This thesis examines the capacity and desire of older workers to provide discretionary effort and skilled contributions in what some researchers consider to be the predominant form of new career, the 'boundaryless career'. Features of the 'boundaryless career' include multiple employers, and the demise of the organisational loyalty that was embodied within the image of the 'company man'. The research is justified by the fall in Australia's fertility rates and the simultaneous ageing of Australia's population. In combination, these are predicted to produce significant shortfalls in skilled labour, which experts believe will require organisations to better manage and utilise its older workers. The case study and pattern matching methodology involved interviews with forty volunteer older workers who worked in the headquarters of Australia Post, which enjoys a formidable local and international reputation. 'Career plateau' was a term used by many to describe their perception of their current career position and prospects. Their descriptions of their work situation and their ambitions, at work and in retirement, were analysed for patterns which were then compared with literature on career plateaus, motivation and job design, and the 'boundaryless career'. This analysis was overlaid onto a foundation of contemporary management practice with regard to older workers, current business environments and issues, and views on the skill sets needed for the future. This foundation emerged from a review of academic literature, business and government reports and from an ongoing review of the Australian Financial Review over the six years of the study. Contributions to theory and practice are claimed in the parent theories of career plateau, and older worker motivation; together with the focus theory of boundaryless careers. Although there are legitimate organisational constraints on optimising the older worker contribution, older workers do not contribute to capacity, and organisations do little to optimise their contribution. Joint organisational and individual worker attention to skills maintenance and career management over an entire working life will likely be 'boundaryless' for both organisations and the older workforce.

This research stems from the need by organisations to retain their key talent in the context of the change in the psychological contract manifesting in the emergence of boundaryless careers. Employees have ceased to be loyal to one organisation and this has marginalised employers as they still need to retain their key talent as a source of competitive advantage. Most organisations have segmented their workforce to develop talent pools of high potential employees to meet the organisation’s current and future critical skills needs. Hence, this study investigates the impact of inclusion in the talent pool on the psychological contract. Various instruments in the literature study were used to measure the psychological contract of employees in the talent pools in comparison to those not in talent pools. These include the transactional and relational psychological contract instrument by Millward and Hopkins (1998), organisational citizenship behaviour by Coyle-Shapiro (2002), trust by Robinson and Rousseau (1994) and turnover intention by Blomme et al. (2010). The study presents findings from 195 employees from three different organisations, about 50% of whom were in talent pools. The study shows that both groups of employees in and outside talent pools consider their psychological contract with their employers as less transactional. Although being part of the talent pool has a positive impact on the relational psychological contract and organisational commitment, it does not necessarily translate into trust and the intention to stay with organisations. Employees in talent pools are not different to those not in talent pools with regard to trust and the turnover intention. The report offers insights aimed at managers to understand the psychological contracts of their employees within the talent pools to avoid unnecessary violations and to explore new value propositions that are aligned to those contracts. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The study aimed to extend knowledge of women’s self-initiated expatriation. Self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) take responsibility for their own careers, and such expatriation is often advocated as an alternative, boundaryless career option for women. However, little has previously been published about the experiences of SIE women or the role of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) in the cross-cultural adjustment of SIE women. The research focused on the following questions:  What linkages can be identified between the individual adjustment factors and processes perceived and experienced by SIE women?  What insights can be gained about CQ as a facilitator of the adjustment of SIE women? An Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) approach was used in the research. Two IQA focus groups were hosted in the Netherlands in April and June 2010. A total of 12 SIE women participated in Focus Group 1, and nine SIE women participated in Focus Group 2. The Systems Influence Diagrams (SIDs) representing the realities of the two groups were compared and were subsequently integrated into a combined new conceptual model represented by a final combined SID. The metaphor of Alice in Wonderland’s journey of choice and chance was used to describe the final combined SID, which starts with the decision to expatriate and ends with personal/professional development. The main outcomes are the following: Contribution to knowledge – The study expands on the existing adjustment knowledge about SIE women, illustrating the facilitative role of CQ in the adjustment of SIE women. Experiential learning processes related to CQ were highlighted, and a new conceptual model for understanding the role of CQ in career development was proposed. In addition, key dilemmas faced by SIE women during the adjustment process were identified. Contribution to professional practice – The study provides new insights to international HR departments and policy-makers into the challenges SIE women face, together with possible themes for supporting them through training, coaching, mentoring and adjustments to recruitment practices. Contribution to paradigms of inquiry – No studies applying the IQA as a process to the exploration of expatriate adjustment have previously been published. This study explored the use of IQA as a methodological approach in this context. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Human Resource Management / restricted

There is a global trend towards using part-time lecturers to reduce unit labour costs and raise institutional efficiency. At the same time there is pressure on academics to develop their skills in an academic career path. The use of part-time lecturers is a recognised phenomenon at the University of Pretoria. This study set out to determine how part-time academics in Humanities manage and sustain their careers. The conceptual framework for this study juxtaposes key aspects of the part-time academic career with features of the traditional career model on the one hand, and those of the boundaryless and protean career on the other. This study was undertaken as a quantitative survey designed for self-completion. The aim was to describe trends in the data provided about the sample. It was found that the boundaryless and protean career models have relevance in describing the careers of part-time academics in Humanities. These lecturers measure career success by accumulated knowledge, a developed skills portfolio as well as psychologically meaningful work leading to an inner feeling of achievement. They respond to the tenuous nature of their employment situation by working across organisational boundaries and developing networks of career contacts, so as to sustain a career. Aspects that are not conducive to a part-time academic career such as early career stage, experience of positional insecurity and lack of inclusion into the collegium were identified. Those aspects that support a part-time academic career are flexibility and work-family balance. Recommendations for improvements at individual and institutional level were drawn from current literature and relevant research findings. These include the need for institutional planning, inclusion of part-time lecturers into the collegium, investment in the part-time human resource and consideration of improved contractual arrangements. Part-time lecturers need to invest in their transferable skills and maintain a career network as part of a planned strategy for obtaining their career objectives. They may need to function in boundaryless fashion in multiple positions. The significant priority accorded by respondents to the accumulation of knowledge and the development of skills may hold a key to a mutually beneficial work relationship between the institution and these part-time lecturers. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med en förståelse för hur rekryterare upplever och hanterar flexibilitet, tillgänglighet och work-life balance i en multinationell och expanderande organisation präglad av det gränslösa arbetslivet. Denna förståelse är betydelsefull då det gränslösa arbetslivet innebär ett stort eget ansvar för individen, vilket skapar en utmaning för individen själv att måna om sin work-life balance och upprätthållandet av ett långsiktigt välmående. För att uppfylla studiens syfte genomfördes femton kvalitativa intervjuer med rekryterare på Spotifys rekryteringsavdelning Talent Acquisition. Resultatet visar en positiv upplevelse av flexibilitet och tillgänglighet tillsammans med en rådande medvetenhet kring de utmaningar som följer av ständig uppkoppling, flexibilitet och tillgänglighet och hur de påverkar medarbetarnas work-life balance, då gränser tenderar att suddas ut och bli mer diffusa. Denna medvetenhet har resulterat i flertalet individuella strategier och hanteringssätt för att hantera det gränslösa arbetslivets utmaningar. / The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding of how recruiters perceive and manage flexibility, accessibility and work-life balance in an multinational and expanding organization characterized by boundaryless work. This understanding is important because the boundaryless work means a great responsibility for the individual, which creates a challenge for the individual to take care of their work-life balance and the maintenance of a long-term wellbeing. To fulfill the purpose of the study, fifteen qualitative interviews were conducted with recruiters on Spotify's recruitment department Talent Acquisition. The result shows a positive experience of flexibility and accessibility, but also shows an awareness of the challenges of constant connectivity, flexibility and accessibility and how they affect employees' work-life balance, and that boundaries tend to become blurred and more diffuse. This awareness has resulted in several individual strategies to handle the challenges of boundaryless work.

<p>Gränslöst arbete innebär att ansvaret ligger hos individen och denne själv kan bestämma var, hur och när arbetet ska utföras. Prestationsbaserad självkänsla bidrar till utmattning och sömnsvårigheter och att använda sig av kompensatoriska strategier är ett sätt att hantera gränslösheten. Syftet med studien var att undersöka sambanden mellan prestationsbaserad självkänsla, strategier och återhämtning bland personer med gränslöst arbete. En enkätundersökning genomfördes. Deltagare var 93 män och 47 kvinnor som arbetar på ett privat företag inom säkerhet och utbildning. Variabler testades i multipla regressioner. Resultaten visade att prestationsbaserad självkänsla och användning av kompensatoriska strategier hade en negativ påverkan på återhämtning medan gränslöst arbete hade en positiv effekt. Detta indikerar att gränslöst arbete i sig snarare är en frihet än krav.</p> / <p>Boundaryless work means that the individual himself decides where, how and when to perform his work. Performance-based self-esteem contributes to exhaustion and using compensatory strategies is a way to handle the boundarylessness. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between performance-based self-esteem, strategies and recovery among people with boundaryless work. A questionnaire study was carried out. The participants were 93 men and 47 women working in a private company with safety and education. Variables were tested in multiple regressions. The results showed that performance-based self-esteem and use of compensatory strategies had negative influence on recovery, while boundaryless work had a positive effect. This indicates that boundaryless work itself is considered more of a freedom than a demand.</p>

To work and live in the same place where ones employer also is the landlord, can create a situation with many special requirements for the individual. Constrains regarding time, space and impact on social life is likely to appear. Based on theory and empirical research about the Boundaryless work and the Psychological contract the purpose of this report is to examine employees who live and work at the same place. This is done by studying the regulation regarding time and space factors and the psychological contracts in expectations and in violation of the psychological contract and the risks associated with this like Locked-in factors. The study includes interviews with managers and employees (n=9). The result shows the difficulties to set standards for the constrains of the factors concerning time and space. The expectations from both employees and the organization goes beyond what can be considered as formal work boundaries. The results are discussed in relation to the risks of stress, health and Lock-in.

Gränslöst arbete innebär att ansvaret ligger hos individen och denne själv kan bestämma var, hur och när arbetet ska utföras. Prestationsbaserad självkänsla bidrar till utmattning och sömnsvårigheter och att använda sig av kompensatoriska strategier är ett sätt att hantera gränslösheten. Syftet med studien var att undersöka sambanden mellan prestationsbaserad självkänsla, strategier och återhämtning bland personer med gränslöst arbete. En enkätundersökning genomfördes. Deltagare var 93 män och 47 kvinnor som arbetar på ett privat företag inom säkerhet och utbildning. Variabler testades i multipla regressioner. Resultaten visade att prestationsbaserad självkänsla och användning av kompensatoriska strategier hade en negativ påverkan på återhämtning medan gränslöst arbete hade en positiv effekt. Detta indikerar att gränslöst arbete i sig snarare är en frihet än krav. / Boundaryless work means that the individual himself decides where, how and when to perform his work. Performance-based self-esteem contributes to exhaustion and using compensatory strategies is a way to handle the boundarylessness. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between performance-based self-esteem, strategies and recovery among people with boundaryless work. A questionnaire study was carried out. The participants were 93 men and 47 women working in a private company with safety and education. Variables were tested in multiple regressions. The results showed that performance-based self-esteem and use of compensatory strategies had negative influence on recovery, while boundaryless work had a positive effect. This indicates that boundaryless work itself is considered more of a freedom than a demand.

Många arbetsplatser på dagens arbetsmarknad präglas alltmer av ett flexibelt arbete. Detta har inom sociologin beskrivits som ett gränslöst arbete där individens gränsdragning mellan arbete och fritid blir svårare att hantera. Friheten inom det flexibla arbetssättet innebär också att det blir upp till individen att sätta gränser mellan till exempel arbete och fritid. Det faktum att arbetsbeskrivningar inom vissa branscher har blivit allt flexiblare bidrar också till att ett större ansvar åläggs individen att organisera och strukturera det egna arbetet. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur det flexibla arbetet upplevs av anställda inom tjänstemannasektorn samt hur de hanterar sin situation. Den tidigare forskningen fokuserar på innebörden av det flexibla arbetet och hur det upplevs och hanteras av individen. Studien undersöker individernas upplevelser med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer i en organisation inom energibranschen. Denna studie visar på att upplevelsen av det flexibla arbete är övervägande positivt men att det också finns baksidor som individen själv förväntas lära sig hantera. Det konstateras även att det är en viktig förutsättning för att kunna bedriva sitt arbete. Följaktligen visar studien att upplevelsen och graden av flexibilitet i arbetet verkar variera beroende på vilket yrke vederbörande har. / Many workplaces today on the labor market is characterized by a flexible work. This have been theorized in sociology as a situation of boundaryless work for the individual were the limit between work and leisure becomes difficult to handle. The freedom that flexible work makes possible moves the responsible to the individual to set limits between work and leisure. The fact that the terms of employment has become vaguer has led to that the responsibility to organize and structure work more and more lies on the individual. The aim of this study is to investigate how the flexible work is perceived by white color workers and how they handle their situation. Previous research focus on the meaning of flexible work and how the individual perceive and handle it. This study focus on the meaning of flexible work by using qualitative interviews with white color employee in an organization in the energy-industry. The result of the study shows that the flexible work is percieved as predominant positive but that it also can consist of negative aspects that the individual needs to handle. It is also found that the flexibility is important in order to do this kind of work. The result also shows that the percieved degree of flexibility seems to differ depending on occupational status.

Os estudos sobre gestão de carreira, quer sejam no âmbito organizacional ou individual, são algo recente na literatura. Atualmente, entende-se que a responsabilidade pela gestão da carreira é das pessoas e que a sua consolidação ocorre ao longo das experiências de vida pessoal e profissional. Com as mudanças originadas pela globalização, novas tecnologias e aumento da competitividade, o contrato psicológico de trabalho migrou de um modelo de emprego vitalício para um modelo de independência e autonomia, onde o indivíduo é responsável pela gestão e desenvolvimento de sua própria carreira. Essas mudanças influenciaram os conceito de carreira e demandaram o desenvolvimento de teorias que considerassem aspectos relacionados à mobilidade, à busca de um sentido para o trabalho e ao sucesso psicológico, tais como a carreira sem fronteiras e a carreira proteana. Considerando a escassez e a necessidade de estudos empíricos no Brasil acerca do tema, o presente trabalho teve como principal objetivo identificar e analisar se a atitude de carreira de universitários tem relação com as novas teorias de carreira. O perfil de carreira agrupa os indivíduos de acordo com a presença de atitudes de carreira proteana, representada pelas dimensões autodirecionamento e orientação pelos valores, e de atitudes de carreira sem fronteiras, representada pelas dimensões mobilidade psicológica e mobilidade física. Esta é uma pesquisa descritiva, com características quantitativa e qualitativa. A coleta de dados foi realizada através da aplicação de um questionário, cujas escalas foram validadas nos Estados Unidos e no Brasil, bem como pela realização de entrevistas. A amostra é não probabilística e intencional e foi formada por 140 estudantes de graduação da Faculdade de Administração, Economia e Contabilidade da USP. A validação da escala de atitude de carreira foi feita a partir da análise da confiabilidade e consistência interna do instrumento de pesquisa, com base no software SPSS - Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Os resultados obtidos através da técnica de análise fatorial foram satisfatórios no que tange à confiabilidade, utilizado o software SPSS. Com base nos dados estatísticos, os escores gerais de carreiras proteana e sem fronteiras apresentaram uma relação positiva, indicando a existência de uma correlação geral entre os dois modelos de carreira para a amostra deste estudo. Os resultados desta pesquisa, no geral, apontam a presença de direcionamento pelos valores, autodirecionamento da carreira, mobilidades física e psicológica, indicando que os respondentes apresentam atitudes de carreiras favoráveis para enfrentar as mudanças exigidas pelo mercado de trabalho. Estas atitudes são mais relevantes para os que fizeram a disciplina Gestão de Carreira, o que também foi confirmado pelas entrevistas. Com isso, conclui-se ser relevante discutir a gestão de carreira no início da carreira profissional desses jovens discentes, que estão entrando no mercado de trabalho. Para esses jovens, essas novas carreiras são uma realidade, ainda que se verifique se tratar de um movimento, não podendo ser ainda considerado como fato para todos os indivíduos pesquisados. Acompanhar a trajetória profissional desses alunos, ampliando a pesquisa com outras variáveis, agregará ao estudo um maior detalhamento sobre as inclinações de carreiras desses indivíduos. Ainda, as discussões deste trabalho, além de contribuírem para as reflexões acerca do assunto gestão de carreira no Brasil, abrem portas para pesquisas com egressos que estejam no mercado de trabalho há mais tempo, ampliando a discussão dos resultados de correlação entre os modelos de carreira proteana e sem fronteiras. / Studies on career management, whether organizational or individual, are something new in literature. Currently, it is understood that the responsibility for the career management is of the person and that its consolidation takes place over the experiences of personal and professional life. With the changes arising from globalization, new technologies and increased competition, the work\'s psychological contract migrated from a lifetime employment model to an independence and autonomy model, where the individual is responsible for the management and development of his own career. These changes influenced the concept of career and demanded the development of theories that consider aspects related to mobility, the search of a meaning to work and psychological success, such as boundaryless career and protean career. Considering the scarcity and the need for empirical studies in Brazil on the subject, this study aimed to identify and analyze if the career atitude of university students is related to the new career theories. The career profile groups the individuals according to the presence of protean career attitudes, represented by self-direction dimensions and values orientation, and attitudes of a boundaryless career, represented by the dimensions of psychological mobility and physical mobility. This is a descriptive research with quantitative and qualitative characteristics. Data collection was performed by applying a questionnaire, whose scales were validated in the United States and Brazil, as well as conducting interviews. The sample is not probabilistic and intentional and was formed by 140 undergraduate students of USP\'s School of Business, Economics and Accounting. The validation of the career attitude scale was made by the analysis of reliability and internal consistency of the survey instrument based on SPSS - Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The results obtained through the factorial analysis technique were satisfactory in terms of reliability, using the SPSS software. Based on statistics, the overall scoresof protean careers and boundaryless career presented a positive relation, indicating the existence of a general correlation between the two career models for this study\'s sample. Theresults of this research, in general, indicate the presence of targeting by values, career selfdirection, physical and psychological mobility, indicating that respondents have career attitudes favorable to face the changes required by the labor market. These attitudes are more relevant to those who made the Career Management discipline, which was also confirmed by interviews. Thereby, it is concluded to be relevant to discuss career management at the beginning of the career of these young students, who are entering the labor market. For these young people, these new careers are a reality, even if it is verified to be a movement, and can not be considered as a fact for all individuals surveyed. Follow the career path of these students, expanding research with other variables, will add to the study greater details on the slopes careers of these individuals. The discussions of this work, besides contributing to the reflections on the career management business in Brazil, opens doors for research with graduates who are in the labor market longer, expanding the discussion of correlation results between protean and boundaryless career models.