Psychological success: When the career is acalling

Abstract

SummaryThis article has the dual purpose of expanding an understanding of the relationship between subjective and objective careers, and describing one condition under which the subjective career takes on particular salience: when the person feels a sense of calling in his or her career (that is, a sense of purpose, that this is the work one was meant to do.) This sense of calling does not necessarily have to be connected to a set of religious beliefs. We present a model of psychological success based on the career as a calling in order to clarify relationships between the subjective and objective career, and we offer propositions related to the model. Further, we offer a case study to illustrate the notion of the career as a calling, as proposed in the model.

“Against all odds”: Head chefs profiled

“…Indeed, Hall & Chandler (2005) found that participants who viewed their jobs as a calling experienced higher levels of psychological success. Heslin (2005) also differentiates between people who see their work as a career that is entwined with their identity, a job where the focus is on financial reward or others who see it as a calling.…”

Career adaptability, calling and the professional competence of social work students in China: A career construction perspective

“…Calling is usually defined as the consuming and meaningful passion people experience towards a profession (Bunderson, & Thompson, 2009;Dobrow & Tosti-Kharas, 2011;Hall & Chandler, 2005;Wrzesniewski, McCauley, Rozin, & Schwartz, 1997). A high level of calling reflects a strong tendency to implement one's self-concept and life meanings Career Adaptability and Calling 6 in the pursuit of target profession.…”

Psychological career resources as predictors of working adults’ career anchors: An exploratory study

“…Behavioural adaptability involves individuals' ability to identify those qualities that are critical for future performance and the willingness to make the necessary personal changes to meet their career-related needs (Hall, 2002). Thus, individuals with high behavioural adaptability would have the capacity to engage pro-actively in the process of goal-setting, initiating effort and achieving psychological success (Hall & Chandler, 2005).…”

“…Employability is regarded as a psycho-social construct that embodies individual characteristics that foster pro-active adaptive cognition, behaviour and affect, and enhance the individual-work interface (Fugate, Kinicki & Ashforth, 2004). In this regard, pro-active career behaviour includes the ability to employ a range of psychological career resources such as being behaviourally adaptable and fl exible in dealing with more frequent career transitions; having a sense of calling regarding one's career; having a sense of awareness of one's career preferences, values and motives; and demonstrating positive core self-evaluations, self-management skills, relationship skills and emotional literacy (Briscoe & Hall, 1999;Coetzee, 2008;Hall & Chandler, 2005;Judge, Bono, Erez & Locke, 2005;Kuijpers & Scheerens, 2006). Furthermore, with individuals' careers being less predictable and ordered than they once were, interest in the behaviour and characteristics that predict individuals' career success and employability has gained greater salience in contemporary career research (Arnold & Cohen, 2008;Arthur, Khapova & Wilderom, 2005).…”