Psychology applied to modern life adjustment in the 21st century, 11e chapter 13

Choosing a Career, continued• Examining personal characteristics and family influences – Personal characteristics • Choosing a career is best managed by those whohave secure attachments

Chapter 13

Careers and Work

Choosing a Career, continued

• Examining personal characteristics and

family influences

– Personal characteristics

• Choosing a career is best managed by

those whohave secure attachments and a self-efficacy about work.

particular professions but is not an absolute predictor of career success

Choosing a Career, continued

Personal characteristics, continued

• Specific aptitudes (e.g., artistic talent)

are more important than general intelligence

• Social skills contribute to success in

many careers

• Careers ideally match one’s interests in

the world and contribute to motivation

• It is best to find a career that is

compatible with one’s personality.

Choosing a Career, continued

• Family influences

– Career choices are influenced by family background because parents and children often attain similar levels of education

Thus,

• Middle income background is associated with high-paying professions

• Low income background is associated with “blue collar” occupations

Choosing a Career, continued

Family influences, continued

– Parenting style is also associated with

socioeconomic status

• Middle income families encourage their children to be curious and independent, traits well suited for professional roles

• Low income families teach children to conform and obey, traits needed to

survive in subordinate positions

Choosing a Career, continued

• Researching job characteristics

– Sources of career information include

• The Occupational Outlook Handbook –

a government document that serves as

a comprehensive guide to occupations

• It is also helpful to talk to individuals who work in particular fields of interest

Choosing a Career, continued

Researching job characteristics, continued

• Essential information about occupations

– You should be aware of these key issues when considering an occupation:

• The nature of the work – what are the day-to-day responsibilities?

• Working conditions – is it high or low pressure? pleasant or unpleasant?

Choosing a Career, continued

Essential information, continued

• Job entry requirements – what education and training are needed?

• Potential earnings

• Potential status

• Opportunities for advancement

• Intrinsic job satisfaction

• Future outlook – will there continue to

be demand for this occupation?

Choosing a Career, continued

• Using psychological tests

“measure your interests as they relate to various jobs or careers”

– The primary focus is on job satisfaction, rather than success

– Scores indicate how similar your interests are to the typical interests of people in

various occupations

– However, you must ultimately decide what

is right for you

Choosing a Career, continued

3 There are limits on your career options

4 Career choice is a developmental process

that extends throughout life

5 Some career decisions are not easily

undone

Models of Career Choice, continued

• Holland’s Person-Environment Fit Model

– Career choice is related to six stable

personality types, or personal

orientations.

– In addition, jobs can be classified into six

work environments (see Figure 13.2).

– People are most satisfied, successful, and stable when they choose work

environments that fit their personal orientations

Figure 13.2 Overview of Holland’s theory of occupational choice According to John Holland (1985),

people can be divided into six personality types (personal orientations) that prefer different work

environments, as outlined here.

Adapted from Holland, J L (1985) Making occupational choices: A theory of occupational

personalities and work environments (2nd ed.) Englewood Cliffs, JF: Prentice-Hall Adapted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc

Models of Career Choice, continued

• Super’s Developmental Model

– Super focuses on the development of

one’s occupational status over time It includes five major stages:

1 Growth stage – in childhood, fantasize

about ideal job

2 Exploration stage – realistically

consider different careers in one’s youth

3 Establishment stage – commit to a

career and learn to function effectively

Models of Career Choice, continued

Super’s model, continued

4 Maintenance stage – at midlife, focus

is on retaining achieved status and protecting security and power

5 Decline stage – work activity

decreases as retirement approaches – Retirement brings the occupational cycle to an end

•. See Figure 13.3 for more detail and the substages

Figure 13.3 Overview of Super’s theory of occupational development According to Donald Super,

people go through five major stages (and a variety of substages) of occupational development over the lifespan.

Adapted from Zaccaria, J (1970) Theories of occupational choice and vocational development

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Copyright © 1970 by Time Share Corporation, New Hampshire

Models of Career Choice, continued

• Women’s career development

– 59% of adult women are in the labor force.– However, there are still gender gaps in the world of work

• Women still subordinate their career goals to those of their husbands

• Women’s careers are more likely to be interrupted by childrearing and family crises

The Changing World of Work, continued

• Workplace trends

1 Technology is changing the nature of work

• Workers must train and adapt to keep up

2 New work attitudes are required

• Workers must take a more active role to prove that they are valuable in order to attain job security

3 Lifelong learning is a necessity

• Skills become obsolete every 10-15 years

The Changing World of Work, continued

Workplace trends, continued

4 Independent workers are increasing

• Downsizing and outsourcing are creating more “free agents”

6 Boundaries between work and home are blurring, due to technology

7 The highest job growth will occur in the

professional and service occupations (see Figure 13.4)

8 Job sharing is becoming more common

Figure 13.4 Fastest growth, high salary occupations According to the Bureau of Labor (2010),

between 2008 and 2018 these 20 occupations will have the largest number of job openings and provide highest pay Median annual salaries range from $85,430 (computer software engineers, applications) to

$20,460 (home health aides) (Adapted from Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011).

Source: Table 1, http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm

The Changing World of Work, continued

• Education and earnings

– Earnings are tied to level of education

(see Figure 13.5)

– However, many college graduates are

underemployed – “settling for a job that

does not fully utilize one’s skills, abilities, and training”

• This is most likely if college-level reading, writing, and quantitative skills are poor

Figure 13.5 Education and income This graph

shows the average incomes of year-round, full-time workers aged 18 and over, by gender and

educational attainment As you can see, the more education people have, the higher their income tends to be However, at all levels, women earn less than men with comparable education (Data from U.S Census Bureau, 2006)

The Changing World of Work, continued

• The changing workforce

– Today’s labor force – “those who are

employed as well as those who are currently unemployed but are looking for work” – is becoming more diverse (see Figure 13.6)

• More women are joining the labor force

• The workforce is becoming more ethnically diverse

Figure 13.6 Increasing diversity in the workforce Women and minority group members are entering the

workforce in greater numbers than before This graph projects changes in the share of the labor force by gender and by ethnicity between 1990 and 2010 (Data from U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002)

The Changing World of Work, continued

The changing workforce, continued

• Today’s workplace for women and minorities

– Although illegal, discrimination against women and minorities still occurs

– Women and minorities often face a glass

ceiling – “an invisible barrier that prevents most

women and ethnic minorities from advancing to the highest levels of occupations” (see Figure 13.7)

Figure 13.7 The glass ceiling for women and minorities A longitudinal study looked at the chances of

promotion to a managerial position in a sample of more than 26,000 adults over 30 years of career

experience This graph shows that promotion chances increased along with career experience for white men By contrast, the promotion chances of white women and black men were much lower As you can see, black women lagged far behind all groups These trends are consistent with the existence of a glass ceiling for women and minorities.

From Maume, D J (2004) Is the Glass Ceiling a Unique Form of Inequality? Work and Occupations,

31(2), 250-274 Figure 2, p 266 [Journal published by Sage]

The Changing World of Work, continued

The changing workforce, continued

– When there is only one woman or minority

in the workplace they may become a

token, or “a symbol of all the members of

that group”

• This distinction may bring more scrutiny, stereotyping, or judgment

– Women and minorities also are less likely

to have mentors or role models of the same gender and/or race

The Changing World of Work, continued

The changing workforce, continued

– The challenges of change

• Cultural differences in managing time and people, identification with work, and decision-making

• Prejudice in the workplace

• Affirmative action policies and perceived “reverse discrimination”

Occupational Hazards, continued

• Job stress – sources of stress on the job

– Long work hours – the average American workweek is 48-60 hours

– Lack of privacy

– High noise levels

– Pressure of deadlines

– Lack of control over one’s work

– Inadequate resources to do the job

– Perceived inequities at work

Occupational Hazards, continued

Job stress, continued

• Four key culprits that contribute to stress are

1 Handling “difficult” customers in service industries

2 An unpredictable economy

3 Keeping up with changes in technology

4 Learning to interact with more diverse

coworkers

Occupational Hazards, continued

Job stress, continued

• According to Karasek, two key factors

determine occupational stress:

1 Psychological demands of the job

2 Amount of decision control a worker has

• The most stressful jobs are those with high demands and low control (see Figure 13.9)

Figure 13.9 Karasek’s model of occupational stress as related to specific jobs Robert Karasek

(1979) theorizes that occupational stress is greatest in jobs characterized by high psychological demands and low decision control Based on survey data, this chart shows where various familiar jobs fall on these two dimensions According to Karasek’s model, the most stressful jobs are those shown in the shaded area

on the lower right

Occupational Hazards, continued

Job stress, continued

• Effects of job stress

– Increased industrial accidents

– Absenteeism

– Poor job performance

– Higher turnover rates

– Job burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and

poor job performance)

Occupational Hazards, continued

Job stress, continued

• Dealing with job stress

– There are 3 levels of intervention:

• Intervention at the individual level

• Intervention at the organizational level

• Intervention at the organization interface” level

“individual-Occupational Hazards, continued

• Sexual harassment

employees are subjected to unwelcome sexually oriented behavior”

– There are two types:

1 Quid pro quo – sexual acts required in

return for promotions, job security, etc

2 Behavior that creates a hostile

environment – workplaces with unwanted

sexual behavior, discussion, or material (e.g., sexually-oriented jokes)

Occupational Hazards, continued

Sexual harassment, continued

– Prevalence and consequences

• Sexual harassment is fairly widespread

- approximately 42% of female workers

have reported it.

– 15% of male workers have, too.

• Consequences include anger, reduced self-esteem, depression, anxiety,

lowered productivity, and decreased commitment to the job and the

employer

Occupational Hazards, continued

Sexual harassment, continued

– Stopping sexual harassment

• Organizations should promote norms

that are intolerant of sexual

Occupational Hazards, continued

• Both economic conditions cause

displaced workers – “individuals who

are unemployed because their jobs have disappeared”

Occupational Hazards, continued

• The stress of job loss can lead to violence

Balancing Work and Life, continued

• Workaholism

– Workaholics devote nearly all their time

and energy to their jobs

– There are two types of workaholics:

• The enthusiastic workaholic – one

who works excessively for the joy of it

• The nonenthusiastic workaholic – one

who feels driven to work hard, but derives less enjoyment from it

– The latter group reports lower job

satisfaction and a lower sense of purpose

Balancing Work and Life, continued

Balancing Work and Life, continued

• Work and family roles

– There are more dual-earner households now than ever juggling multiple roles

– Working parents are especially likely to

experience work-family conflicts.

• This can create stress

• However, multiple roles can also be beneficial for men’s and women’s health, relationships, and financial security

Balancing Work and Life, continued

• Leisure and recreation

– 60% of workers say having leisure -

“unpaid activities people choose to engage in because the activities are personally meaningful” - is very important.– Yet, American workers work longer hours and take fewer vacation days than

Europeans (see Figure 13.14)

Figure 13.14 American and European

vacation days American workers average 16

paid vacation days a year Most European

workers get considerably longer vacation

Moreover, these are benefits mandated by law Adapted from Mischel, L., Bernstein, J., &

Schmitt, J (2001) The state of working America

2000-2001 Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press

Copyright © 2001 by Cornell University Press Adapted by permission of the publisher, Cornell University Press.

Balancing Work and Life, continued

Leisure and recreation, continued

– Leisure activities come in many forms:

Balancing Work and Life, continued

Leisure and recreation, continued

– Leisure activities are also beneficial to our well-being and are associated with

• Increased job satisfaction

• Improved physical and mental health

• A sense of well-being and lowered incidence of depression in those over age 55

Application: The Job Game, continued

• Putting together a resume – some tips

1 Use high-quality white, ivory, or beige paper

for hard copies

2 Make sure there are no typographical errors

3 Keep it short (one page only)

4 Avoid full sentences, and avoid the word I

Use action words

• (e.g., “Supervised a team of 10 people”)

5 Avoid superfluous personal information

Application: The Job Game, continued

Putting together a resume, continued

• Effective resumes contain the following:

– Heading – name and contact information.

– Objective – the precise kind of position

you want

– Education – degrees and dates.

– Experience – from most recent and

working backwards

• See Figure 13.15 for an example