The role of career shocks in contemporary career development: key challenges and ways forward

Abstract

PurposeThis article aims to introduce the special issue entitled “the role of career shocks in contemporary career development,” synthesize key contributions and formulate a future research agenda.Design/methodology/approachThe authors provide an introduction of the current state-of-the-art in career shocks research, offer an overview of the key lessons learned from the special issue and present several important avenues for future research.FindingsThe authors discuss how the special issue articles contribute to a better understanding of career shocks' role in contemporary career development, focusing on (1) conceptual clarity of the notion of career shocks, (2) career outcomes of career shocks, (3) mechanisms that can explain the impact of career shocks and (4) interdisciplinary connectivity.Originality/valueThis article offers a synthesis of the critical contributions made within this special issue, thereby formulating key ways to bring the field of career shocks research forward. It also provides new avenues for research.

Adapting careers to the COVID crisis: The impact of the pandemic on employees' career orientations

“…These results advance empirical analyses of how macroeconomic events affect attitudes, beliefs, and values; the bulk of these analyses have not addressed the individual contingencies that would influence that process ( Bianchi, 2013 , Bianchi, 2014 , Bianchi, 2016 ; Giuliano & Spilimbergo, 2014 ). Similarly, they extend empirical work on the consequences of career shocks—work most of which has not considered individual attributes either ( Akkermans et al, 2020 , Akkermans et al, 2021b ; for an exception, see Wordsworth & Nilakant, 2021 .) And our findings support the claim by Morgeson et al (2015) and Akkermans et al (2018) that researchers studying the impact of events should account for individual characteristics and theorize how those characteristics and events jointly determine outcomes.…”

“…Future research should continue this line of research by examining what attributes determine individuals' reaction to events. For example, it should test whether a range of dispositional characteristics (such as the Big Five) and individuals' regulatory focus and goal orientation influence how they deal with career shocks ( Akkermans et al, 2021a , Akkermans et al, 2021b ).…”

“…Therefore, we consider it a conservative sample and estimate that the moderating impact of managerial level or objective career success on the relationship between personal exposure and the salience of NCO might be even stronger in different samples. Akkermans et al (2021b) note that shocks may differ across employee populations and some shocks may be specific to certain occupational groups. Future research could benefit from investigating more diverse employee samples.…”

“…Individuals with the same degree of exposure to a crisis may still differ significantly in how much they will engage in career deliberation and adjustment since the impact of a career shock is determined by the interplay between contextual and individual factors ( Akkermans et al, 2018 ; Morgeson et al, 2015 ; Seibert et al, 2013 ). Given the important role of individual differences, Akkermans et al, 2020 , Akkermans et al, 2021b called for researchers to examine individual factors, for example age or career stage, when exploring the impact of the pandemic on work outcomes.…”

A critical perspective on career shocks in a volatile environment: Red Cross staff and volunteers aiding migrants on their way to Europe in 2016

“…This poses a wider question of leaving the job and/or organization as one possible career shock outcome in the context in which these are unrealistic options. When experiencing a career shock, as pointed out in the invitation for this special issue (Akkermans et al , 2018a), exploring the interplay between an employee and the context is highly needed. The multilayered context in which RC people provide aid clearly suggests why it could be fruitful for career shocks researchers to explore people working in different jobs and in the different job market and economic conditions.…”