Navigating Career Transitions: A Holistic View of Adult Development

1. Career Counseling: A Holistic Approach Vernon G. Zunker Chapter 14

2. Adult Career Development Concerns • Biological, psychological, socio-cultural and life cycle forces influence human development • Early establishment stage transitions • Mid career and maintenance stage transitions • Late career to retirement transitions • Worker, homemaker, leisure and citizen life roles • Stress at work

3. Globalization and Job Security • Highly valued job security and pay increases are no longer tied completely to longevity • Many workplaces endorse pay for performance • Counselors are to emphasize that learning to adapt and become flexible to the work role is an important key to success in the job market • Market forces driven by a global economy have changed the job market

4. Biopsychosocial Framework and Life Events • Biological forces include all genetic and health related factors that affect development • Psychological forces include all internal, perceptual, cognitive, emotional and personality factors that affect development • Socio-cultural forces include interpersonal, social, cultural and ethnic factors • Life-cycle forces reflect differences in how the same events affect people of different ages

5. Early Career Establishment • Career establishment years 25-44 • A critical time when one struggles to form a unique identity in the work world • An individual is balancing intimacy and isolation while also attempting to maintain a unique identity in the process of developing relationships • Current work environments stress teamwork • During early career, individuals demonstrate their ability to function effectively on the job

6. Career Anchors • Career anchors are formed during early career experiences and situations encountered in the workplace • Career anchors develop over time and are not easily changed • Career anchors are considered to be core values, interests and abilities that are developed during early career

7. Mid-Career and Maintenance Stage Transitions • The middle phase of an individual’s work life • Has its own set of tasks and socio-emotional needs • Conflicting demands within the work environment and personal life • Developing a perspective of positive growth orientation in work environments and encouraging individuals to adapt to change is a healthy attitude to promote

8. Late Career and Transition to Retirement • Studies on aging suggest that the median age of the U.S. workforce reflects an increasing number of older workers • This has many implications • Career issues for older workers include age-related changes in abilities and job performance, changing relationships, age discrimination, health concerns, family factors and when (or if) to retire

9. Interacting Influences • In the adult world of career transitions, the totality of interacting influences of personal and career concerns has significant relevance to career development • Career transitions are influenced by both internal and external factors • Mental health issues may become a factor • Counselors must help people determine if their reasoning and decision making is rational and realistic

10. Life Roles and Potential Conflicts • The impact of decisions on lifestyle, including relationships, is a major part of a more comprehensive view of development • Life roles increase and decrease in importance according to an individual’s current status • Student Role • Worker Role • Homemaker Role • Leisure Role • Citizen Role

11. Stress at Work • Stress can be induced by work and the work environment • Stress is defined as a psychophysical response to various stimuli • Conditions of work • Work itself • Supervision • Shift work • Wage and promotion • Role ambiguity • Career development stressors • Group stressors • Workplace climate • Workplace structure