As the idea of a ‘job for life’ fades into the past, individuals are left with the prospect of having to transition between roles and employers more frequently. Unfortunately, these transitions can be complex, stressful and traumatic. Whether these work transitions are upward, sideward, within the same organisation or not, they typically entail not only practical change (building new […]
The importance of perseverance is recognised by intellectuals, sportsmen, and business people alike:
“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” (Samuel Johnson, author, 1709-1784)
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. […] I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” (Michael Jordan, basketball player, *1963)
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It starts early in life. Family members, teachers and friends enquire, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ The question hounds us. Surely it should be a straightforward decision. Unfortunately, the abundance of career options available can encourage a prolonged state of analysis paralysis.
The New Year is the time when we tend to take stock of […]
While there are countless studies that focus on the working individual, there are fewer that look at retirees. Yet, the largest generational cohort in the U.S. is retiring in droves. According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, baby boomers are retiring from the workforce at a rate of 10,000 people per day! Thus, as people transition from being employees […]
Life invites us to wrestle with two existential questions: “Who am I?” and; “What do I do with my time here on earth?” Both have to do with our identity — how we make sense of ourselves and fit into the world around us. Individual identity is, ironically, a construct of our social systems.
We are products of the systems […]
What determines career success? This question has occupied careers research, professional and career counselling, as well as individuals for decades. There is consensus amongst careers researchers that to develop oneself professionally, there is more needed than simply finding a job that matches one’s strengths and interests. The current world of work is increasingly characterised by individual, self-directed careers over […]
Across the lifespan, society often pushes a subtle message with a basic formula: Work hard, become successful, then you’ll be happy. We hear it from our parents, teachers, employers, and even television ads. After a while, this way of thinking can become automatic. “When I graduate from college … When I land my dream job … When I make […]
The career landscape of the 21st century, characterised by work interruptions, opt-outs, and temporary contingent work assignments, requires that we think differently about linear careers. Until now, much of the career literature has been based on men in the twentieth century who had linear careers in a single corporation or industry. However, men and women in the 21st century […]
We meet many people in organisations who have an ingrained aversion to organisational politics. They see politics as divisive, sinister and illegitimate. They say: ‘Without politics, this organisation would function smoothly’. They are wary of the competition for jobs, status and power which often leads to dishonesty and manipulation. They fear that political skill is incompatible with personal authenticity […]
Lord Acton’s quote that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” probably conforms to most of our experiences with powerful people. People who feel powerful tend to be self-focused, less empathetic, a little more rude or pushy, and just generally difficult to deal with. While most people generally understand that power makes others more difficult to deal with, one […]
After the bruising and contentious 2016 US presidential election and the subsequent controversies of President Donald Trump’s first year in office, it’s not surprising that Americans’ evaluations of members of the opposite political party have reached an all-time low. According to data from the Pew Research Center, 45 per cent of Republicans and 41 per cent of Democrats think the other party […]
We often blame the behaviours of those who have power and abuse it on the individual and his or her personality. That is, we make what psychologists call a dispositional attribution. But there is more to individual and personality differences when it comes to understanding the behaviour of those in power. In fact, what is often occulted are the […]
Our societies, especially in developed countries, will soon have a majority of their adult population in the over 50 group. The UK will reach this point in the mid 2030s. This increasing healthy longevity means that at age 50 we likely have 25-30 years of health and energy to look forward to. At the same time, most of us […]
Twelve years since worldwide adoption, we now have an entire generation joining the workforce that do not remember a world before social media. Without professional experience or understanding of what companies expect to see (and not see), tomorrow’s workforce are faced with growing up and learning about the person they wish to become, publicly, traceably and ultimately, judged before […]
As a former executive at Apple and Autodesk, and consultant for a number of other Silicon Valley companies, Nilofer Merchant has a pretty good idea of how to move things forward in the business world. One key ingredient, if you ask her, is collaboration. How to get people to collaborate, and companies to value collective work more than hierarchy, […]
Helen feels uncomfortable chatting to Sasha, her work colleague, beyond exchanging pleasantries. She is concerned that she might say the wrong thing and cause offence to Sasha, who is black, and so she avoids spending time with her even though she likes her. Sasha is aware that Helen is awkward around her, but she’s unsure why, and she also […]
Since the 2008 financial crisis, entrepreneurship has become the preferred public solution to combat unemployment. Public discourses in many EU countries, including the UK, portray entrepreneurship as socially desirable and feasible. However, this ‘solution’ makes the unemployed responsible for creating their own jobs by asking them to stoically transition between unemployment and self-employment with little or no institutional support.
Thus, the […]
For over two years, I have been working as an assistant professor at Delft University of Technology, making my way up the hierarchical, academic career ladder. I started as a PhD student at another university and, with every step up, from assistant professor to associate professor to full professor, I will get more money, more authority, more responsibility, and […]
Individuals with invisible disabilities face a dilemma when applying for work: Do I disclose my disability to the potential employer and, if so, how? This dilemma occurs because disabled applicants face potential biases that hinder perceptions of their employability: Although hiring managers might feel sorry for or pity these applicants they may not want to hire them because of […]
Emma always loved animals. When she accepted a position in her local SPCA, she thought she had found her dream job. Instead, she found herself shocked by the lack of training and resources, and the sheer number of heartbreaking euthanasias. Seeing her coworkers as less dedicated than herself, she distanced herself from other staff and compulsively hoarded animals in […]
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