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Article
Publication date: 7 August 2023

Faisal Qamar, Shuaib Ahmed Soomro and Yasir Mansoor Kundi

This study utilizes self-determination theory (SDT) to understand how high-performance work systems (HPWS) may foster happiness at work through serial transmission pathways of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study utilizes self-determination theory (SDT) to understand how high-performance work systems (HPWS) may foster happiness at work through serial transmission pathways of career aspiration and thriving at work.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses data collected from a sample of 309 employees working in various organizations. It uses multilevel, multisource and time-lagged data and applied Mplus 8.0 for hypotheses testing.

Findings

The study findings reveal a positive relationship between HPWS and career aspiration. Career aspiration was positively related to thriving at work and thriving at work was positively associated with happiness at work. Moreover, career aspiration mediated the relationship between HPWS and thriving at work. Whereas, thriving at work mediated the relationship between career aspiration and happiness at work. The results also support the serial mediation of career aspiration and thriving at work between HPWS and happiness at work.

Practical implications

The findings have important implications for organizational practice. Practitioners should consider implementing pro-employee HPWS to support employees' career aspirations and enhance their thriving experience, which may increase their happiness at work.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies investigating individual-level serial mediators between departmental-level HPWS and employee happiness at work.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2021

Bhagyashree Barhate and Khalil M. Dirani

This paper aims to explore the career aspirations of individuals belonging to the Gen Z cohort, i.e. born between 1995 and 2012.

16026

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the career aspirations of individuals belonging to the Gen Z cohort, i.e. born between 1995 and 2012.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a systematic review of the literature. The authors accessed four databases to collect literature for review. The databases included were Academic Search Ultimate, Business Source Ultimate, ERIC and Google Scholar. Keywords used to conduct the search process were as follows: career development, career aspiration, generation Z, Gen Z and iGen. The authors imported all articles to RefWorks, read article abstracts and decided on whether to include or exclude the article in the review.

Findings

Based on this systematic review, the authors found that intrinsic and extrinsic factors determine Gen Z's career aspirations. Further, based on past studies' predictions, the authors concluded that Gen Z has well-defined career expectations and career development plans.

Research limitations/implications

Gen Z is the newest generation to enter the workforce. With limited research on this cohort, this study synthesized the existing knowledge of Gen Z students' career aspirations and their future employers' expectations. All research around Gen Z is currently focused on students, and hence, it is challenging to predict their workplace behavior. In this work, the authors provided organizations and practitioners guidelines to be prepared with Gen Z's expectations as they enter the workplace.

Originality/value

This systematic literature review synthesizes empirical research from around the world on career aspirations related to Gen Z.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. 46 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 October 2007

Barrie Litzky and Jeffrey Greenhaus

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of gender, work factors, and non‐work factors with aspirations to positions in senior management. A process model of…

4891

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of gender, work factors, and non‐work factors with aspirations to positions in senior management. A process model of senior management aspirations was developed and tested.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected via an online survey that resulted in a sample of 368 working professionals. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to analyze results.

Findings

Women were less likely than men to desire promotion into a senior management position. Moreover, women's lower desired aspirations for promotion to senior management were due in part to the smaller degree of congruence that women perceive between personal characteristics and senior management positions and in part to the less favorable prospects for career advancement that women perceive relative to men.

Research limitations/implications

The cross‐sectional, correlational research design does not permit strong inferences regarding the causal direction of observed relationships. In addition, the specific nature of the sample (working professionals enrolled in graduate study at one university in the USA) may limit the generalizability of the results.

Practical implications

Because women's career aspirations are affected by their perceived congruence with senior management positions and by their perceived opportunity to reach senior management, organizations should assure that senior management roles are not predominantly associated with masculine characteristics and should evaluate their promotion systems to eliminate artificial barriers to women's advancement into senior management.

Originality/value

This research distinguishes between desired and enacted aspirations as well as provides insights into some factors that explain why women hold weaker desired aspirations for senior management positions than men.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 12 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 February 2020

Rosanne L. Hartman and Emily G. Barber

While women perform as well as their male counterparts at work, women are drastically underrepresented in the onboarding process to senior leadership. The link between…

8195

Abstract

Purpose

While women perform as well as their male counterparts at work, women are drastically underrepresented in the onboarding process to senior leadership. The link between occupational self-efficacy and the role it may play in how men and women make decisions about work has not been done. The purpose of this study is to examine potential differences of occupational self-efficacy, career aspirations and work engagement between women and men.

Design/methodology/approach

Online surveys were created and sent out as emails and on social network sites including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Findings

Findings indicate that occupational self-efficacy has positive effect on career aspirations of women in the workplace. Further, there was no statistically significant difference between occupational self-efficacy and work engagement between men and women. However, men were found to have statistically significantly higher career aspirations than women do.

Research limitations/implications

While men and women do not differ in occupational self-efficacy or work engagement, men do have higher career aspirations than women do. Although women may believe they can accomplish challenging tasks in the workplace, it does not mean this belief is acted upon.

Practical implications

The study highlights the importance of occupational self-efficacy and its relation to career aspirations. Individuals who are high in occupational self-efficacy may set their own path in advancing within their career. However, individuals who are low or moderate in occupational self-efficacy may require further encouragement and development using additional resources as a catalyst for advancement guidance. While no differences were found between men and women in occupational self-efficacy, human resource practitioners should develop those individuals who are low or moderate in occupational self-efficacy with coaching, training and/or mentoring to build leadership capacity, increase self-efficacy and career-planning acumen.

Social implications

Men and women behave differently when seeking career advancement and in their career aspirations. For men, advancement is linked to performance whereas women use a multi-pronged approach focusing on preparing for career success and building role competency. Differences in strategy for advancement mean men will actively engage in behaviors to advance even when they do not have the knowledge or experience to perform in the new role. Conversely, women seek to feel competent in a work role prior to seeking it out. Finding ways to mentor women toward higher self-efficacy for their next career advancement will benefit organizations overall.

Originality/value

Research examining the role of occupational self-efficacy and its relation to career aspirations does not exist in comparing men and women.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. 35 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2014

Mariska van der Horst, Tanja van der Lippe and Esther Kluwer

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how work and family aspirations relate to occupational achievements and gender differences herein.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how work and family aspirations relate to occupational achievements and gender differences herein.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from 2009 the authors examined the relationship between career and childrearing aspirations and occupational achievements of Dutch parents. Using path modeling in Mplus, the authors investigated both direct and indirect pathways where aspirations were related to occupational achievements via time allocations.

Findings

The authors found that ranking being promoted instead of a non-career aspiration as the most important job aspiration was positively related to occupational achievements. Surprisingly, the authors also found that ranking childrearing as the most important life role aspiration was positively related to earnings among fathers.

Research limitations/implications

Investigating aspirations in multiple domains simultaneously can provide new information on working parents’ occupational achievements.

Practical implications

The results imply that parents who want to achieve an authority position or high earnings may need to prioritize their promotion aspiration among their job aspirations in order to increase the likelihood of achieving such a position. Moreover, this is likely to require sacrifices outside the work domain, since spending more time on paid work is an important way to achieve this aspiration.

Originality/value

This paper adds to previous research by explicitly taking life role aspirations into account instead of focussing solely on job aspirations. Moreover, this study extends previous research by investigating indirect pathways from aspirations to occupational achievements via family work in addition to the previously found pathway via paid work.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2011

Maimunah Ismail and Efizah Sofiah Ramly

This paper seeks to compare the influence of self‐efficacy, organizational socialization and continuous improvement (CI) practices on the career aspirations of research and…

2017

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to compare the influence of self‐efficacy, organizational socialization and continuous improvement (CI) practices on the career aspirations of research and development (R&D) professionals in government research institutes (GRIs) and multinational corporations (MNCs) in Malaysia. R&D professionals in this study refer to a specific group of knowledge workers.

Design/methodology/approach

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) was used as this study's theoretical framework. The study involved 164 respondents from GRIs and 120 respondents from MNCs in Malaysia. Descriptive statistics and inferential multiple linear regressions were used to analyse the data.

Findings

Self‐efficacy and organizational socialization were found to differ significantly in terms of their levels, and CI practices and career aspirations were not found to be significantly different between the two groups of respondents. Regression results showed MNCs reported higher explanatory power compared to that of the GRIs in terms of the variance in career aspirations.

Research limitations/implications

The insights generated about the factors affecting career aspirations are based on three independent variables, namely: self‐efficacy, organizational socialization and CI practices that are most suitable for a R&D environment.

Practical implications

This study confirms the relevance of CI practices in the existing model of SCCT because it represents the organizational variables. HRD practitioners in both types of organizations should consider changing the work practices of R&D professionals by strengthening the quality improvement procedures because they affect the professionals' career aspirations.

Originality/value

Incorporating CI practices into the SCCT model is believed to be a contribution of this study to the theory.

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2007

Nira Danziger and Yoram Eden

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether gendered differences in occupational aspirations still appear when considering students with similar abilities who study…

2901

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether gendered differences in occupational aspirations still appear when considering students with similar abilities who study competitively in the same achievement‐oriented educational setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses stipulated an interaction between gender and year of study on students' career aspirations and on career‐style preferences. An interactive expression was constructed, multiplying gender by year of study (i.e. a female student in her freshman year, a female student in her senior year, and so on). A sequence of logistic regressions was used to test the hypotheses. The hypotheses were tested by cross‐sectional analysis of the data, using 802 valid questionnaires collected from a sample of 1,000 Israeli accounting students from the accounting programs at three institutions of higher learning.

Findings

It was hypothesized that differences between the sexes in occupational aspirations and career style preferences would evolve and increase with years of study and especially as students approached the end of the academic track. In other words, it was expected that an interaction between gender and year of study would affect students' occupational aspirations and career‐style preferences. The findings supported the hypothesis. In their freshmen year, the sexes shared a similar pattern of aspirations and goals. However, during their later academic years, females reduced their occupational aspirations and revealed a stronger preference for a convenient balance between work and other facets of life. Logistic regressions demonstrated the statistically significant effect of the interaction between gender and academic year on student occupational aspirations and career‐style preferences.

Originality/value

The study demonstrates the decrease in female students’ occupational aspirations during the educational period, and that encouraging young women to obtain male‐type professional education might be insufficient in order to eliminate inequality between the sexes.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 May 2009

Lihong Huang

Along with the other Nordic welfare states, Norway has achieved relative gender parity as measured by the Gender Gap Index of the United Nations (Hausmann, Tyson, & Zahidi, 2006

Abstract

Along with the other Nordic welfare states, Norway has achieved relative gender parity as measured by the Gender Gap Index of the United Nations (Hausmann, Tyson, & Zahidi, 2006) and is therefore looked upon by many as a model in minimising gender gaps in the society. With a 47 per cent share of the active labour force in the country, Norwegian women have had a high level of labour market participation since the late 1980s. In addition, Norway ranks among the top countries in the world in terms of offering women and men equal access to education at all levels, equal access to leadership positions in the workplace and in politics and generous parental leave benefits. Although gender parity in education at all levels as well as in labour market participation is a reality in Norway, there are significant gender differences vis-à-vis in career aspiration among students and the Norwegian labour market is characterized by gender segregation (Foss, 2005) which results in a gender gap in pay where women earn less than men.

Details

Gender, Equality and Education from International and Comparative Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-094-0

Article
Publication date: 20 February 2009

Kimberly A. Eddleston

The purpose of this paper is to apply social comparison theory to the study of managerial careers. It is proposed that how managers evaluate their career progression in comparison…

3630

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply social comparison theory to the study of managerial careers. It is proposed that how managers evaluate their career progression in comparison with the accomplishments of others will affect how they feel about their careers and organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Male and female managers who were similar in age (±5 years) and from the same organization, functional area, management level, and region were asked to participate in the study. Data from 392 managers from lower and middle levels were used to test the study hypotheses. Respondents completed measures of upward comparisons, downward comparisons, enacted aspirations, competitiveness of work group, career satisfaction and turnover intentions.

Findings

Study results showed that social comparisons influence managers' turnover intentions and career satisfaction. Upward comparisons were found to be positively related to turnover intentions and career satisfaction. Downward comparisons were found to be negatively related to turnover intentions and positively related to career satisfaction. In addition, the competitiveness of the managers' work group and their enacted aspirations were found to be significant moderators. These findings emphasize the importance of relative standards in predicting managerial career attitudes.

Research limitations/implications

The measures created to assess the degree to which individuals make downward and upward social comparisons when assessing their career progress should be tested in additional occupations and studies. Future research should investigate how social comparisons influence career attitudes beyond considering feelings of relative deprivation. In particular, researchers should aim to understand when upward comparisons are threatening or motivating.

Practical implications

The findings demonstrate that social comparisons can be quite prevalent within organizations and that the competitiveness of the organizational climate can have a significant impact on how social comparisons affect managers' career satisfaction. Therefore, organizations should be mindful of the climates they endorse. Furthermore, findings suggest that organizations should encourage managers to participate in career strategies since career strategies associated with enacted aspirations were found to enhance the effects of the social comparison process, leading to an increase in managers' career satisfaction and a decrease in their turnover intentions.

Originality/value

This is the first known study to empirically examine how upward and downward comparisons affect managers' turnover intentions and career satisfaction.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2016

Tazul Islam and Tareq M. Zayed

A preliminary observation reveals that children of Islamic studies (IS) academicians do not choose IS as their career discipline. In view of this, this paper aims to explore the…

Abstract

Purpose

A preliminary observation reveals that children of Islamic studies (IS) academicians do not choose IS as their career discipline. In view of this, this paper aims to explore the dimensions of parental attitudes, behaviours, perceptions and aspirations in seeing a future in IS for their children.

Design/methodology/approach

Fifteen interviews were conducted to explore the attitude of IS academicians. Findings led us to hypothesize that perceived social recognition explains the maximum variance. Later, 126 academicians were surveyed.

Findings

Results of regression analysis rejected the null hypothesis. The parental attitude of IS academicians, their engagement and perceived social recognition significantly predicted their aspiration in enrolling their children in IS. The regression model explained 64 per cent of total variance accounted for IS academicians’ career aspirations for their children. This study suggests investigating the socio-cultural and geographical impact on the career aspirations of IS academicians for their children.

Originality/value

The findings and results of the study can contribute to educational counselling to guide the counsellors. Further study on this issue may reveal whether IS academicians have plans to modify the curriculum or change their socio-economic status. It should also be examined whether they are doing so as a part of their implicit or explicit strategy.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

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