Life Transitions, Career Decisions, and the Workplace Adult Development Reflection Papers Data...

Life Transitions, Career Decisions, and the WorkplaceAdult Development

Reflection Papers

DataObservationsStories

ConceptsReadingsTheoriesReferences

Your Interpretations

“Voice”

Questions


Class 1: Changing Workplace

• Protean career• Developmental demands • Relational and transactional psychological

contract• Internal and external career• Context for change and transition

Class 2: Adult Development

• Human Development• Life Stage Theories• Perspectives on Change versus Continuity• Work / Life Line Exercise• D. Levinson’s Life Structure Model



Models of Career Development

How different researchers present adult and career development

• Life span models• Individual differences models• Directional pattern models• Organizationally-based models


Assumptions About Human Development

• Continuity– Coping styles learning

in childhood

– Transitions rekindle conflicts

– Sigmund Freud

• Discontinuity– Unused potentials

– Growth throughout life

– Continuous unfolding

– Ongoing opportunities

– Carl Jung


Adult Development Perspectives

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0345339010/ref=sib_dp_pt

http://www.amazon.com/Passages-Predictable-Crises-Adult-Life/dp/034547922X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296386124&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Quarterlife-Crisis-Unique-Challenges-Twenties/dp/1585421065/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296386189&sr=1-1


Erik Erikson’s Life Stages

• Childhood Trust vs.Mistrust • Childhood Autonomy vs. Shame, Doubt• Childhood Initiative vs. Guilt• Childhood Industry vs. Inferiority

• Adolescence Identity vs. Role Diffusion• 19-27 Intimacy vs. Isolation

• 27-Retirement Generativity vs. Stagnation

• 60’s Integrity vs. Disgust and Despair


Roger GouldIntra-Psychic Themes

• 20’s Optimism

• 30’s Doubts

• 40’s Urgencies

• 50’s Mellowing and Self-Acceptance

• 60’s Rebirth and Recycling

---------------------

“We arrive where we started and know the place for the first time” - T. S. Elliot


Perspective On Transition

“Oh, no! I just realized I let a twenty-year old choose my husband and my career!”

Karen Lopez, 42-year old research manager working on career self-assessment

The Career Is Dead. Long Live the Career – Douglas T. Hall


Work / Life Line Exercise

• Draw a picture of your work / life line from childhood to present• First think about how you want the whole drawing to appear• Consider:

– events and transition points– educational experiences– influential people– work experiences– significant relationships– key questions– critical decisions: good and bad– high and low points– indicate motion– multiple lines for work and non-work changes


Interacting Cycles and Stages

• Biological and Social Aging– “ Age Grading ”– Age related social or cultural expectations– Biosocial cycle of self-development

• Family Relationships– Family of origin– Immediate family– Competing demands

• Career Building– Affected by societal influences, needs, policies, traditions, and

educational system


Stages and Cycles

Characteristics

• Goals

• Choice Points

• End Points

• Milestones

Challenges

• Handling post-peak options and choices

• Cultural norms that create problems and incongruities

• Possible need to reduce involvement in a sphere


Levinson’s Life Structure / Life Stages

“Eras” or Seasons Lasting 25 Years

• 0-22 Pre-Adulthood

• 17-45 Early Adulthood – period of abundance and energy– contradiction and stress

• 40-65 Middle Adulthood

• 60 + Late Adulthood


Levinson’s Life Structure / Life Stages

Recognizes alternating periods of stability and transition lasting 5 to 7 years.

Late Adult Transition: Age 60-65Culminating Life Structure 55-60

Age 50 Transition 50-55Entry Life Structure 45-50

Mid-Life Transition 40-45Culminating Life Structure 33-40

Age 30 Transition 28-33Entry Life Structure 22-28

Early Adult Transition 17-22


Life Structure Concept

• An underlying pattern or design to life at a given time.

• Integrates work, family, relationships.

• Integrates various life roles as components.

• Meaning of work is better understood as part of a larger life structure.

• Engagement in work is influenced by evolution of the life structure.

• A concept that fits between the “self” and the “environment”


Dynamics of the Life Structure

• Recognizes periods of stability and transition• Structure Building:

– form a structure and improve quality of life– make choices, pursue goals

• Transitional Period– terminates prior “life structure”– appraise existing structure– explore possibilities for change

• When structure is in transition, more possibility for change in a component and influence among components

Class 3 Motivation and Values

Life Transitions, Career Decisions, and the WorkplaceMotivation and Learning Style

• Factors Influencing Career Choice and Satisfaction• Values• Career “Anchors• Social Motives


Career Fit Model


Career Factors

Skills InterestsValues


Career Factors

Skills Performance

Interests Satisfaction

Values Commitment


Importance of Values

• Values are ideals and beliefs that give meaning and direction to your work and life.

• Values are guiding principles that influence pride, satisfaction, and accomplishment.

• Work that expresses values positively impacts contribution, commitment, and productivity.


Values and Motivation

• What kinds of tasks motivate you at work?

• In which situations do you find yourself most productive?

• How might you describe an ideal work situation?

• Have you had a work experience where you felt there wasn’t a good “fit” ? What aspects of the job didn’t work well?


Career Self-Management

“I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific.”

- Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner

What Is A Career Anchor?• Career Anchor is a type self-concept

– perceived talents and abilities– basic values– motives and needs

• Discovery of your anchor often occurs during transition

• It is important to consider how your anchors align with today’s workplace trends.

• Career anchors can be helpful in shaping learning and development needs and identifying future job roles.

Career Anchors(Edgar Schein)

• Technical / Functional Competence TF• General Managerial Competence GM• Autonomy/Independence AU• Security/Stability SE• Entrepreneurial Creativity EC• Service/Dedication to a Cause SV• Pure Challenge CH• Lifestyle LS


Technical / Functional Competence

• Exercise of competence• Expertise• Identity around the content of work• Towards specialization rather than general

management• Work that tests abilities and skills• Need autonomy to implement

Technical / Functional Competence(In The Workplace)

• Focused on external equity • Opportunity to develop skills, get education• Recognition of peers• Seek more challenges and autonomy• Look for bigger scope role and budget• Drawn to technical ladders

----------------• Pressure to maintain technical competence has

increased with fast-paced work environment


General Managerial Competence

• Specialization is seen as limiting.

• Broad span of control

• Analytic competence

• Interpersonal and inter-group competence

• Emotional competence

General Managerial Competence(In The Workplace)

• Value advancement to roles with more responsibility• Focus on internal equity and short-term rewards• Value rank, title, organizational symbols• Look towards being on right “track.”

-------------• Trend towards general management skills being

needed at front-line levels in organization.– Self-directed teams– Cross functional work groups


Autonomy / Independence

• Need to do things at own pace, through one’s own method

• Rules, procedures, organizational norms are constraints.

• Seek careers that reflect independence or organizational roles that are more autonomous.

• Higher education can reinforce independence

Autonomy / Independence(In the Workplace)

• Prefer time-bounded kinds of work• Value promotion to activities with more autonomy• Prefer portable forms of recognition rather than

titles, promotion--------------

• More aligned with a “free-agent” work world that is less reliant on organizationally defined careers.


Security / Stability

• “Safety” and security primarily guide career decisions• Seek predictability of future events• Seek organizations that tend to retain work force for

longer periods of time.• More accepting of organization’s definition of career

path.• Prefer work that requires steady and predictable

performance.

Security / Stability(In the Workplace)

• Value good insurance, medical, retirement plans• Prefer seniority-based promotion systems• Want to be recognized for performance and loyalty

-----------• Less aligned with work world that is moving from

“employment security” to “employability security”


Entrepreneurial Creativity

• Need to create one’s own businesses, services, or products

• Creating new organizations as distinct from creativity in general.

• Want to prove they can create businesses• Autonomy is paradoxical.• Supported by information technology and bio-tech

sectors of economy.

Entrepreneurial Creativity(In the Workplace)

• Reward is ownership of business and patents• Seek to build fortunes and enterprises• Value flexibility to move into roles that fit

-----------------• Reinforced by increasing mobility of workforce


Service and Dedication to A Cause

• Work choice is driven by central values.• Desire to improve society• More oriented to expressing values than in

exercising a particular talent or competency.• Evident in helping professions or in helping roles

in organizations.

Service and Dedication to A Cause(In the Workplace)

• Seek fair pay and portable benefits• Focused on external equity• Value opportunity to move to a position with more

influence• Value opportunities for education

• Reinforced by more information about world needs.


Pure Challenge• Define success as overcoming obstacles, dealing

with seemingly impossible problems.• Challenge can be interpersonal and competitive.• Less focused on use of skills, type of organization,

area of work.

(In the Workplace)• Work needs to provide opportunities to self-test.• Aligns with need for self-reliance and management

in a turbulent work world.

Lifestyle• Career is seen as part of larger “life system.”• Movement from “balance” to “integration.”• Flexibility is key to integrating needs of individual,

family, community, and career.• Seek an organizational attitude that is supportive of

lifestyle integration.

(In the Workplace)• Prefer geographic stability• Reinforced by dual careers, changing psychological

contract.

Group TallyANCHOR Highest 2nd

Highest

Technical / Functional Competence

General Managerial Competence

Autonomy / Independence

Security / Stability

Entrepreneurial Capability

Service / Dedication to a Cause

Lifestyle

Pure Challenge

Paired Interview• Describe a change you made in your work role.• What was the original situation (job, organization)? • What the reasons that you chose this first job or

organization?• What did you like about it?• What aspects did you not enjoy?• Why did you decide to change?

Life Transitions, Career Decisions, and the Workplace Adult Development Reflection Papers Data...

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