Seeking stability in unstable employment: An exploratory study of temporary agency workers' career self-management

IF 5.2 1区 心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED Journal of Vocational Behavior Pub Date : 2023-06-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jvb.2023.103877
Jana Retkowsky , Sanne Nijs , Jos Akkermans , Svetlana Khapova , Paul Jansen
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Abstract

Increasingly dynamic labor markets have caused a steep increase in nonstandard workers. This study focuses on agency temps who work via labor market intermediaries at client organizations. The short-term and frequently changing nature of their jobs creates uncertainty about their employment and personal stability. Based on an explorative qualitative interview study among 27 agency temps, we studied how agency temps self-manage their careers. Our study reveals that the precarious career environment and financial dependence on agency work make agency temps' career self-management different from existing depictions of career self-management in the literature. Specifically, we reveal that agency temps' career self-management engagement is relatively short-term and primarily reactive. We find that they focus on survival and stability as career goals, and they engage in four career behaviors: (1) moonlighting, (2) self-profiling, (3) compensatory career behavior, and (4) job search behavior. Subsequently, we identify two negative long-term outcomes of these career behaviors: (1) being locked-in and (2) experiencing resource loss during unemployment. Accordingly, this study contributes to the nascent literature on temporary agency work and career self-management by identifying career behaviors and consequences in a precarious and volatile context. Our findings can help career counselors and policy-makers safeguard the career self-management of agency temps.

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在不稳定就业中寻求稳定:临时工职业自我管理的探索性研究
日益活跃的劳动力市场导致非标准工人急剧增加。本研究的重点是通过劳动力市场中介机构在客户组织工作的代理临时工。他们工作的短期和频繁变化的性质给他们的就业和个人稳定性带来了不确定性。本文通过对27名中介临时工的探索性质的访谈研究,探讨了中介临时工的职业自我管理情况。研究发现,不稳定的职业环境和对代理工作的经济依赖使得代理临时工的职业自我管理与现有文献中对职业自我管理的描述有所不同。具体而言,我们发现临时工的职业自我管理投入相对短期且主要是反应性的。研究发现,大学生以生存和稳定为职业目标,并表现出四种职业行为:(1)兼职、(2)自我评价、(3)补偿性职业行为和(4)求职行为。随后,我们确定了这些职业行为的两个消极的长期结果:(1)被锁定和(2)在失业期间经历资源损失。因此,本研究通过确定在不稳定和不稳定的环境下的职业行为和后果,对临时代理工作和职业自我管理的新兴文献做出了贡献。本研究结果可为职业顾问和政策制定者维护代理临时工的职业自我管理提供参考。
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来源期刊
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Journal of Vocational Behavior PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED-
CiteScore
13.10
自引率
5.40%
发文量
85
期刊介绍: The Journal of Vocational Behavior publishes original empirical and theoretical articles offering unique insights into the realms of career choice, career development, and work adjustment across the lifespan. These contributions are not only valuable for academic exploration but also find applications in counseling and career development programs across diverse sectors such as colleges, universities, business, industry, government, and the military. The primary focus of the journal centers on individual decision-making regarding work and careers, prioritizing investigations into personal career choices rather than organizational or employer-level variables. Example topics encompass a broad range, from initial career choices (e.g., choice of major, initial work or organization selection, organizational attraction) to the development of a career, work transitions, work-family management, and attitudes within the workplace (such as work commitment, multiple role management, and turnover).
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