Em …- what? Global views on career success and its consequences for HRM and the employability debate.

1. Em…- what? Global views on career success and itsconsequences for HRM and the employability debate. Wolfgang Mayrhofer WU Vienna, Austria

2. Careersandsustainableemployment W. Mayrhofer

3. Expectations towards careers and career success W. Mayrhofer

4. This presentation: Views on careers and career success W. Mayrhofer

5. Across the globe

6. 5C – Cross-cultural contem-porary careers collaboration • Focusing on three central topics • Career concepts • Career success • Career transitions • Considering three different professional groups • Business school graduates • Nursing school graduates • Blue-collar workers • Looking at two generations • Younger generation • Older generation • 11 countries • Culture clusters selected according to Schwartz’ framework of cultural values • Austria, China, Costa Rica, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Serbia, South Africa, Spain and the US. W. Mayrhofer

7. Careersuccessdimensions W. Mayrhofer

8. ‚First-order output‘ W. Mayrhofer

9. ‚Valuingwhatonedoes‘ W. Mayrhofer

10. ‚Learning andgrowth‘ W. Mayrhofer

11. ‚Linking withothers‘ W. Mayrhofer

12. ‚Reaching out‘ W. Mayrhofer

13. Implicationsforsustainableemployment W. Mayrhofer

14. Career expectations of new generation

15. Background

16. Point ofdeparture • Recruiting experience: potential new generation of employees seem to ‘tick’ in a different way • Changing career landscape • Changes in the relationship between individual and organisation • Less long-term relationships • More careers outside/alongside organisations • Global players compete for scarce humanresources, especially ‘high potentials’ from the younger generation • Gen Y? W. Mayrhofer

17. The study(Mayrhofer/Nordhaug/Obeso 2011) • CEMS-L’Oreal fellowship • takes a closer look at CEMS-students from the CEMS Master‘s International management program as part of the pool for future leaders • Paints a portrait of these students • Quantitative analysis • questionnaire: 339 students • Response rate 26% from 37 countries; 53% male, 47% female; average age 24; 37 countries • Qualitative work • 34 interviews at ESADE and WU campus (15 men, 19 women, 16 different countries, average age 23) • Categorical content analysis

18. Identity androlemodels

19. Identity issues • Own nationality still plays an important role • On deeper reflection and after exposure to other national cultures a broad supranational identity can be developing • Being European • no strong category for identity • used as a label by people from other parts of the world • Local identification (Bavarians, Catalans etc.) very rare • Collective identities are very weak (class structure, religious groups, political party, ideology…) • Strong ‘me-me’ individual identity: substantial individualism • A sense of belonging to a “select few” when considering their future position in organizations W. Mayrhofer

20. Rolemodels • “Big names” or “heroes” are not held up as role models • Sometimes quite normal people • Private role models • primarily derived from the family of origin • most often (step) parents or grandparents; no other relatives such as, e.g. elder siblings • In all cases: role models chosen for what they do rather than for what they are • action speaks louder than words • examples • mastering professional tasks outstandingly • doing “the right things” W. Mayrhofer

21. Expectationstowardsorganisationsandwork

22. Role of work in one‘s life Work is important and plays a major role Prepared to work a lot: if inheriting enough money 12% would do other things than work 20% would still choose to work for an employer 68% would prefer to run a business Work has a moral meaning Work-life balance is important but aware of a trade-off between the spheres 22 C. Obeso/W. Mayrhofer/O. Nordhaug

23. More than 9 Mean SD (JP) Interesting work 9,37 0,981 (JP) Good opportunities to develop competence 9,16 1.085 (JP) Opportunities for personal development 9,13 1,273 Between 8 and 8.99 (WP) Good social relations among colleagues 8,93 1,260 (WP) Opportunities to work abroad in periods 8,69 1,535 (JP) A lot of variety in work tasks 8,60 1,341 (WP) The employer has a good reputation 8,31 1,297 (WP) High annual earning salary 8,21 1,452 Between 7 and 7.99 (WP) Good personnel policy 7.86 1,569 (JP) Opportunities for getting fast promotion 7,83 1,778 (JP) A lot of freedom in the job 7,68 1,592 (WP) Pay based on individual performance 7,53 2,018 (WP) Systematic career planning 7,41 1,955 Between 6 and 6.99 (JP) The position has a high status 6,93 1,961 (WP) High job security 6,88 2,050 (JP) Flexible working hours 6,82 2,208 (JP) Large amount of project work 6,30 2,063 Low (JP) Opportunities to work at home 4,81 2,717 Scale from 1-low to 10-high Characteristics of first job and employer – ranking of importance W. Mayrhofer

24. Expectations towards work 1/2 • Give-and-take relationship with a more short-term focus • Meaning in work – if it is... • related to individual competence development • Varied • “meaningful” in term of results • perceived as “morally clean” • Individual responsibility highly valued • Status and job security ranked low W. Mayrhofer

25. Expectations towards work 2/2 • Leadership issues • Don’t react negatively to leadership: being managed through trust and empowerment • Transactional and not relational relationship • Less emphasis on freedom in the job: Structured freedom • A good place to work is not just a nice place but a challenging, positive and results oriented environment: To have fun just for the sake of it is not an issue • To gain recognition and admiration on the immediate work environment (family-like reward system) W. Mayrhofer

26. Work-life balance • It is not a crucial priority • In case of doubts work comes first • The only clear strategy to balance work and life is the efficient use of work time W. Mayrhofer

27. Views on careers

28. View on careers • Associated with progression, e.g. learning as a life-long process and hierarchical advancement or improved responsibilities • Career takes also place outside organizations • See themselves in a management position and often predetermined to become CEO • Internal locus of control • faith in competencies • recognition of efforts to achieve goals • great degree of self-confidence • Little emphasis on • “grand concepts” • networks • assumption: we have it • family ties matter greatly W. Mayrhofer

29. Career aspirations configuration of actors stable unstable Company World Free-floating professionalism tight strive for a position of responsibility and influence and a long-term career within one organisation want to be under contract to one or a few organisations for special and challenging tasks, staying with the same organisation only for a limited time 49.5% 34.1% coupling to organisation Self-employed Chronic Flexibility seek “traditional“ self-employment, i.e. offering a range of quite standardized products and/or services to a relatively stable clientele aspire to a “freelancer” career with different projects for various clients and ever-changing work contents loose 4.8% 11.6% Iellatchitch et al. 2003 W. Mayrhofer

30. Career aspirations • Only half of the respondents opt for company world • Recruitment crisis? • Still a solid part of the overall population • Other half opts for career outside/alongside companies • Temporary relationships, “Staying for a brief period in time – then I wouldn’t exclude any places”, RJ • It seems difficult to ‚bind‘ these people long-term to the company • Corroborates with the emphasis on job/position and not so much on workplace/employer • Free-floating professionalism very attractive • Building elements of this into classic organisations? • Are organisations able at all to get these people long-term? W. Mayrhofer

31. Implicationsforsustainableemployment

32. Major implications W. Mayrhofer

33. Findingthe USP in recruiting • What do organisations “sell” when trying to attract highly-qualified individuals who are in high demand in their early career? • Possible approaches • Emphasise the capacity of your organisation to emulate a setting characterised by a concrete series of projects and short-term career episodes compatible with different career aspirations; • Refrain from primarily selling the organisation, instead focusing on the tasks and projects they can offer. W. Mayrhofer

34. An illustration W. Mayrhofer The Economist, March 6, 2010

35. Relationshipbuilding • How do organisations mould the relationship between them and this new generation? • Possible approaches • As a starting point, acknowledge that members of this generation are highly mobile at least in the beginning of their careers • They are constantly looking for a better deal where they can get out the most for their future career – don’t necessarily expect them to be members in the long run • Enter into a relaxed quid-pro-quo relationship where both sides – for the time being – enter a rewarding relationship by investing what they can offer W. Mayrhofer

36. Rewarding and incentives • How do organisations reward these individuals with a high demand of feedback and recognition? • Possible approaches • Provide a sound material basis as well as ways of making them feel like a member of the family, e.g. by emphasising work-related personal relationships • Give them the spotlight they need, e.g. by explicit social recognition of performance • Offer clear benefits in terms of development of career capitals, e.g. technical and social competences, contacts and networks and future career opportunities W. Mayrhofer

37. Leadershipissues • How do you lead this generation of future leaders? • Possible approaches • Refrain from “talking the talk” before one is not able to “walk the walk” • sparse use of grand concepts, career plans, mission statements • emphasis on leading by example; • Make honest (“no bullshit”) and constant as well as thorough feedback (e.g. 360-degree appraisals) an integral part of your organisation’s leadership style • Use the readiness of these individuals to work hard by providing them with the opportunity to make a difference which is important to the organisation and to them • Try to build a strong sense of joint mission for the tasks or projects at hand W. Mayrhofer

38. Closing remarks

39. Careersandsustainableemployment W. Mayrhofer

40. Careersandsustainableemployment W. Mayrhofer

41. o. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Mayrhofer Head of Institute Interdisciplinary Institute for Management and Organisational Behaviour WU Vienna University ofEconcomicsand Business Vienna, Austria, Europe wolfgang.mayrhofer@wu.ac.at www.wu-wien.ac.at/ivm/team/wiss_ma/w_mayrhofer tel. ++43-1-313 36-4553, fax ++43-1-313 36-724 Postaladdress: Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Wien, Austria, Europe W. Mayrhofer

42. Careers and sustainable employment Wolfgang Mayrhofer WU Vienna, Austria