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Human beings are dependent upon social approval to strengthen their identities. Therefore, they practice impression management: They anticipate which behaviour provokes which reactions in their social environment, and they tend to exhibit the kind of behaviour that promises positive feedback. Based on the assumption that human beings also show this behaviour in their choice of vocation, we hypothesise that young people are more likely to expect negative reactions from their social environment when choosing a gender-atypical occupation. Furthermore, we assume that the expected reaction of the social environment influences vocational orientation: The anticipation of negative reactions to gender-atypical vocational choice might contribute to explain why young people ignore this occupation. We tested both hypotheses with the help of data retrieved from a survey of young people in Germany who are interested in vocational education and training (VET). The results support our hypotheses; however, they also show that the relevance of a gender-typed vocational choice is weaker if adolescents have a higher educational background. In this case, the choice of an occupation that expresses a high educational status becomes more important. It may lead to an exclusive kind of social approval that is denied to people with a lower educational background.

Based on representative longitudinal data (CNEF 1980–2013) the paper analyzes gender differences of the level and the determinants of earnings dynamics in the work life of different cohorts of employees in Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. Notwithstanding country differences concerning the existing welfare state regime constituting the institutional settings of the labor market, the educational system, and family role models, the empirical results show decreasing earnings mobility in the work history. The earnings level, educational attainment, family size, the occupational choice, the career stage, the birth cohort, and the macroeconomic fluctuations significantly influence earnings mobility. In the United States, earnings mobility is significantly lower and gender differences are less pronounced than in Germany and Great Britain. The gender gap of earnings mobility is less expressed for younger cohorts of German employees. The increase of the gender gap of earnings dynamics in the course of the work career indicates continuing heterogeneity of labor market behavior and outcome of women and men which contribute to persistent economic and social stratification.

Affect control theory describes a process in which individuals work to maintain existing situated identities. In this paper, we extend affect control theory to explain selective identity preferences in occupational settings. We argue that individuals form preferences about potential future identities with an eye to maintaining consistency between their potential experiences and their existing biographical identities. In particular, we suggest that occupational identity preferences reflect work-specific biographical identities called worker identities. We then predict that individuals who are seeking alternative or additional occupational identities will prefer those that evoke sentiments that are similar to those evoked by their worker identities. We find that current worker sentiments predict reports of desired and undesired future occupational identities, to include generalized military identities, to a remarkable degree. We discuss the implications for research on occupational mobility, work, and life course, as well as for existing identity theories.

Occupational preferences and subsequent turnover behaviour are part of a complex relationship between employees and their occupational and organizational labour markets. Both markets contribute to matching skills and jobs. Differences in individual and occupational attributes can predict the direction and intensity of preferences for alternative organizations, occupations and job locations. Occupational preferences, which reflect the attractiveness of alternative positions within and outside the employing organization, are examined as central antecedents of occupation‐specific turnover behaviour. The results of a logistic regression analysis, based on a cross‐sectional occupational representative data set of 700 medical sector employees and a follow‐up sample of 81 “quitters”, suggest that turnover behaviour is influenced by organizational and occupational employment opportunities and occupational preferences.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature, transition and formation of occupational identity for those in recovery from eating disorders (EDs).

Semi-structured “episodic” interviews were carried out with six women, self-identifying in recovery from an ED. Narrative-type-analysis produced a distilled narrative of participants’ accounts, before use of thematic analysis compared and extracted pertinent themes.

During recovery from an ED, significant shifts occurred in occupational identities, moving from sole identification with the ED, to a greater understanding of self; facilitated by increased engagement in meaningful occupations, adapting occupational meaning, connecting with self and others and the importance of becoming and belonging.

This is the first known piece of research exploring occupational identity in relation to EDs. The findings are applicable to occupational therapists and add to the growing body of qualitative research into EDs.

This paper extends the debate on gender and career choice using the case study of managers in charity shops in the UK, a group that have previously not been researched. The charity retail sector has undergone considerable change over the last few years, particularly in its effort to professionalize. As a result shop managers' positions have changed from being voluntary to paid. With the changes taking place in the sector, the purpose of this research was to explore the views of current charity shop managers with regard to their career choice and career development issues.

The methodological approach taken to the research was qualitative and used a series of in‐depth interviews with 22 shop managers.

The research found that charity retail management serves an important purpose for many women in the transition from the home to working environment. It provides the balance necessary to effectively combine the multiple role demands between personal and professional lives. Career success for these managers was less to do with occupational status or income, but encompassed the satisfaction, autonomy, challenge and self‐fulfillment the job presented them. As such, the majority had little interest in progressing their careers linearly but were contented with other forms of career development.

Being an exploratory study, the results are not generalisable to the population. A quantitative research methodology could be utilized to test the findings of this paper and enable researchers to draw firmer conclusions.

The findings of this research may aid recruitment and selection practices for the future recruitment and development of charity shop managers.

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.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) employees constitute one of the largest, but least studied, minority groups in the workforce. This article examines what we know, and what we need to know, about the career and workplace experiences of this understudied population. The construct of sexual identity is defined, followed by a review of the research on sexual orientation in the workplace. Then an analysis of the differences between LGB employees and other stigmatized groups is presented. Three unique challenges facing LGB employees are identified, and conceptual models are developed that explain underlying processes. Finally, career theories are critically analyzed, and an identity-based longitudinal theory of LGB careers is presented.

A growing body of literature shows how intragenerational occupational mobility affects economic dynamics and social stratification. In this article the authors aim to carry out a structured review of this literature, outlining a systemic overview for more comprehensive research and public policies.

The authors use methods from structured literature reviews and network science to reveal the segmented research landscape of occupational mobility literature. The authors made an in-depth analysis of the most important papers to summarize the main contributions of the literature and identify research gaps.

The authors reveal a segmented research landscape around three communities: (1) human capital theory, (2) social stratification theory and (3) migration studies. Human capital research uses microfounded mathematical modeling to understand the relationship between skills and mobility. Nevertheless, it cannot explain social segregation and generally does not focus on the importance of local labor demand. Social stratification research can explain the social and institutional barriers to occupational mobility. Migration research studies the relationship between migration, labor demand and social mobility.

This paper is the first literature review that uses network analysis to perform a systematic review of the intragenerational occupational mobility literature. Moreover, this review identifies opportunities for mutual learning and research gaps in the research landscape.

The purpose of this paper is to reassess whether individuals choose to become self‐employed for “pull” or “push” reasons, to discuss and describe ambiguities in this distinction, with focus on differences between men and women, and draw conclusions for further conceptual work.

The paper reviews current literature, from which specific hypotheses are developed. For illustration and evaluation secondary analysis is undertaken of an existing large‐scale data source available in UK Quarterly Labour Force Surveys over the period 1999‐2001.

It was found that 86 per cent state only a single reason for self‐employment. Response patterns differ significantly between men and women. Independence is the most commonly cited motivation but 22 per cent of women cite family commitments. “Push” motivations may account for as much as 48 per cent depending on interpretation. Men who report two or more factors tend to combine “pull” factors, but women tend to combine “push” with “pull”.

Respondents may display recall bias. Potential ambiguity in the way in which respondents may interpret particular motivations points to the need for future detailed qualitative research, and questionnaire item development. Further work is recommended to assess whether conclusions hold in recent recessionary economic conditions.

Clarity between “push” and “pull” factors is important in the design of entrepreneurship policy, especially during a recession. Further work is needed to provide this clarity to inform policy design.

Few previous studies investigate reasons for choosing entrepreneurship using large, population‐generalisable data, and do not consider the conceptual ambiguities inherent in categorising motivations as either “pull” or “push”.