Mid and Late Career Issues: An Integrative Perspective

Citation

Polla, G. (2013), "Mid and Late Career Issues: An Integrative Perspective", European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 37 No. 6, pp. 596-598. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-05-2013-0061

Book synopsis

Work in the twenty‐first century has been transformed dramatically. The nature of work, how work is carried out, the workforce as a whole, as well as organisational structures are increasingly different from what was experienced by one or two generations ago. Overall work has become less physically demanding but more cognitively and socially demanding (Johnson et al., 2007).

These changes in career and organisational structures are in part consequences of the economic and social‐cultural changes which have occurred in the last hundred years. The aging of workers worldwide, increase in life expectancy, change of retirement age and current economic turmoil have very strong implications for individuals' careers, particularly for those in their mid and late careers (Gunz et al., 2011). However, little empirical and theoretical work has been conducted on the unique career issues faced by workers in their mid to late career stages. Most of the literature published on careers either focuses on young adults and their transition from school to work or just addresses a limited number of issues encountered by the aging workforce, usually only reserving a chapter or two to these issues.

Wang, Olson and Shultz are one of the first sets of authors to focus solely on issues related to mid and late career issues aiming to provide an up‐to‐date perspective on the opportunities and challenges faced by workers as their careers have unfolded. Making use of a series of case studies to integrate research and practice the knowledge is translated to employees, organisations and policy makers. The target audience is advanced undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers in both academic and applied settings.

The book is divided into four parts. Section I includes three chapters: the first chapter provides an overview of the issues related to mid and late careers and laying the groundwork for the other chapters; the second chapter reviews major career theories and discusses the evolution of career theories and the third chapter examines the changing nature of work, workers, the workforce and organisations in the twenty‐first century. Section II analyses unique issues related to mid and late careers and their impact under different levels of analysis: individual level factors (chapter 4), job level factors (chapter 5) and organisational factors (chapter 6). Section III consists of five chapters exploring the challenges and opportunities for mid and late career workers through a series of topical issues which are: career renewal (chapter 7), performance management concerns (chapter 8), training, development and mentoring issues (chapter 9), work and family issues (chapter 10) and transition to retirement (chapter 11). Finally, section IV consists of a single chapter (chapter 12) which provides integration and a summary of the book by presenting a resource based dynamic model of mid and late career development and adjustments.

Evaluation

This book fills in a gap in the literature and focuses specifically on issues and opportunities encountered by individuals in their mid and late careers. It succeeds well in reviewing, summarising and integrating the existing literature all in one place as well as offering recommendations for future research and practice.

Since it is the first text to have its focal point exclusively in this research area, it is perhaps overly academic and although it uses an easy‐to‐understand language in addition to case studies which facilitate the connection between theory and practice to try to reach a broader audience it might not succeed in doing so. The authors are however very good in making suggestions for further research in each of the issues and opportunities they touch upon, and thus opening up a wider range of studies to be carried out in the area of mid and late careers which might be able to reach workers and policy makers more directly.

Given that all three authors hold PhD degrees in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology, it could have been expected that the language used would be too specific or that the research would be directed to scholars in applied psychology, but it is not the case. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of emerging theoretical and empirical themes which will appeal for scholars from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds.

I would recommend this book to academics looking to carry out further research in mid and late careers and how this is affecting the definition of career, organisational structures, governmental policies and the working lives of individuals over the age of 40.

In the author's own words

“Our hope in writing this book was to expand the understanding of the significance of older workers and to challenge stereotypes and practices that limit opportunities that greatly impact individuals, organisations, and societies […]. We need to move beyond the focus of seeing careers unfolding at certain ages and fully see the tapestry of options that exists for workers of all ages in today's global economy. Underutilization of any group of individuals, including older workers, will undermine the integrity of the entire tapestry” (p. 182).

A About the reviewer

Giovana Polla earned her MBA at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland. She works in the area of career development and training in the hospitality industry and conducts research related to career transitions and career anchors. Giovana Polla can be contacted at: giovana_polla@hotmail.com