Abstract
Career shocks are the norm, not the exception. Yet, much of research and counseling on career-development holds unrealistic assumptions of a makeable career. Little is understood about the role of shocks on the career path and how the interplay of individual reactions to shocks shapes careers. The purpose of this study is to provide understanding of responses to different attributes of career shocks and career shocks as antecedents to career and job change. A qualitative approach was chosen and data were obtained from 25 semi-structured interviews with a sample of mid-career individuals who had experienced shocks in their work lives. The analysis was 2-fold and aimed at unearthing of individual responses to shocks and the question of the role of shocks on changes in the career path. Firstly, the analysis of career shocks revealed a pattern of distinct agentic responses in relation to shocks of different attributes. Secondly, from the analysis of shock attributes and corresponding responses over time career changer profiles emerged which differ in regard to career change behavior and magnitude of changes in the career (e.g., major career changes into another field). A process model which depicts how post-shock careers are shaped distinctively in relation to different shock attributes and corresponding responses is presented. This study underlines the importance of understanding the unplannable in career development and shows a variety of options for individuals to develop their careers despite shocks. Limitation stems from the investigation of a sample limited to mid-career individuals. The findings provide a new conceptual lens to theorize and conduct research on career shocks and career changes and facilitate the development of coping strategies for career shocks. The originality lies in the investigation of the momentum of career shocks on career paths with detail to different attributes of career shocks and how they impact the career path.
Highlights
In the following the findings are grouped career shocks of different attributes and the responses which they ignited; the second part is dedicated to career changer profiles which emerged from the analysis of postshock careers and how they were shaped by the interplay of career shocks and responses
In the following the findings are grouped by career-shock attribute according to the systematization by Akkermans et al (2018) with the first section dedicated to career shock responses; and the second part to career changer profiles which emerged from the interplay of career shocks and responses over time
It follows claims to provide a complementary view on career development (Akkermans et al, 2018), that bridges context, examined from the perspective of shocks, and agency, which was found in individual responses and career changer profiles
Summary
From Shock to Shift ideal of a “makeable career” highlighting the impact of shocks on career development instead (e.g., Hirschi and Valero, 2017). According to Akkermans et al (2018), the research on the interplay between agency and context is in decline since the rise of the new career paradigm. The integration of perspectives such as the systems-theory framework on careers (McMahon, 2019) and its contribution on the understanding of the role of context or chaos theory of careers (Bright and Pryor, 2011) serve as a missing link in research on career development. This study follows the call to investigate the interplay “between career shocks and agency-related factors thereby building a bridge between both perspectives” This study follows the call to investigate the interplay “between career shocks and agency-related factors thereby building a bridge between both perspectives” (Akkermans et al, 2018: p. 8)
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