Discouraged Workers in the Labor Market

Abstract

In the last decades, research has intensively studied individuals’ career with the implicit assumption that individuals strive towards building a sustainable career and its associated benefits. Yet a disproportionate share of individuals seem to be discouraged in this striving. While discouragement has attracted substantial research attention, we see two gaps in the current literature. First, little is known about the very experience of being discouraged, which is surprising given that discouragement carries psychological loading. Second, and on a related note, most studies start to research discouragement without understanding its earlier antecedents. Comparatively few studies have probed into the process that ultimately leads to discouragement. Understanding this process is critical when the aim is to act upon first or later signs of discouragement. Accordingly, this symposium aims to increase understanding of the experience of discouragement and the underlying process. Our objectives are to probe the very notion of discouragement and the psychological process of becoming discouraged, including an account of why individuals stop investing in their career and how individuals cope with this process of discouragement. Labor Market Attachment Among the Inactive Presenter: Anneleen Forrier; KU Leuven Presenter: Nele De Cuyper; KU Leuven Mediation Effects of Age Discrimination on Career Outcomes via Occupational Future Time Perspective Presenter: Henriette Schönhage; Justus-Liebig-U. Giessen Presenter: Ulrike Fasbender; Justus-Liebig U. Giessen Presenter: Ute-Christine Klehe; Justus-Liebig U. Giessen Careers or Beanbags? What (Im)mobilizes the Career? Presenter: Roosmarij Clercx; U. of Antwerp/ Antwerp Management School Presenter: Ans De Vos; U. of Antwerp/ Antwerp Management School Presenter: Sofie Jacobs; U. of Antwerp/ Antwerp Management School Presenter: David Stuer; U. of Antwerp/ Antwerp Management School Presenter: Marijke Verbruggen; KU Leuven Coping and Conserving in Careers: Mechanisms that Perpetuate Inaction Among Regretful Individuals Presenter: Alexandra Budjanovcanin; King's College London Presenter: Chris Woodrow; Henley Business School, U. of Reading Exploring Skilled Migrants’ Experiences in Local Organizations: Identity Threat and ‘Status Work’ Presenter: Viktoriya Voloshyna; York U., Canada Presenter: Jelena Zikic; York U. Presenter: Soodabeh Mansoori; York U., Toronto