scholarly journals Against boundarylessness: The liminal career of the flexible employee

Organization ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 917-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Budtz-Jørgensen ◽  
Christian Garmann Johnsen ◽  
Bent Meier Sørensen
Keyword(s):  
Career Development ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Career Path ◽  
Work Roles ◽  
Organizational Boundaries ◽  
Social Domains ◽  
Boundaryless Career

This article extends the critique of the boundaryless career concept by focusing on how organizational members may experience boundaries as ambiguous within contemporary career development in organizations. As an alternative to the concept of the boundaryless career, we introduce that of the liminal career. We consider a liminal career as occurring when the normal career path within an organization becomes a state of ‘betwixt and between’, wherein distinctions between social domains and work roles become diffuse, indeterminate and difficult to comprehend. We engage with this concept in relation to three boundaries that remain central within career development: organizational boundaries establishing a distinction between that which is internal and external to the organization, hierarchical boundaries separating employees and managers, and functional boundaries demarcating different work domains. Using a case that illustrates how employees experience ambiguous organizational, hierarchical and functional boundaries, we argue that the concept of the liminal career captures the essence of situations in which there is a lack of clear categories, trajectories and schemes from which to structure career paths in organizations.

An Exploratory Study of the Current State of Career Development for Project Managers in the IT and Other Industries

2016 ◽  
pp. 1654-1673
Author(s):  
Yang Fan ◽  
Michael Thomas ◽  
Yishi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Career Development ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Job Training ◽  
Career Path ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
It Industry ◽  
Current State ◽  
Management Career

Critical to project success and job satisfaction of project managers is effective Human Resource Management (HRM). The temporary nature of projects has changed the traditional career paths for project managers and the way project-oriented companies prioritize their motivation tactics. By conducting a survey to explore a general pattern of employers' HRM practices in different industries regarding the project management career, this paper presents the fact that most employers prefer on-job training to organizational career path in motivating and retaining project manager and that there is no difference between IT industry and other industries in terms of the extent of use of on-job training and the organizational career path. These findings contribute to an in-depth understanding of the project management career path and suggest that project managers be proactive in adjusting to change in the workplace by being more autonomous in their career development decisions based on the larger work environment.

scholarly journals Colleagues as friends

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 2033-2042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur N Popper
Keyword(s):  
Career Paths ◽  
Career Path ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Stimulation Of

Abstract Collaboration is integral to most scientific research today, and it has certainly been important in my career and for my career path. However, not all collaborations are “equal”. Most, in fact, are short term or transient, with collaborators working on one project and then moving on to other projects and perhaps other collaborations. There are, however, a few collaborations, such as the three I describe here, that are long term and that not only resulted in a large number of collaborative projects but that also strongly influenced career paths. Indeed, these three collaborations resulted in all of us undertaking new paths that we were not likely to have taken alone or without the stimulation of working with someone we know well and have learned to trust.

scholarly journals Get that next job—how to break out of the postdoc trap

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (21) ◽  
pp. 3700-3703
Author(s):  
Yvonne Klaue
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Career Development ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Academic Careers ◽  
Ivory Tower ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Career Opportunities ◽  
Postdoctoral Researchers

In the past, the majority of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers were focused on careers in academia. Times have changed, and many are now considering careers outside of academia and are aware of numerous exciting career opportunities in industry and nonprofit and government organizations. However, although it is easy to find resources about academic careers, the same cannot be said for positions outside the ivory tower. Here, on the basis of my experience as a scientist and as someone who works with graduate students and postdocs to help them enter nonacademic career paths, I provide a perspective on career development and how to find a job.

Organisational careers versus boundaryless careers: Insights from the accounting profession

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Smith ◽  
Alison Sheridan
Keyword(s):  
Career Development ◽  
Employee Attitudes ◽  
Occupational Group ◽  
Career Management ◽  
Accounting Profession ◽  
Boundaryless Career ◽  
Boundaryless Careers

ABSTRACTMuch of careers research in recent times has focused on the so called move away from traditional ‘organisational careers’ to what Arthur (1994) coined the ‘boundaryless career’. This paper discusses research that challenges the applicability of the boundaryless career and the claim that ‘organisational careers are dead’. Drawing on interviews with nearly 60 accountants in Australia, the research demonstrates that employees are pursuing an organisational career. For this occupational group, the lack of proactive HR involvement in career development and the emphasis on self-direction was not appreciated. Rather, the research highlighted that the lack of organisational career management had negative implications for employee attitudes and motivation. The issues raised by the participants suggest it is timely to consider whether the unique characteristics of the accounting profession represent an ideal environment for the maintenance of an ‘organisational career’.

scholarly journals Organizational boundaries and beyond

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 641-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Gubler ◽  
John Arnold ◽  
Crispin Coombs
Keyword(s):  
Original Description ◽  
It Professionals ◽  
Organizational Boundaries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Career Opportunities ◽  
Original Definition ◽  
Boundaryless Career ◽  
Hr Managers ◽  
Career Research ◽  
And Behavior

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a new conceptualization of the boundaryless career – a widely acknowledged contemporary career concept – that reflects its original description more fully than previous literature has done, and to apply this conceptualization in an empirical investigation of career behavior and intentions of a large sample of European information technology (IT) professionals. Design/methodology/approach – As part of a large study of IT professionals in Europe (N=1,350), the paper had three research objectives. First, the paper developed and empirically tested a new operationalization of a person’s boundaryless career orientation (BCO) that reflects the originally proposed boundaryless career meanings more closely than existing approaches. Second, the paper used this to identify in a holistic manner different patterns of BCO. Third, the paper examined the nature and extent of links between BCO and self-reported career behavior and intentions. Findings – The paper identified five BCO factors that differentiate individuals into three distinct clusters. Although organizational boundaries appeared to be salient for most individuals, they did not differentiate the clusters. Instead, geographical mobility preference and rejection of career opportunities emerged as highly differentiating but hitherto rarely examined types of career boundaries. Practical implications – The findings can help HR managers to gain a better understanding of different mobility preferences among different groups of employees, which could lead to the development and implementation of more refined reward schemes and career development practices in organizations. Originality/value – This study provides a new operationalization of the BCO that is grounded in its original definition and offers a new empirically tested 15-item BCO measure. It contributes to career research with scarce empirical findings regarding the components of the BCO, their salience for individuals, and the connections between BCO and behavior.

Once is Not Enough: Former Special Educators Who Return to Teaching

1993 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith D. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Special Educators ◽  
Career Path ◽  
Turning Points ◽  
Teacher Supply ◽  
The Public ◽  
Return To Teaching

This research examines the career paths of 2,700 former special educators to see whether they returned to the public schools; the results are based on longitudinal data (13 years) on all special educators in Michigan public schools hired between 1972 and 1985. Analyses focus on teachers' decisions as they faced two key turning points—whether to reenter the schools, and if so, how long to stay during this second spell. An estimated 34% of the former Michigan special educators reentered a Michigan classroom within 5 years of leaving, and an estimated 58% of these stayed for more than 7 years. I conclude that a return to teaching after a brief interruption may be a common career path, and the pool of former special educators is a viable source of teacher supply.

scholarly journals Career Development in Nursing: Identifying the Career Anchors of Nurses at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narjes Alsadat Nasabi ◽  
Peivand Bastani ◽  
Ali Reza Yusefi ◽  
Najmeh Bordbar
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Career Development ◽  
Career Path ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Career Anchors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Clinical Nurses ◽  
Care Services

Background: Nurses are the largest providers of care services in the health care system who play an important role in the community health by providing health care. Therefore, maintaining and developing them is an integral part of human resource management in the health system. Considering that one of the tools for career development is determining job anchors, this study was conducted in 2020 to identify the career anchors of nurses from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in order to develop their career path. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 268 nurses working in hospitals and educational centers of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences who were selected by convenience sampling. Data were collected using the standard Schein questionnaire and analyzed by independent t-test and ANOVA in SPSS 23 software. Results: Among career anchors, service and dedication (24.74 ± 1.72) had the highest, and managerial competence (16.35 ± 2.32) had the lowest mean score. Furthermore, the average entrepreneurial creativity in women was significantly higher than men (p = 0.04). And in men, the average of pure challenges was significantly higher than women (p = 0.04). In addition, people with undergraduate degree showed a greater tendency to technical/functional competence (p = 0.02). Clinical nurses were more likely to become managers (p = 0.04), and corporate nurses were more inclined to have a lifestyle anchor (p = 0.04). Conclusion: Regarding service and dedication anchor, which had the highest average score among the interviewed nurses, individuals are motivated by pursuing valuable goals and meeting the needs of others. Whilest managerial competencies were not the priority of the studied nurses. Therefore, the opportunity for promotion in nurses is not just focused on reaching a managerial position. Therefore, it is suggested that the management of human resources in university define the career path of people based on their anchors and specific interests to people in terms of mental and mental health for creating a favorable atmosphere and better performance.  

scholarly journals From Shock to Shift–A Qualitative Analysis of Accounts in Mid-Career About Changes in the Career Path

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Nalis ◽  
Bettina Kubicek ◽  
Christian Korunka
Keyword(s):  
Career Development ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Career Path ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Work Lives ◽  
Career Changes ◽  
Change Behavior ◽  
Post Shock ◽  
Career Changer

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.

Diverse Careers in Community Psychology

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Community Psychology ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Career Path ◽  
Psychology Training ◽  
Community Psychologist ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Job Titles ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Career Options ◽  
Career Survey

The goal of Diverse Careers in Community Psychology is to (1) highlight the diversity of career options for someone with community psychology training; (2) provide details about the different types of careers (e.g., tasks involved, benefits and challenges, salary range, and so on); and (3) list the steps one can take to develop skills and position oneself for such a career. This text provides a better understanding of the diverse career options available for people who train in community psychology (CP), and how the CP competencies are put into practice across the full spectrum of job titles and career paths that a community psychologist might follow. The book includes 23 chapters authored by 30 different community psychologists with various backgrounds, interests, and areas of expertise, who provide examples of what it is like to work in their settings. The book also includes a summary of a first-of-its-kind career survey of over four hundred individuals in the field. It is our hope that this text will help current, prospective, and former students in community psychology and related fields, as well as professionals interested in expanding or changing their careers, to find an ideal career path.

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