Polish Psychological Bulletin

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to determine the characteristic features of personal functioning at different stages of professional development. The survey involved 139 professionals from various fields (74 women and 65 men) aged 24 to 67 years. The sample is divided into 5 groups according to the stage of professional development. A comparative analysis of groups by parameters of professional self-realisation, emotional burnout and psychological well-being is carried out. The results obtained demonstrate the nonlinear, complex dynamics of self-realisation of the individual throughout life and clarify the internal mechanisms of professional development at each stage. The stages of primary and secondary professionalisation are accompanied by the greatest need for self-improvement and at the same time, exaggerated and unrealistic ideas about one's own professional competence. An increased symptomatology of emotional burnout has been identified, which accompanies the peak of professional excellence and determines the next stage of professional activity decline after 30 years of work experience. The coincidence of the normative age and professional crises entails a profound crisis of the pre-retirement age, which is characterised primarily by a loss of goal-setting. People who continue to work in the post-retirement age have the highest rates of self-fulfillment, which leads to overall satisfaction with life and self. The described patterns open new perspectives for the development of ways of psychological counselling and organisational support of specialists.