Anne Herrmann

Vocational Identity Achievement as a Mediator of Presence of Calling and Life Satisfaction

The present study explores what mechanism might be responsible for the reported link between presence of a calling in one’s career and life satisfaction. It is proposed that vocational identity achievement acts as one important mediator of this relation and that the effects can be observed even when controlling for core self-evaluations (CSEs). The study used a short-term longitudinal design based on a sample of 269 German college students from different majors. The results confirmed the mediation model, with calling predicting vocational identity achievement 6 months later and identity serving as a stronger predictor of life satisfaction, all controlling for CSEs. However, contrary to previous research, presence of calling was not directly related to life satisfaction and even showed a negative relation when vocational identity achievement was controlled. The results are interpreted to suggest a multifaceted relation between calling and life satisfaction.

The career engagement scale: Development and validation of a measure of proactive career behaviors.

Careers today increasingly require engagement in proactive career behaviors; however, there is a lack of validated measures assessing the general degree to which somebody is engaged in such career behaviors. We describe the results of six studies with six independent samples of German university students (total N = 2,854), working professionals (total N = 561), and university graduates (N = 141) that report the development and validation of the Career Engagement scale—a measure of the degree to which somebody is proactively developing his or her career as expressed by diverse career behaviors. The studies provide support for measurement invariance across gender and time. In support of convergent and discriminant validity, we find that career engagement is more prevalent among working professionals than among university students and that this scale has incremental validity above several specific career behaviors regarding its relation to vocational identity clarity and career self-efficacy beliefs among students and to job and career satisfaction among employees. In support of incremental predictive validity, beyond the effects of several more specific career behaviors, career engagement while at university predicts higher job and career satisfaction several months later after beginning work.

Self-directed career attitude as predictor of career and life satisfaction in Chinese employees

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test if the effects of a self-directed career attitude on career and life satisfaction are mediated by a person’s sense of calling and moderated by job insecurity in a sample of Chinese employees. Design/methodology/approach – Among a sample of Chinese employees (n=263), in this paper, a moderated mediation analysis with bootstrapping was applied to test the hypotheses. Findings – The results showed that calling mediates the effects of a self-directed career attitude on career satisfaction and life satisfaction. Job insecurity moderated the effect on life satisfaction but not on career satisfaction. The effect on life satisfaction were stronger under higher levels of job insecurity. Research limitations/implications – These results suggest that a self-directed career attitude may help people develop a calling, which in turn relates to increased subjective career success and well-being. In addition, the notion of a calling may be especially important for well-being...

Assessing Calling in Chinese College Students: Development of a Measure and Its Relation to Hope

Research suggests that perceiving a calling toward a particular career is relatively frequent among college students in Western cultures. However, little is known about how this applies to other cultural contexts. This study assessed the perception of career as a calling in the Chinese culture. Study 1 reports the development of the Chinese Calling Scale (CCS), based on a sample of 788 Chinese college students, and identifies three dimensions of a calling: altruism, guiding force, and meaning and purpose. Measurement invariance of the CCS across gender is supported. In Study 2, the convergent and criterion validity of the CCS is examined based on a sample of 387 college students. The CCS is strongly related to an existing calling measure and moderately related to life meaning and life satisfaction. Study 3 examines the relation between calling, hope, life meaning, life satisfaction, and career decidedness among 518 college students. The findings reveal that hope significantly mediated the relation of calling with career decidedness, life meaning, and life satisfaction. In summary, this study provides a new scale to assess calling in Chinese culture and is the first to explore how calling relates to dispositional hope.

Protean career orientation, vocational identity, and self-efficacy: an empirical clarification of their relationship

ABSTRACT There is a large interest in how people can be more protean in their career development, exhibiting a self-directed striving for personally valued career outcomes. However, existing research on the protean career needs to better address issues of antecedents and outcomes as well as unique effects of a protean career orientation (PCO). We present two studies investigating how PCO is related to vocational identity clarity and occupational self-efficacy. Study 1 reports a 1-year, three-wave cross-lagged study among 563 university students and established that PCO preceded changes in identity and self-efficacy—but not the other way around. A 6-month longitudinal study of 202 employees, Study 2 showed that identity clarity and self-efficacy mediated the effects of PCO on career satisfaction and proactive career behaviours. PCO only possessed incremental predictive validity regarding proactive career behaviours. However, we could not confirm specific direct or mediated effects of PCO on job satisfaction. These results imply that PCO is closely related to vocational identity clarity and self-efficacy because it enhances these career attitudes. Moreover, identity and self-efficacy mediate some, but not all of the effects of PCO on important career outcomes.

A Psychological Description of the Swiss Labor Market from 1991 to 2014: Occupational Interest Types, Gender, Salary, and Skill Level

This study conducted a representative analysis of the Swiss labor market from 1991 to 2014 by applying Holland’s (1997) classification of occupations according to six vocational interest types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional (RIASEC). Using data from the Swiss Labor Force Survey, we found that, over this period, realistic occupations consistently represented the largest share of jobs, albeit with a declining tendency. Increased numbers of people were employed in social and enterprising types of work. The lowest numbers were found in artistic and investigative occupations. Gender segregation along the six RIASEC occupational types were found on the Swiss labor market as well, with most men working in realistic and most women working in social occupations. Furthermore, we observed large salary differences between the six occupational types, even after controlling for required skill level. In line with findings concerning gender pay inequality, men earned more than women in each RIASEC occupational type in each year. Moreover, we found that RIASEC occupations differed meaningfully with regard to skill level, and that the required skill level increased across all RIASEC occupations over the examined 23-year period.

A Psychological Description of the Swiss Labor Market from 1991 to 2014

This study conducted a representative analysis of the Swiss labor market from 1991 to 2014 by applying Holland’s (1997) classification of occupations according to six vocational interest types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional (RIASEC). Using data from the Swiss Labor Force Survey, we found that, over this period, realistic occupations consistently represented the largest share of jobs, albeit with a declining tendency. Increased numbers of people were employed in social and enterprising types of work. The lowest numbers were found in artistic and investigative occupations. Gender segregation along the six RIASEC occupational types were found on the Swiss labor market as well, with most men working in realistic and most women working in social occupations. Furthermore, we observed large salary differences between the six occupational types, even after controlling for required skill level. In line with findings concerning gender pay inequality, men earned more than women in each RIASEC occupational type in each year. Moreover, we found that RIASEC occupations differed meaningfully with regard to skill level, and that the required skill level increased across all RIASEC occupations over the examined 23-year period.

End-to-End Methodological Approach for the Data-Driven Design of Customer-Centered Digital Services

The collection, analysis, and interpretation of digital data has become an important factor for the provision of services. However, there is a lack of methodologies for using data analytics systematically in an end-to-end process for designing services. Therefore, in this paper, we develop a conceptual approach covering the innovation funnel from idea generation to market deployment. In particular, we describe how qualitative approaches alternate with quantitative approaches along the innovation process. We pay special attention to the design of data-driven value propositions including the analysis and modeling of the customer needs, a phase in which the concept of hidden needs and pains is applied. To conclude, we propose the development of a tool to support and industrialize the approach discussed in this paper.