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The goal of this study is to develop a theoretical framework to illuminate the process of careers unfolding over time in an overall life context. We draw on data from a qualitative field study of the career paths of 81 professionals who pursued working on a reduced-load basis as a strategy for sustaining commitment to both their careers and family lives. Using multiple methods to analyze what happened between two interviews approximately six years apart, we identify five distinct career narratives and present a model of the evolution of careers. The model suggests that individuals construct careers over time through their own sensemaking of constantly shifting entangled strands of their personal, family, work, and community lives and three key dynamics that are ongoing: external events, gradual developments, and individual actions.

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SummaryIn this inductive study we investigate the local context surrounding professionals choosing to work on a reduced-load basis. We analyze qualitative data collected from key individuals (spouse, boss, co-worker, and HR manager) composing a network around several professionals working reduced load in the professional and management services industry. We describe the interactions in this network using the concepts of exploration and exploitation in four contexts (organization, workgroup, individual, and family). We also identify three emergent patterns of cross-level distribution of exploration and exploitation across contexts, labeled Solo Performance, Organic Fluid Adjustment, and Orchestrated Cooperation. Each of these patterns illuminates a specific form of interaction between the dynamics of exploration and exploitation across contexts. We examine the different outcomes of each pattern for the organization, the individual, and the family. Implications of the findings for theories of work-family interaction, organizational learning, and the organization of work in the professional and management services industry are discussed.