Voluntary Midlife Career Change: Integrating the Transtheoretical Model and the Life‐Span, Life‐Space Approach

Abstract

Frequent career change is the predicted experience of workers in the global economy. Self-initiating career changers are a substantial subset of the total population of career changers. There is currently a dearth of theory and research to help career counselors conceptualize the career change process for the application of appropriate interventions. The authors present an integration of a well-researched behavior change theory, the transtheoretical model of change, with Super's (1990) life-span, life-space approach. The corresponding stages of the 2 models are discussed along with theoretically appropriate interventions. The integrated model provides the basis for future research on the change process for voluntary midlife career changers.

The Reasons Behind a Career Change Through Vocational Education and Training

“…Négroni (2007), for example, identified five phases for voluntary career changes: countered vocation, disengagement, latency, bifurcation, and renewed engagement. Similarly, Barclay, Stoltz, and Chung (2011) also speak about five stages: precontemplation/disengagement, contemplation/growth, preparation/exploration, action/establishment, and maintenance. Outputs refer to the effects, outcomes, and impacts of a career change on the life of the individual, and are associated with the radicality and likelihood of change, the satisfaction with the new situation, and the speed and ease of the transition (Ibarra, 2006).…”

“…Actually, the antecedents of career change are factors that "might pull individual toward a new career or push them away from the old" (Ibarra, 2006, p. 77). Beyond this bimodal classification, the reasons of career change highlighted in past research may be divided into five distinct categories: avoiding job insecurity or poor work conditions; coping with a particular life event or personal circumstance; reducing dissatisfaction and work frustration; performing a meaningful, interesting work; looking for a work-life balance (Bahr, 2010;Barclay et al, 2011;Carless & Arnup, 2011;Dieu & Delhaye, 2009;Donohue, 2007;Fournier, Gauthier, Perron, Masdonati, Zimmermann, & Lachance, 2017;Howes & Goodman-Delahunty, 2014;Khapova, Arthur, Wilderom, & Svensson, 2007;Négroni, 2007;Peake & McDowall, 2012).…”

Understanding potential career changers’ experience of career confidence following a positive psychology based coaching programme

“…Career changers also experience a range of emotions as they focus on increasing confidence in decision making and understanding the ramifications of change (Barclay, Stoltz & Chung 2011). In this stage people are open to new information but may also be when they feel most vulnerable, and therefore where interventions to increase career confidence may be most effective.…”

The Phenomenon of Later‐Life Recareering by Well‐Educated Baby Boomers

“…This viewpoint of careers began to change in the 1970s when it became commonplace to have more than one career in a lifetime (Johnson et al, ). Workers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s began to seek second careers (Barclay, Stoltz, & Chung, ; Johnson et al, ). Most older workers, however, did not change careers, instead choosing to fully retire (Johnson et al, ), phase out of their careers by gradually working fewer hours until retiring (Tacchino, ), or leave their careers to work part‐time in a partial retirement (Johnson et al, ).…”

“…Since 2006 relatively little research has been conducted on recareering in late adulthood. What exists is focused on older workers in general (Johnson et al, ; Purcell, ; Shultz & Wang, ), retirement trends and work activities in later life (Byles et al, ; Cochran, ; Harlan, ; Perera et al, ; Purcell, ; Schallow, ; Shultz & Wang, ; Tacchino, ; Wheaton & Crimmins, ), or career changers of any age (Barclay et al, ), but not on the emerging phenomenon of recareering. A review of the literature failed to locate empirical studies focused specifically on recareering in later life.…”