Jean-Luc Bernaud

Perceived Work Conditions and Turnover Intentions: The Mediating Role of Meaning of Work

Perceived working conditions lead to various negative outcomes for employee behaviors, including turnover intentions. Although potential mediators for these relationships were previously identified, the importance of meaning of work has not yet been investigated. This study examines the role of this psychological resource as a mediator for the relationships between perceived working conditions and turnover intentions in a sample of 336 French workers from different job contexts. Results show that adverse working conditions were positively and significantly associated with turnover intentions. Meaning of work is negatively related to both perceived working conditions and turnover intentions. Mediation analyses for meaning of work demonstrated indirect effects of several adverse working conditions on turnover intentions. The role of meaning of work as a psychological resource for employees facing adverse working conditions is discussed, especially regarding its implications for research and practice within organizational contexts.

The career indecision profile : measurement equivalence in two international samples

This study tested for the measurement equivalence of a four-factor measure of career indecision (Career Indecision Profile–65 [CIP-65]) between a U.S. sample and two international samples; one composed of French-speaking young adults from France and Switzerland and the other of Italian adolescents. Previous research had supported the four-factor structure of the CIP-65 in both the United States and Iceland but also showed that items on two of the four scales may be interpreted differently by young adults growing up in these two countries. This study extends previous research by testing whether the four CIP-65 factors are measured equivalently in two additional international samples. Results largely supported the configural and metric invariance of the CIP-65 in the United States and international samples, but several scales showed a lack of scalar invariance. Some explanations are offered for these findings along with suggestions for future research and implications for practice.

L’accompagnement à la recherche d’un emploi : enjeux, modèles, et perspectives de recherche

Resume Quels sont les enjeux theoriques et pratiques induits par la construction d’un dispositif individualise d’accompagnement a la recherche d’emploi ? Au travers d’une revue de la litterature, cet article met en perspective differents modeles theoriques sous-jacents aux problematiques de l’insertion professionnelle, decrit les dispositifs d’accompagnement actuellement proposes et analyse leurs effets, avant de mettre en exergue les principales caracteristiques psychologiques rentrant en ligne de compte lors de la mise en œuvre du conseil a la recherche d’emploi. La conclusion avance des perspectives de recherche telles que la modelisation d’un accompagnement a la recherche d’emploi differencie et de ses effets.

Perceived Career Counselor Relational and Technical Behaviors and Outcomes among Italian University Students.

This study was designed to assess the relationship of the relational and technical skills of the career counselor to five different career counseling outcomes (Client Satisfaction, Placement Skills, Self-Awareness, Psychological Mobilization, and Environmental Knowledge). Two hundred fifty-three university students participated in a study designed to investigate these relationships. The results reveal that both perceived relational and technical behaviors of the career counselor explain four of the five outcomes. Counselor perceived technical behaviors, and not relational behaviors, was a significant predictor of client Psychological Mobilization.

Conseguenze dell'anticipazione dei bias psicosociali nel corso del colloquio di restituzione

Many studies have attempted to examine psychosocial bias in the evaluation or in the appropriation of information relative to the personality. The present study evaluates the consequences of preliminary contact on the existence of the Barnum effect on client behaviors during feedback interviews. Two groups were compared, one of which was preemptively informed of the existence of a bias, the other not. The results show the implication of the client’s self-evaluation, as well as the client’s speech and behavior during the interview. Both groups emerged as comparable, except for the duration of the interview. The study takes an in-depth look at the topic of anticipating psychosocial bias during a feedback interview.

Individualized Counseling for Job Decency Analysis and Career Development—A New Approach

This chapter sets out a new approach for individual counseling to analyze work and consider career prospects. First, the importance of research into health at work is presented, and then a new method to analyze risks and resources at work is proposed. This method is based on a questionnaire of 156 items, measuring 29 scales and 3 factors: the QERPS. The outcomes are then presented in a stepwise process. A case study is used to demonstrate the relevance of the method to the analysis of work and career management. The conclusion addresses the theme of risks and labor resources in the context of individual counseling.

Introduction: Postmodern Guidance and Career Counseling Interventions—The New Scenario

This chapter presents the new scenario in the twenty-first century characterized by insecurity, instability, and continuous change. In this scenario, postmodern guidance and career counseling interventions are based on a narrative paradigm. It introduces a narrative shift, and individuals are re-conceptualized as “storied” instead as composed of static traits. Career counselors are asked to help clients to give meaning to their personal and professional lives through the construction of their own self as story. In this framework, the chapter introduces the principles of accountability and the issue of the evaluation of the effectiveness of postmodern guidance and career counseling narrative interventions for the twenty-first century, focusing in particular on the necessity to create specific tools to fully capture the depth and nuances of changes after these narrative interventions. Furthermore, the guidelines for accountability in the twenty-first century are presented that also introduce a positive preventive perspective in postmodern guidance and career counseling narrative interventions.

Meaning-Centered Career Intervention for College Students

In a socioeconomic context that is characterized by rapid changes and uncertainty, meaning has become a central issue for career counseling practices (Bernaud et al., Psychologie de l’accompagnement: Concepts et outils pour developper le « sens » de la vie et du travail. [Psychology of coaching: Concepts and tools to develop meaning of life and of work]. Paris: Dunod, 2015; Savickas et al., Journal of Vocational Behavior 75:239–250, 2009). At the same time, the nature of career problems has become increasingly complex. Consequently, innovative interventions must be developed to address the needs of individuals seeking career counseling (Savickas et al., 2009). The purpose of this study is to introduce a new meaning-centered career intervention adapted for college students, experimented at a French university and emphasizing two key aspects: meaning of life and meaning of work. Inspired by several conceptual approaches—meaning of life, the positive psychology movement, the life-design paradigm, and some evidence-based practices—the present intervention aims to stimulate active existential reflection among college students regarding their career plans. Meaning of life may facilitate the career decision-making process (Miller and Rottinghaus, Journal of Career Assessment 22:233–247, 2014). Reflections about meaning of work are also incorporated as they represent salient aspects of college students’ lives. The first section is focused on reviewing the concepts of meaning of life (Frankl, Man’s search for meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1959) and of meaning of work (Rosso et al., Research in Organizational Behavior 30:91–127, 2010), and their relevance for career construction and the career decision-making process. The second section is a description of the different sessions of this program. The intervention is divided into five sessions with specific objectives and target groups of 10–20 undergraduate students. Student testimonies are included in this study. In conclusion, we discuss the limitations and perspectives of this meaning-centered career intervention.

Intention d’usage des nouvelles technologies dans le conseil en orientation : perceptions des professionnels et des bénéficiaires

Cette etude a pour objectif d’identifier les facteurs susceptibles de jouer un role dans l’intention d’usage des technologies Internet pour le conseil en orientation. Une enquete par questionnaires aupres de 286 beneficiaires et 212 professionnels a ete menee, en utilisant une echelle specifiquement creee pour cette recherche et developpee selon une approche en facettes prenant en compte six elements de contexte (formation, politique institutionnelle, confidentialite, fiabilite, rencontre d’un professionnel, demarche active ou passive) et cinq modalites representatives des nouvelles pratiques (videoconferences, reseaux sociaux, mondes virtuels et serious games, plates-formes collaboratives et sites d’informations). Cette mesure de l’intention d’usage a ete completee par d’autres echelles relatives a des variables psychologiques et organisationnelles (Ouverture, Crainte de l’intimite, Attitude face aux usages, Frequence des usages, Competences dans les usages et perception des ressources organisationnelles). Les analyses de regression de type hierarchiques indiquent que c’est principalement la frequence des usages et une attitude positive face aux usages qui expliquent l’intention d’usage des technologies d’Internet chez les beneficiaires et les professionnels avec en plus, chez ces derniers, le soutien de l’organisation.

Editorial: Emerging and Re-emerging Organizational Features, Work Transitions, and Occupational Risk Factors: The Good, the Bad, the Right. An Interdisciplinary Perspective

This special issue aims to provide an overview of the profound changes that have interested the labor market in the last decade all over the world. These rapid and profound transformations have, on the one hand, generated new opportunities for both employers and employees, but, on the other hand, they have led to the re-actualization of old organizational risks as well as the emergence of new occupational risks. In such a context, the stakeholders had to suddenly face a new context of challenges and critical issues in the workplace and, therefore, it is not surprising that scientific research is increasingly focusing on perceived organizational support, commitment in organizational context, socialization processes, changes in capacity of organizations, perceived organizational justice, occupational ergonomics, and motivation. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA, 2016) has identified three key points that describe the ongoing evolution in the modern labor market: globalization, technical innovation, and aging of the population. First, some potential occupational risks, for many years considered old, are reappearing in organizations: intensive fear and worries, organizational anxiety, boredom, physical violence, alienation, segregation, loneliness, and isolation. Moreover, the perceived re-emerging organizational characteristics seem to be of utmost importance for companies. The 33 manuscripts selected for this special issue are mainly empirical contributions, written by authors belonging to different disciplinary sectors and coming from different geographical regions. They therefore offer different perspectives on labor transitions and occupational risk factors, also contributing to promoting an interdisciplinary and international approach to research that will allow the progress of science in the field of occupational health and safety (H&S). The manuscripts, when considered together, bring out three important aspects. First of all, the issues concerning the re-emergence and the emergence of occupational risks and professional opportunities are particularly current in the light of the continuous changes and of the instability of companies in the global economy. Secondly, employee health and well-being are crucial in a time of current global financial crisis and economic pressures on companies. Finally—considering the huge social, political and environmental implications—in this special issue is clearly emerged the importance of evaluation and prevention of psychosocial risks and work-related stress.