live to work or work to live impact of career identity on career development across dutch and...

Live To Work Or Work To Live

Impact of career identity on career development across Dutch and Chinese teachers

Dr. Huadong YangDr. Piety Runhaar

Emmy Soer Yishu Wang

Organisational Psychology and HRD University of Twente

Career is a path to develop my

professional skills.

Career is just like climbing a ladder.

Career is just like climbing a ladder.

I need a decent life, so I need a career.

I need a decent life, so I need a career.

Career is the evolving sequence of a person’s work experiences over time.

(Arthur, Hall & Lawrence, 1989)

Defining career

Career development

Different models of career development

• Life-span models

Super’s model (1959);

Career shifts and transitions during a life span.

• Individual differences

Career anchors (Schein, 1978):

Technical-functional; Managerial;

Security & stability; Creativity; Autonomy & independence.

Career patterns Kanter (1989) :

Professional; Bureaucratic; Entrepreneurial

• Two types of development

Horizontal development: (Task-oriented)

Do a better job;

Achievement by excellent work.

Vertical development: (Process-oriented)

Gain more responsibilities; authority and status;

Getting to the to top; higher salary.

Career development in our study

Influence of career identity on career development

In career development, most individuals inject their own identity into the situation by “being themselves”…and by taking on roles in which they can express their identity.

(Arthur, Hall & Lawrence, 1989)

Career identity

How central one’s career is to one’s identity. (London, 1983)

Work centrality The desire of

upward mobility

Job involvementProfessional orientationCommitment to work Identification with organization

AdvancementRecognitionDominance Money

Work centrality Task-oriented development

The desire of upward mobility

process-oriented development

The function of self-construal

• Individual’s sense of self in relation to others (Markus & Kitayama; 1991; Hardin, 2006)

Independent self-construalUnique and autonomous entity;

Independent from others; Express self.

Interdependent self-construalIs defined through relationships with others;

Connected with social context;

Occupy one’s proper place.

Work involvement Task-related Career development

Independent self-construal

Upward mobility process-related Career development

Interdependent self-construal

Method

Participants72 teachers and 10 school leaders from 10 schools in the Netherlands.Teachers: Mage = 40 (23 to 61); 80% female; 64 HBO and above

Instruments: Career development (leaders)6 items for the “task-related” career development (α =.85).“This teacher likes to participate in activities which can improve his/her teaching skills”.

5 items for the “process-related” career development (α =.87).“This teacher shows great enthusiasm for the activities which can lead to a promotion”.

• Career identityWork centrality (5 items; α =.68): “My work as a teacher is an important part of my life”

Desire of upward mobility (6 items; α =.69): “Getting a promotion is a strong motivation for me to work hard.”

• Self-construalIndependent self-construal (9 items; α =.72): “I prefer to do my own things.”

Interdependent self-construal (7 items; α =.70).“Having harmonious relationships with colleagues is my path to success”

Method

Results

Task-related career development

Control

Age -.06

Gender -.10

Experience .01

Predictor

Work centrality .19*

Independent self-construal -.06

Interaction

Work * Independent -.01

F 1.30

R2 .15

Results

Process-related career development

Control

Age -.12

Gender -.12

Experience .02

Predictor

Desire of upward mobility .49**

Interdependent self-construal .03

Interaction

Upward * Independent .22*

F 3.17**

R2 .30

2

3

4

Low High

Desire of upward mobility

Pro

cess

-rel

ated

ca

reer

dev

elo

pm

ent

Low interdependent High interdependent

Study 2

Purpose:

Replicate Study 1 in the Chinese cultural context, and examine how the impact of career indentify on career development differs across cultural contexts.

Hypotheses

• H1: The impact of work centrality on the task-oriented career development is stronger among Dutch employees than among Chinese employees.

Dutch Culture: Western; Individualistic; Independent

Work centralitytask-related career

development

Hypotheses

• H2: The impact of the desire for upward mobility on the process-oriented career development is stronger among Chinese employees than among Dutch employees.

Chinese Culture: Eastern; Interdependent; Collectivistic;

The desire for upward mobility

Process-oriented career development

• Participants 95 Chinese teachers; 15 team leaders (from 4 schools)

72 Dutch teacher; 10 team leaders

• ProcedureTeam leaders: career development activities

Teachers: career identity; self-construal.

• MeasuresCareer identity scale; in/inter-dependent self-construal scale; career development scale

Method

Work centralityTask-oriented career

development.18**

The desire for upward mobility

Process-oriented career development

.29**

Results: Main Effect

Results: Interaction Effect

The desire for upward mobility

Process-oriented career development

Ongoing Studies

Work centralityTask-related career

development

The desire for upward mobility

Process-related career development

HR practices

X

HR practices

＋

Implication

• Employees

Develop one’s career in accordance with career identity.

• Organizations

Organizational career should take individuals’ career identity into account.

Results: Additional Analysis

Work centralityTask-related career

development

Independent Self construal

The desire for upward mobility

Process-related career development

Interdependent self construal

X

X

Work Attitudes

• We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. WINSTON CHURCHILL

• I'm a great believer in luck and I find that the harder I work, the more I have of it. THOMAS JEFFERSON.

• My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it. ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Work to live (A story on Internet)

• When I was a kid, I would ask my mom why she and my father had to work. She would always tell me that they had to, so we could have the money to buy food, to pay for the bills, to pay for our schooling…

To be successful means that you have to sacrifice some things, and sometimes you end up sacrificing your family, your friends, your life; you achieve your professional goals, but you lose yourself. Then, you wonder if the loss is worth the gain?