When do employees cross boundaries? Individual and contextual determinants of career mobility

Abstract

This study investigates the joint effects of individual characteristics and the labour market on career mobility. We propose that level of education, openness to experience, and a favourable labour market relate positively to employees crossing organizational, industrial, and occupational boundaries. Management programme alumni (N = 503) provided information through an online survey about their career histories, their level of education, and their openness to experience. Additionally, we used the unemployment rate as an indicator for yearly changes in the labour market. The results of our cross-classified multilevel analysis indicate that both individual characteristics and the labour market are determinants of career mobility. Level of education had a positive effect on organizational and industrial boundary crossing, and changes in the labour market related to organizational boundary crossing. Against our assumptions, openness to experience had no effect on career mobility, and none of the predictors were related to occupational boundary crossing. Our results demonstrate the importance of investigating career mobility from a boundary perspective combined with a focus on both individual and contextual characteristics. The dominance of education compared to personality and the difficulty of explaining occupational mobility open new research avenues and yield practical implications for employees, career counsellors, and organizations.

Professional success of men in the nursing workforce: An integrative review

“…This is consistent with international nursing labour force data, showing that total weekly working hours of men are greater than women (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, 2020; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021; Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2020). Another difference identified in the review was that men were more likely to seek career mobility opportunities than women (Andrews et al, 2012; Brown & Jones, 2004), which is underpinned by both individual and contextual factors (Kornblum et al, 2018). Nevertheless, what remains unresolved is the contributions of gender identity and societal expectations in explaining the trend of career mobility among men in the nursing workforce (Kluczyńska, 2017), which was beyond the scope of this review.…”

Cultural differences in geographic mobility readiness among business management students in Germany and Spain ahead of graduation

“…Several studies have already investigated the determinants of this behavior (e.g. Brett and Reilly 1988;Kornblum et al 2018;McCollum et al 2018;Ng et al 2007). The geographic mobility readiness, in contrast, reflects attitudes toward geographic mobility and hence predicting possible future moves since attitude is a predictor of behavioral intention and actual behavior (Ajzen 1991); and is a predictor of success in expatriate work (Weisheit 2018).…”

“…Nonetheless, with few exceptions (e.g. Baluku et al 2018;Dette and Dalbert 2005;Netz and Jaksztat 2014;Kathleen Otto and Dalbert 2012), most studies have investigated employees or professionals, respectively (Andresen and Margenfeld 2015;Eby and Russell 2000;Kornblum et al 2018;Kathleen Otto and Dalbert 2012). The present study, in contrast, analyzes the readiness of students who are nearing the end of their university studies and facing the challenge of finding their first job to leave their university town.…”

Educational Model Study to Train and Develop Competitive Workers, Based on Learning Objectives

“…The strategic role of training and development for new employees or old employees is to prepare the community to be able to have the required competencies, knowledge and skills. The rationale for policy interests in career development services for old employees or prospective new workers (Kornblum, Unger, & Grote, 2018) with the current transformation in work and career that requires the attention of all stakeholders. The structure and process is needed to bring together career development practitioners with policymakers and the interests of other stakeholders to handle tasks of common concern.…”