Year: 2015
Type: book
Abstract: In today’s dynamic work environments, employee adaptability, proactivity and goal striving are important requirements for sustainable careers. One the one hand, change has become an important aspect of the work setting; on the other hand, the labor market has changed substantially with employees largely self-managing their careers. In the current chapter, we argue that a sustainable career requires employees to engage in adaptive and self-regulated (i.e. goal-directed, proactive) behavior. In particular, we explore the role of three personal aspects that appear crucial for modern careers: workers’ adaptability, goal striving, and proactivity. We first pay attention to adaptation in general and employee adaptation in particular. Both concepts refer to self-regulatory processes and emphasize the importance of goal-directed and proactive behavior. Therefore, in the following sections, we discuss research on goal-directed striving (goal setting and goal pursuit) and proactive behavior in relation to workers’ sustainable careers. In the end, we argue that career sustainability requires adaptive behavior that is balanced; it should be aimed at establishing or restoring the balance between the goals, interests, values and expectations of the organization and those of the employee.
Source: Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks
Authors: Van Dam, K., Bipp, T., Van Ruysseveldt, J., De Vos, Ans, Van der Heijden, Beatrice I.J.M.
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2282305045