Who am I?
Opportunity, choice, socialization
and transition
Kate Mackenzie Davey, Birkbeck, University of London
k.mackenzie-davey@bbk.ac.uk
Identity and work
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How did I come to be in this job?
How was I socialised into this occupation?
How is my work viewed by others?
Where do I go from here?
Self concepts and occupations
• Vocation: Identification with a specific occupation
• Experience: knowledge or awareness of occupations, possibly
by chance
• Rational decision making: awareness of possession of
appropriate assets:
• Both developmental and differential
• Implement self concept
• Development and choice combined in career adaptability
(Savickas, 2005)
Rational occupational choice
• Person-environment fit
(Parsons, 1909)
– People are different
– Jobs are different
– By studying both we can get a good match between the two
• Two groups of attributes
– Rewards sought and satisfaction offered
– Individual ability and job demands
• Evidence suggests better fit leads to higher well
being (Tinsley, 2000)
• However, not all careers are equally rewarding or desirable
Influence of early socialization
• Socialised early within family
– self concept, identity
– expectations, feedback, support, modelling, information
• Opportunity structure limits occupational choice
– Structural and social class influences
(Roberts, 1977)
• Need to acknowledge both psychological, cultural and
structural forces
• Occupation choice embedded in social context and
individual identity: reinforcing
Joining work:
Initial preparation and
encounter
• Socialization (Willis, 1977)
• Contract negotiation (Herriot, 1987)
• Climate of mutual selling (Schein, 1978)
• Realistic previews (Wanous, 1977)
• Reality shock (Hughes, 1958)
• Change, contrast, surprise (Louis, 1981)
Initial work socialization is influential. How far does this
apply to job change?
Work Socialization tactics
Which of these apply to Medical training?
• Collective or individual
• Formal or informal
• Sequential or random
• Fixed or variable
• Serial or disjunctive
• Investiture or divestiture
Institutionalised or
individualised socialization?
Institutionalised leads to
• Passive acceptance of pre-set roles
• Reproduces the status quo
• Reduces uncertainty
• Reduced role ambiguity
• Reduced role conflict
• Lower intention to quit
• Increased fit to job and organization
• Increased job satisfaction, commitment, performance
• Custodial approach to role
• Reduced innovation
How to maintain security and increase innovation?
1986, Saks et al 2007)
(Jones,
Psychological contract
• “an employee’s subjective understanding of
promissory-based reciprocal exchanges between him
and herself and the organization” (Conway & Briner, 2005, p.35)
• Negotiations of development in exchange for
capability, loyalty and flexibility (Rousseau, 1995; Herriot &
Pemberton, 1996)
Types of contract
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Relational
Transactional
Hybrid or balanced: (Dabos & Rousseau, 2004)
Idiosyncratic (I-deals) (Greenberg, Roberge, Ho & Rousseau, 2004)
Issues of fulfillment, breach and violation
Tendency for employers to offer transaction and
expect relational (Ho, Ang & Straub, 2003)
Desirable aspects of work
environments
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Environmental clarity and feedback
Variety
Level of pay
Job security
Externally generated goals
Interpersonal contact
Opportunity for skill use
Opportunity for control
Valued social position
• How does being a doctor score here? Relative to what?
Career anchors
• Self perceived
– Talents and abilities
– Motives and needs
– Attitudes and values
• Developed through early
interactions in work
• Constrain career decisions
(Schein, 1978)
• Technical-functional
competence,
• Managerial competence
• Autonomy/independence
• Security/stability
• Entrepreneurial creativity
• Service/dedication
• Pure challenge
• Lifestyle
Continuity and change
Focus on stability and continuity
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Links to maintaining identity and stable self concept (Sugarman, 2001)
External continuity: familiar environment, activity, people. Pressure to
maintain career and construct cv accordingly
Internal continuity: maintenance of sense of identity: our awareness of
consistent structure of ‘ideas, temperament, affect, experiences,
preferences, dispositions, skills (Atchley,1989)
Career embeddedness (Cooper & Mackenzie Davey, 2011)
Change seen as
• Positive development or growth
• Response to changing context
• in line with capacity to cope (Atchley,1989) or as threatening
• Emplotment (Cochran, 1997) “a comforting story we tell ourselves”
Nicholson & West (1988)
Career wellbeing
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Career mobility but not job loss, poor adjustment
Relationships: feedback, support, recognition
Autonomy and power
Effective performance and challenge, not boredom
Sense of purpose
Developing or prospect of new skills
Work life issues (see Gibson & Borges 2009; Hoff et al 2002,on physicians)
Career success Subjective and objective (Ng, Eby et al, 2005)
How does your job score?
Why change?
Changes
• Ambition, need for achievement or challenge
• Individual growth and development (or avoiding
boredom, plateau)
• Social timetable: Convention of career ladder
• Organizational or occupational change
• Social trends
– Quality of life
– Managing dual careers/caring for family
– Migration
– Employability
Development and
attitudes
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“… satisfaction with development and career management reduces
turnover and promotes loyalty and commitment towards the employing
organization (Arnold & Mackenzie Davey, 1999; Sturges & Guest,
2001)” Zaleska & de Menezes 2007:1007
Organizational commitment: Job challenge, self motivation, internal
training, coaching not secondments and external training? but
changing over time
Dissatisfaction: Job insecurity lack of career prospects
Organizations not offering cross functional, inter-organizational
opportunities or employability
Job challenge
Changes in organizations, in
careers and in public policy
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Delayering –downsizing
Devolution- decentralizing
Outsourcing
Competencies
Diversity
Psychological contracts
Multiskilling and flexibility
Boundaryless- new boundaries
Unemployment, education, legislation…
Boundaryless careers
• “A range of possible forms that defies traditional employment
assumptions” (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996:3)
– Portable skills and marketability
– Job rotation, networking
– Self management, entrepreneurial
– Developmental not vertical
– Mobile, flexible
– Shift in commitment? (Sparrow, 1996; Hechsler)
– Involuntary
– New boundaries? (King et al)
Work role transitions
• Any move into and/or out of a job, any move between jobs, or
any major alteration in the content of work duties and activities
(Nicholson & West, 1988)
Transition stages
Hayes et al 1976
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Immobilisation
Minimization
Depression
Letting go
Testing
Searching
Internalization
This is based on studies of bereavement.
Is it appropriate for all work transitions?
Transition cycle
(Nicholson 1987)
Preparation
(I&V)
Expectation,
desire
Encounter II
Sense making
copying
Stabilisation IV
Commitment
effectiveness
Adjustment III
Personal change
Role innovation
relationships
Transition cycle
Nicholson 1987
• Preparation
– Self appraisal, make contact, Realistic preview
– Problem: unrealistic expectations, fear
• Encounter:
– Coping, sensemaking,
– Problems: shock, regret, rejection
• Adjustment:
– personal change, role innovation, developing relationships
– Problem: misfit
• Stabilization:
– Commitment, effectiveness
– Boredom, stagnation, plateau
Identity transitions
• Maintaining stability while negotiating change.
– From a to A
– from A to B
– From A to z
– From A to Ab
– Or even from A to a
• Risks of changes from
– Role ambiguity
– Role overload
– Role conflict
Your transitions
• Identify the key transitions you have experienced. To
what extent
– Did you change the tasks?
– Did you change the role?
– Did you change or develop?
• Identify transitions you are likely to encounter in your
future careers.
– What challenges do you anticipate?
– What support is available
• From the organization
• Elsewhere