This thesis examines some of the antecedents and consequences of career decision status (i.e., being decided about and comfortable with career decisions). Antecedents investigated included: age, university level, work experience (quality and quantity), and accuracy of self-ratings. Work outcomes (as measured by job satisfaction, organisational commitment and performance) were the consequences of career decision status explored in this thesis. When the antecedents of age, university level and quantity of work experience were reviewed cross-sectionally all contributed to career decision status. It was concluded that age best predicted decidedness suggesting that the development of career decision status is part of a maturation process. Volume measured by the number of hours worked rather than pattern of work (i.e., full-time vs. part-time vs. casual) determined variability in scores on the career measures. Breadth of work experience (measured by number of jobs and employers) did not influence career decision status. When explored longitudinally it was found that decidedness decreased after participating in the work force and work experience programs. Quality rather than quantity of work experience was a more significant predictor of decidedness. Work experience and graduate programs should focus on the quality of experience provided, rather than quantity of time spent, if the purpose is to contribute to career decision making. In comparing the self-ratings of decided and undecided students it was found that decided students were no more perceptive about their capabilities than those who were undecided. This suggests that self-rating measures should be used in conjunction with objective measures if this information is to be used for the purpose of vocational assessments, even when students claim to be decided about their career choice. Some evidence exists to suggest that students rating themselves higher on comfort with career decisions were more capable of matching their career interests with job advertisements rather than on occupational titles alone. Comfort levels in career decision making may have an important role in evaluating available opportunities. In examining the relationship between work outcomes and career decision status in a longitudinal design it was concluded that job satisfaction promotes career comfort, decidedness predicts organisational commitment and this relationship is moderated by met expectations, and that neither being decided or comfortable predicts performance. Some evidence was found to suggest that those employees claiming high self-clarity (i.e., knowledge of their abilities, skills, and personality) were rated as higher performers. It may be beneficial for organisations to direct their efforts towards promoting comfort by providing quality work experience, and helping employees to clarify their strengths in terms of interests, abilities and attributes. It was concluded that career decidedness is still relevant to a contemporary work environment, but that comfort with career decisions has the potential for far greater impact.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/187971 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Earl, Joanne K., Psychology, Faculty of Science, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Psychology |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Joanne K. Earl, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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