022; Donald & Jackson, 2022). Employees in the workplace experienced adverse career shocks as organizations sought to take action to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic via furlough, redundancy, and restructuring (Akkermans et al., 2021). This exacerbated a pre-pandemic trend of employees working long hours and increasing their risk of developing physical and mental health conditions, including burnout (Talukder & Galang, 2021). Individuals also saw demands in their time grow outside the workplace as they cared for sick relatives and had to home-school their children. The temporary closure of the gym and sports facilities further reduced the opportunities to participate in leisure activities which have been shown to enhance psychological resources and increase career sustainability indicators of happiness, health, and productivity (Kelly et al., 2020; Nimmi & Donald, 2023).
This chapter aims to develop a Positive Psychology Sustainable Career (PPSC) framework to foster career self-efficacy via participation in mindfulness and life coaching activities. Self-efficacy refers to the belief about one’s own ability to successfully perform a given behavior (Bandura, 1977) and has subsequently been applied to career psychology to understand behavioral change (Betz & Hackett, 1986; Lent & Hackett, 1987). This builds on the idea that taking the time to set goals and reflect can increase one’s ability to adapt and pivot during their career (Son, 2018). Moreover, the psychology and vocational behavior literature have tended to develop in parallel despite having similar objectives such as well-being and career satisfaction. This chapter seeks to combine theories of positive psychology (Csikszentmihalyi & Seligman, 2000; Seligman, 2004), sustainable careers (van der Heijden & De Vos, 2015), and conservation of resources (Hobfoll, 1989) to realize the synergistic effects of theory integration to support career self-efficacy and sustainability. The theoretical contribution is timely as individuals seek to navigate uncertain and competitive labor market conditions whilst also seeking intrinsically rewarding work having had time to reflect on their life priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions. Practical implications come from acknowledging that decisions taken over time have a cumulative effect on career self-efficacy, highlighting the need for intervention at an early stage and continued support across the career span (De Vos et al., 2020). This approach can maximize the potential benefits of the PPSC framework for individuals, organizations and national economies. It also responds to calls for organizations to implement contextually relevant talent management strategies (King, 2017; Philip & Medina-Craven, 2022) and look at inclusive approaches to talent management for workers across their career spans (Gillberg & Wikström, 2021).
The chapter is structured as follows. The theories of positive psychology, sustainable careers, and conservation of resources are introduced to provide readers with an overview and identify how these theories integrate within our framework. Next, the PPSC framework is presented before mindfulness and life coaching are explored, drawing on relevant aspects of the underpinning theories from the psychology and vocational behavior literature. The chapter concludes with a future research agenda and implications for theory, practice, and policy.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Chance Event: The occurrence of a circumstance that had not previously been foreseen.
Career Self-Efficacy: The extent to which an individual believes they can accomplish tasks or demonstrate behaviors concerning career-related decision making.
Career Shock: An unexpected occurrence that impacts an individual’s career in either a positive or a negative way.
Positive Psychology: Framing one’s mindset to aspire for authentic happiness and well-being.
Mindfulness: The active choice by an individual to adopt a technique of focusing on the present moment without judgement.
Sustainable Career: A concept whereby an individual equips themselves to navigate a variety of workplace contexts across their career span with three indicators of happiness, health, and productivity.
Resource Gain or Loss Cycles: The observation that an individual tends to experience periods whereby personal resources either accumulate or are lost in clusters.
Life Coaching: The provision of help and guidance to facilitate an individual to identify and obtain personal goals.