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IOP3703: CAREER PSYCHOLOGY
Examination Prep
Chapter 2: Changes in organisations: implications for careers
The implications of the present changing work environment for career management
Protean careers A career shaped and managed by the individual. It consists of all the
person’s varied experiences in education, training, and work in several
organisations and changes in occupational field and is characterised by a
high degree of mobility, self-reliance and internal career thinking. Career
management is the individual’s responsibility, organisation can only assist.
Self-directed approach driven by one’s own values.
Implication: a mixed approach, keeping some elements of the traditional
career, will emerge as more and more careerists become ‘protean’,
anticipated that the protean group will become larger as more people adapt
to demands of the environment.
Composite careers Having more than one working role or holding more than one form of
employment. People can no longer afford to limit themselves to only taking
or passing up jobs.
Implication: workers in the 21st century will stop thinking of themselves as
‘having’ a job but will increasingly think of themselves as ‘experimenting’ with
job opportunities which allow them to discover more about themselves and
live meaningful lives.
Entrepreneurial Choosing self-employment as a career option which could include
careers establishing and managing one’s own business, requires sacrifice,
innovation and taking to create something of value to society.
Implication: uncertain and uneven cash flow, proper career planning critical
in contemplating the entrepreneurial career and achieving the success the
one aspires to, effective career planning must take into account challenges
that one will have to face when pursuing entrepreneurial career
Career progress and Career progress refers to individuals’ experiences of career growth which
success redefined includes moving upward, increasing competence and expertise and gaining
broader experience across multidirectional career movements. Career
success refers to the objective and subjective (psychological) sense of
achievement and well-being individuals experience regarding their careers.
Implication: these are strange concepts for employees and not always
accepted, as more individuals become ‘protean’ and achieve success, others
will also be encouraged to redefine their career progress and success.
Organisations can help employees to regard activities such as job rotation
and lateral moves – characteristics of the protean career – not as failures but
as signs of career success
Protean careers
o Self-directed approach & driven by own values
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o Managed by person, not organisation
o Consists of varied experience in education, training, work, occupational field
o Characterised by:
▪ Psych success
▪ Self-direction
▪ Freedom & autonomy
▪ Choices based on personal values
▪ Managed by individual
▪ Series of identity changes
▪ Cont. learning
▪ Chronological age unimportant
▪ Employability & work challenged provided by Org
▪ High level of self-awareness
▪ Personal responsibility
▪ Freedom & growth valued
▪ High degree of mobility
▪ Internal career thinking
o Positive potential:
▪ Relationship still win-win
▪ Org not blindly trusted by employee with career
▪ Common ground not relationship, but explicit task
▪ Task focused relationship better for individual & org. & facilitates diversity necessary for future survival
because emphasis is on task & not on gender, race, or traits of person performing the task
o 3 forms of flexibility
▪ New ways of career thinking – flexible career course characterised by moves between different lines of work
▪ Flexibility ito career space – enlarging career space, allowing workers to integrate work & family issues
▪ Workers can work from home – formal or informal
o Encourages workers to think differently about employer & employee relationship
o Problems:
▪ Not everybody adapts to protean career
▪ Lack of external control & individual responsibility frightens people
▪ Some individuals cannot operate independently in such an environment
▪ New career management competencies often required
Boundaryless careers
o Physical & psych movement away from current employer
o Individuals have self-ownership of careers
o Manage career autonomously between jobs, companies and professions increasing their employment value
(mobility can be between jobs, companies, occupations, countries)
o Boundaries erased between nations & individual self-reliant – success measured by meaningful work &
milestones in career
o Careers cannot be constrained by org boundaries – individuals move btw org. if they have transferable
knowledge, skills & abilities
o Example: electronic engineer move btw several comp. firms
Composite career
o More than 1 working role and hold more than 1 job – manage time between jobs & companies, teams, clients,
locations
o Composite work life forces individual to manage own time & efforts the same way a self-employed person with
several clients does
o Composite career is a way to express different / multiple aspects of a person which were previously excluded
from the “one job for life” career
o Example: trained psychologist, but also painter / photographer
o Not all ventures provide significant financial value, perhaps need to keep “regular” job until the new venture is
profitable
o Composite career is significant part of current work place, people create careers across wide range of possibilites
o People will be better off trying different career ventures according to their possibilities, skills & talents in various
creative ways, whether it is for financial gain or social gain.
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IOP3703: CAREER PSYCHOLOGY
Examination Prep
Chapter 2: Changes in organisations: implications for careers
The implications of the present changing work environment for career management
Protean careers A career shaped and managed by the individual. It consists of all the
person’s varied experiences in education, training, and work in several
organisations and changes in occupational field and is characterised by a
high degree of mobility, self-reliance and internal career thinking. Career
management is the individual’s responsibility, organisation can only assist.
Self-directed approach driven by one’s own values.
Implication: a mixed approach, keeping some elements of the traditional
career, will emerge as more and more careerists become ‘protean’,
anticipated that the protean group will become larger as more people adapt
to demands of the environment.
Composite careers Having more than one working role or holding more than one form of
employment. People can no longer afford to limit themselves to only taking
or passing up jobs.
Implication: workers in the 21st century will stop thinking of themselves as
‘having’ a job but will increasingly think of themselves as ‘experimenting’ with
job opportunities which allow them to discover more about themselves and
live meaningful lives.
Entrepreneurial Choosing self-employment as a career option which could include
careers establishing and managing one’s own business, requires sacrifice,
innovation and taking to create something of value to society.
Implication: uncertain and uneven cash flow, proper career planning critical
in contemplating the entrepreneurial career and achieving the success the
one aspires to, effective career planning must take into account challenges
that one will have to face when pursuing entrepreneurial career
Career progress and Career progress refers to individuals’ experiences of career growth which
success redefined includes moving upward, increasing competence and expertise and gaining
broader experience across multidirectional career movements. Career
success refers to the objective and subjective (psychological) sense of
achievement and well-being individuals experience regarding their careers.
Implication: these are strange concepts for employees and not always
accepted, as more individuals become ‘protean’ and achieve success, others
will also be encouraged to redefine their career progress and success.
Organisations can help employees to regard activities such as job rotation
and lateral moves – characteristics of the protean career – not as failures but
as signs of career success
Protean careers
o Self-directed approach & driven by own values
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o Managed by person, not organisation
o Consists of varied experience in education, training, work, occupational field
o Characterised by:
▪ Psych success
▪ Self-direction
▪ Freedom & autonomy
▪ Choices based on personal values
▪ Managed by individual
▪ Series of identity changes
▪ Cont. learning
▪ Chronological age unimportant
▪ Employability & work challenged provided by Org
▪ High level of self-awareness
▪ Personal responsibility
▪ Freedom & growth valued
▪ High degree of mobility
▪ Internal career thinking
o Positive potential:
▪ Relationship still win-win
▪ Org not blindly trusted by employee with career
▪ Common ground not relationship, but explicit task
▪ Task focused relationship better for individual & org. & facilitates diversity necessary for future survival
because emphasis is on task & not on gender, race, or traits of person performing the task
o 3 forms of flexibility
▪ New ways of career thinking – flexible career course characterised by moves between different lines of work
▪ Flexibility ito career space – enlarging career space, allowing workers to integrate work & family issues
▪ Workers can work from home – formal or informal
o Encourages workers to think differently about employer & employee relationship
o Problems:
▪ Not everybody adapts to protean career
▪ Lack of external control & individual responsibility frightens people
▪ Some individuals cannot operate independently in such an environment
▪ New career management competencies often required
Boundaryless careers
o Physical & psych movement away from current employer
o Individuals have self-ownership of careers
o Manage career autonomously between jobs, companies and professions increasing their employment value
(mobility can be between jobs, companies, occupations, countries)
o Boundaries erased between nations & individual self-reliant – success measured by meaningful work &
milestones in career
o Careers cannot be constrained by org boundaries – individuals move btw org. if they have transferable
knowledge, skills & abilities
o Example: electronic engineer move btw several comp. firms
Composite career
o More than 1 working role and hold more than 1 job – manage time between jobs & companies, teams, clients,
locations
o Composite work life forces individual to manage own time & efforts the same way a self-employed person with
several clients does
o Composite career is a way to express different / multiple aspects of a person which were previously excluded
from the “one job for life” career
o Example: trained psychologist, but also painter / photographer
o Not all ventures provide significant financial value, perhaps need to keep “regular” job until the new venture is
profitable
o Composite career is significant part of current work place, people create careers across wide range of possibilites
o People will be better off trying different career ventures according to their possibilities, skills & talents in various
creative ways, whether it is for financial gain or social gain.
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