Jennifer M. Kidd

The Content of the Psychological Contract

The perceived obligations of the two parties to the employment relationship, the employee and the organization, were explored using the critical incident technique. Incidents were elicited which exceeded or fell below the treatment which each party might reasonably expect from the other; obligations were then inferred from these incidents. Respondents were a representative sample of UK employees (n=184), and a sample of UK managers (n=184) (the organization group). Twelve categories of organization obligation and seven of employee obligation were inferred from these data. While the two groups identified the same content categories as each other, they did so with different relative frequency. The organization group quoted more relational than transactional forms of organizational obligation, the employee group the reverse. This finding was attributed to a lack of trust of the organization by employees, and to their job insecurity. The groups, however, did not differ in terms of the frequency of the most commonly cited employee obligations; timekeeping, good work and honesty. This was taken to indicate the prevalence of a traditional and input-oriented view of employee obligations. Examples were discovered of a reciprocal element to the contract. It was concluded that, despite the level of agreement between the two parties regarding the elements of the psychological contract, they were in danger of holding different perceptions of its balance; and that organizations should only expect employee commitment if they themselves have fulfilled their side of the contract.

Vocational Maturity in Adulthood: Toward Turning a Model into a Measure.

Abstract It is postulated that adult vocational maturity needs to be assessed because of the changing developmental tasks encountered during the course of a career. Vocational maturity having been found to be multidimensional, existing undimensional inventories of adult vocational maturity are considered of limited although demonstrated validity. Relevant theories of adult vocational development and adjustment are reviewed. Supers proposed adult vocational maturity model is examined for the promise that it offers and for the problems that arise in developing a multidimensional measure of vocational maturity. A way of surmounting these problems is proposed as a basis for work now being undertaken.

Straight Talking: The Nature of Effective Career Discussion at Work

Many employees need help from others in managing their careers, and it is likely that much of this help will be given in the context of a face-to-face discussion, either in a formal setting or more informally. Drawing on the accounts of 104 UK employees who had participated in helpful career discussions, this paper examines with whom and in what settings effective career discussions took place, and the skills and personal qualities displayed by givers and receivers of support. A wide range of individuals provided this form of support. The most important skills and qualities shown by givers of support were: the personal qualities of interest, commitment and trustworthiness; challenging and facilitative skills; giving honest feedback; and providing information.

Guidance in the United Kingdom: Past, present and future

The turn of the century is an apposite time to review the development of guidance in the United Kingdom. The concept of guidance, in the terms in which it is now understood, is very much a 20th-century notion. It draws on two distinct but related traditions: the development of the practice of career guidance; and the development of guidance as an educational concept. The history of these two developments, and the relationship between them, are briefly outlined. Some of the conceptual issues they raise are examined, including the important but somewhat problematic interface with counselling. Challenges for guidance in the new millennium are discussed, in relation both to policy and practice and to theory and research.

The outcomes of effective career discussion at work

Abstract This article examines the outcomes that resulted from career discussions experienced by 104 employees. Employees appeared to benefit from discussions about their careers with individuals in a wide range of roles. Many effective career discussions produced multiple outcomes, and some of these were long-lasting. The most common types of outcomes experienced were a clearer view of future direction, self-insight, awareness of opportunities, and feeling reassured or better about self or work. The findings highlight the need for future research into the effectiveness of career interventions to take more account of multiple outcomes and how these evolve over time. Also, organizations need to encourage informal career discussions and informal mentoring.

Young People's Perceptions of their Occupational Decision-Making

Abstract In an attempt to discover how young people perceive the processes by which their occupational preferences are formed, semi-structured interviews were carried out with sixteen 15-year-old school-children. Taken together with the results of other work carried out by the author, the results provided some empirical support for the three ways in which Super sees matching of self and occupational concepts as occurring: identification, experience in a role, and awareness of oneself and of occupations. The interviews also revealed the powerful role which the young people perceived significant others as playing in their career development. Six ways in which the influence of significant others was transmitted are identified.

New parents at work: Jobs, families and the psychological contract

Abstract Interviews with seven women and six men who had recently returned to work after becoming first-time parents were carried out to examine experiences of the policies, practices and attitudes of their employers towards new parents, and to assess how far they felt able to discuss their circumstances and changed expectations with their managers. Findings pointed to considerable differences in the attitudes of employers to the men and women. Almost all the women had changed to part-time work, but arranging this had not been easy and some had found it difficult to come to terms with a difference in status. Many of the respondents had reservations about discussing their positions and altered expectations with their managers, and it seemed unlikely that mutually beneficial psychological contracts could be negotiated without changes in organisational cultures and policies. The findings have implications for our understanding of organisational careers and for career-planning interventions in organisations.

Post-16 course choice: A challenge for guidance

Abstract Some of the findings of a study of young people who had left post-16 education prematurely or switched courses are discussed. The experiences of those who had switched or dropped out from courses once only are compared with those who changed courses several times. The main influences on the young peoples decisions, the extent to which they felt prepared for their transitions, and their views of career education and guidance before the end of year 11 and at their post-16 destination, are examined. The findings provide some support for the beneficial effects of career education, but for many it seemed that career education and guidance had little impact. Parents, teachers, friends and the judgements of the young people themselves appeared to be more influential than guidance practitioners on choice of destination. It is argued that it may be unrealistic to expect guidance alone to fully prepare young people for post-compulsory education, particularly when institutional constraints often require pr...

PROSPECT (HE): An Evaluation of User Responses

Abstract The main features of PROSPECT (HE), a major new computer-aided guidance system for higher education institutions, are described. The results of its field trials within six higher education careers services show that the reactions of students and staff to the system are predominantly positive and that it has already established credibility with its users. There are, however, some ‘tensions’ between some of the principles on which the system is based: between matching and exploration; between coherence and flexibility; and between a phenomenological approach and an approach based on objective realism.

Competing Schools or Stylistic Variation in Careers Guidance Interviewing.

Abstract We know very little about how careers officers conduct careers guidance interviews. Research was carried out to discover how careers officers view interviewing, the factors that lead them to vary their interview style, and how they modify their approach with experience. There was little evidence that officers vary their style by using radically opposed models in different circumstances. Instead, variations in approach are best regarded as different combinations of ideas and techniques. Careers officers adapted their interview styles largely in response to the perceived needs of clients. Initial training course attended appeared to have a limited but enduring effect on interview style, but there was also evidence that with experience careers officers develop more confidence, coherence and flexibility. Careers officers judged their interviews to be most effective when they were able to establish a rapport with the client, to spend time drawing up a contract, to challenge clients in a sensitive way,...