A qualitative investigation of the work-nonwork experiences of dual-career professional couples without children

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the idiosyncratic relationships between work and nonwork among dual-career professional couples (DCPCs) intentionally without children, considering individual members' role salience, nonwork responsibilities and care or career orientation.Design/methodology/approachInterview data from 21 Canadian and American couples (42 individuals) was used to explore the research question: How do DCPCs without children perceive their work-nonwork balance?FindingsDCPCs without children are a heterogenous demographic. Some couples are career oriented, some care oriented, some exhibit both orientations, shaping their experience of work-nonwork balance. Unlike popular stereotypes, they do have nonwork responsibilities and interests outside of their thriving careers. Similar to their counterparts with children, they face conflicts managing work and nonwork domains.Originality/valueBased on theories of role salience, work-nonwork conflict, enrichment and balance, the authors suggest that analyses of work-nonwork balance should include nonwork activities other than child caring. The authors further propose that the experience of the work-nonwork interface varies according to whether couples are careerist, conventional, non-conventional or egalitarian. The study also demonstrates that work-nonwork experiences are relational in nature and should be explored beyond a strictly individual perspective.

Dual Career Development Perspective: Factors Affecting Quality of Post-sport Career Transition of Employed Olympic Athletes

Although Olympic athletes are celebrated for their sports achievements, they often face serious difficulties in their post-sport career employment. Factors of development that are affecting the quality of post-sport career transition of Olympic athletes are important to acknowledge in the dual career (DC) development perspective. Due to the side lining of academic activities, athletes are often not well prepared for the labor market. If they do not gain sufficient financial background in their careers, it can lead to a lack of proper economic inclusion of athletes in their post-sport career employment and further impact their lives. Career transitions of athletes have been the subject of research in different aspects of DC support (e.g., athletic, psychological, psychosocial, academic/vocational, financial), but most research is linked to the student-athlete DC perspective. Therefore, the aim of our research was to examine the impact of factors directly contributing to the quality of the post-sport career transition in Slovenian elite and Olympic athletes and the social class position and employment of these athletes after the termination of their sports career. From DC support practice, we learned that although athletes often have a proper level of education, their post-sport career transitions were not successful. To fill this gap, 168 elite athletes (Mage = 33.34, SD = 13.1) from Slovenia were asked to complete online questionnaires. The results showed a significant contribution of education and DC support-related finances (e.g., employment of athletes in public administration) to the quality of post-sport career transition. Regarding developing a national DC model and based on empirical research, this study identifies the social class position and employment status of former elite athletes from Slovenia. It also identifies opportunities for further research on the quality of the post-sport career transitions and perspectives on DC support. Understanding how different factors contribute to the integrated development of individual athletes to reach their potential in sports, education, and their post-sport career employment is important for theorists, DC practitioners, and stakeholders working with DC athletes. To develop a sufficient mechanism, DC support providers should consider supporting education along with the financial support of athletes during their sports careers and recognizing study-training ecosystems, based on good practices to successfully transition to their post-sport careers. These findings can also be useful for athletes and their athletic triangle support network (e.g., coaches and parents) as a support in the decision-making.

Psychological states of career wellbeing and affective commitment as predictors of dual career agility types

Background: There is limited empirical research on the construct of career agility and the relevance of dual career agility types in the technological-driven workplace.Objective: This study aimed to adopt a person-centred approach in assessing the link between dual career agility types and individuals’ psychological states of career wellbeing and affective commitment.Method: The cross-sectional survey involved a sample of (n = 298) managers (71%) and staff (29%) employed in the human resource and financial services industry. The sample comprised of men (54%), women (46%), including black people (62%) and white people (38%) with a mean age of 38.58 years.Results: The results provided deeper insight into the psychological states of career wellbeing and affective commitment that accounted for the personally-autonomous motives that are embedded in the three dual career agility types.Conclusion: The findings brought a more holistic understanding of the nature of person-centred career agility motives and the psychological states that elucidate these motives. The findings bring new insights that might foster optimal career development and employees’ adaptation to the post-COVID pandemic digital era workplace.

Rethinking dual careers: success factors for career transition of professional football players and the role of sport entrepreneurship

PurposeThe purpose of this longitudinal study is to examine the dual career and entrepreneurial experiences of professional football players and their influence on the career transition process to entrepreneurship or employment.Design/methodology/approachThe study examined a Portuguese employer–employee data set from 1991 to 2017 using the logit model, a binary choice regression model that allows predicting the probabilities of two possible qualitative and binary outcomes.FindingsEntrepreneurial experience is the key driver for retired football players to pursue entrepreneurship. Having a dual career and working during the athletic career leads to higher chances of continuing in the labor market as an employee. Higher education levels did not significantly influence the decision to pursue a second career but having secondary education increases the chances of continuing as an entrepreneur.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the study aims to shed light on success factors in career transition of professional football players who engage in a dual career. Second, the authors introduce sport entrepreneurship as a possible activity alongside an athletic career.Practical implicationsAthletes can benefit from the experience they gain during a dual career in the process of career transition. Working in the final year of an athletic career represents a promising strategy to gain work experience alongside sport without jeopardizing sporting success.Originality/valueThis study adds evidence to the contemporary discourse on dual career theory and career transitions and reconciles the theory of sport entrepreneurship and dual careers.

Vocational careers of retired Olympic athletes from Switzerland: A person-oriented study

For many high-performance athletes, competing in the Olympic Games is a major goal. Achieving this goal requires more than ever substantial investments of time and personal resources towards the sports career over several years. Thus, some athletes neglect other areas of life (e.g. education), which can pose a problem for the time after high-performance sport, while other athletes pursue a dual career. Previous studies have shown that former high-performance athletes achieved higher levels of education and better vocational positions than the general population. Due to the advancing professionalization and commercialization of high-performance sport, the question emerges whether these results are valid for athletes that are more recently retired. In addition, cross-cultural generalisability of these findings are of interest. For this purpose, 341 former athletes representing Switzerland at the Olympics were surveyed about their athletic, educational, and vocational careers. It turns out that these athletes obtained more degrees of higher education than the general population. Relative to their siblings, they have higher school-leaving certificates and work in more prestigious occupations. Following the holistic-interactionistic paradigm, person-oriented analyses was performed and revealed nine – mostly satisfactory – vocational career patterns. Hence, involvement in high-performance sport facilitates rather than hinders a successful vocational career.

Preliminary Analysis of the Past and Planned Investments Measure in Turkish Dual-Career Married Individuals

This study documents the basic psychometrics of the Past and Planned Investments Measure (PPIM; Goodfriend & Agnew, 2008) in a Turkish sample. Two hundred and sixty-four dual-career married individuals participated and completed the Turkish version of the PPIM (PPIM-TR) along with the Investment Model Scale (IMS; Rusbult, Martz, & Agnew, 1998) and a demographic information form. A four-factor structure of PPIM was confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis albeit with an item deletion due to its irrelevance to Turkish culture. Adequate criterion validity and satisfactory internal consistency results were obtained as a result of the confirmatory factor analysis. Based on the preliminary investigation, the Turkish PPIM proved to be a promising and psychometrically sound measure of the past and planned investments dual-career married individuals make in their relationships. Consequently, the findings were discussed in relation to the relevant literature, implications for counselors were mentioned, and recommendations for future research were presented.

Athletes Friendly Education Handbook: Award for Educational Institutions supporting the Dual Career of Athletes

(AFE) is a type of schooling, continually planning, organizing, and improving a system of adaptations included in a school's educational process and infrastructure. These adaptations are implemented voluntarily and in a benevolent, systematic, comprehensive, and transparent manner, with the explicit aim to help athletes engage in sport and simultaneously achieve goals and competencies set out in the educational program and thus Athlete friendly education has the following attributes: adaptations; rather than being discrete, these adaptations constitute a system; daptations are organized and managed by school management; institutions introduce the adaptations voluntarily; adaptations are based on pre-existing legal frameworks and internal institutional regulations; institutions need to possess adequate competencies or experience; they need to be "trustworthy," in other words. AFE accreditation is voluntary. The principle of voluntary certification is very similar to the "brand" philosophy. The brand also contains a "promise."

Dual Career Support Activities of High-Performance Students-Athletes in the Project “More than Gold”

One of the European Union’s (EU) priorities in sports is the holistic development of athletes through combining high-performance sports with higher education. Within the ERASMUS+Sport Collaborative Partnership “More than Gold” (MTG, 603346-EPP-1-2018-1-LV-SPO-SCP), the aim of the empirical research was to clarify and analyse the opinions of high-performance athletes of five Member States on the opportunities for Dual Career (DC) implementation as well as support provision for high-performance athletes within their DC implementation. Survey as the research method was chosen applying questionnaire, interview and focus-group discussion as data collection methods. The research sample included in this work comprised 284 athletes. The data obtained revealed the challenges related to overlapping schedules, long distance from the university to the training venue, and the lack of understanding and flexibility from the academic staff, which was especially challenging in the first academic year. The respondents appreciated the support of DC tutors. Finally, the opinion of experts allowed to identify 9 aspects to be implemented within the DC perspective (e. g., access to educational facilities, tutorship, psychological support). Findings urge to implement DC programmes at higher education institutions (HEIs) comprising DC guidance, flexible study and training schedules, customized curricula, distance learning, proximity of training facilities and sports services, psychological and career support services tailored for elite-athletes. Therefore, the More Than Gold Guidelines for HEIs are crucial for the development of the European DC culture.