Journal of Vocational Behavior最新文献

Family caregivers, who are managing the demands of work while simultaneously giving care to an adult family member, are a growing segment of the workforce. The current paper explores the struggle and joys of family caregiving employees, who manage work demands while simultaneously caring for an adult family member. We developed and tested a theoretical model of 311 family caregivers in the U.S. workforce that considered the simultaneous demands (burdens) and resources (gains) paths using the theoretical framework of the work-home resources model (ten Brummelhuis & Bakker, 2012). Further, we consider the role that these play as the family domain spilled over into the work domain and had both behavioral and affective outcomes. We found that family caregiving operated on simultaneous separate paths, confirming the bittersweet nature of the phenomenon. Through a demands path we found caregiving burdens contributed to experiences of family-work conflict and required greater work concessions (job and career) while also reducing job satisfaction. At the same time, through a resources path we found caregiving gains contributed to experiences of family-work enrichment and contributed to satisfaction (job and life) but did not reduce the need for work concessions. As such, considering caregiving burdens and gains simultaneously helps us to understand that, although caregiving results in more work concessions, it also improves employees' overall satisfaction.

The conceptualization of work and careers has evolved with technological advancements. From the steam engine to the internet, and now to digital technologies like AI and robotics, each era has redefined employment. These innovations offer safer, more meaningful work and broaden access. However, they also bring challenges such as the need for new skills and constant adaptation. This special issue includes nine papers exploring themes like lifelong learning, access to work, human agency, and ethical dimensions. The research highlights the need for continuous skill development, equitable access, and informed policy-making to harness the benefits of technology while mitigating its risks.

College students increasingly use digital information resources to help them make academic and career decisions, but the effects of digital information tools on students' career exploration outcomes are not well understood. We investigate the impact of an online tool that shows the full sequence of course enrollments and the first career destination of recent graduates with matched interests. We conducted a randomized controlled experiment with 234 undergraduate students at a U.S. university to examine the tool's impact on students' career exploration outcomes, specifically their self-efficacy in academic planning for career exploration and behavioral intentions for career exploration. We did not find clear evidence that the tool increased students' self-efficacy and behavioral intentions. However, our exploratory analysis shows that the tool benefited students who were at a later stage in their career decision-making process. We also found that students' awareness of official information sources from archival student records and awareness of holistic information that combines academic and career decisions are important predictors of self-efficacy and behavioral intentions. This study presents a nuanced view of the potential of digital tools to enhance career exploration outcomes through information support. It has important implications for institutional administrators to integrate existing digital resources with traditional career services, creating a more comprehensive support system for students.

21st century career development is increasingly characterized by recurring participation in work-related skill learning, much of which is mediated by technology. However, integration of this technology into work-related lifelong learning contexts has been relatively atheoretical and non-systematic. Building on interdisciplinary adult learning research and our findings from several studies on an online graduate degree program in a high demand STEM field, we propose a multilevel, person-centric framework of adult learning processes related to: (1) knowledge and skill acquisition, (2) the development and maintenance of motivation and wellbeing over time, and (3) transfer of learning to career-related goals. For each level of the framework, we discuss issues related to the measurement and evaluation of learning. We outline affordances (i.e., functional benefits) of technology (including artificial intelligence) for supporting career-related learning at each level, and present future directions related to major gaps in the field's understanding of these affordances. Throughout the final section, we illustrate the implications of our framework with examples of its use in a research institute focused on AI adult learning technologies. Finally, we present guiding questions for researchers and practitioners interested in technology-mediated career-related learning.

Although prior studies have established that parental involvement affects career adaptability, few if any have investigated the reciprocal effect of career adaptability on parental involvement. Based on career construction theory and the transactional model of development, this study aimed to examine the bidirectional associations between specific parental career-related behaviors (i.e., support, interference, and lack of engagement), the parent-child relationship, and career adaptability. A three-wave longitudinal design was used to collect data from 3837 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 16.68, SD = 0.45, 52 % females) at three time points with 1-year intervals. The results revealed: (a) bidirectional relationships between support and career adaptability; (b) bidirectional relationships between parent-child relationship and career adaptability, an association that became stronger during the transition from grade 11 to grade 12; (c) bidirectional relationships between the three different parental career-related behaviors and the parent-child relationship. No difference in strength was observed between the parent-driven effect and the child-driven effect. Remarkably, the parent-child relationship was more strongly associated with career adaptability than with any specific parental career-related behavior. Two potential mechanisms were also identified: (a) the cumulative influence of support on the development of career adaptability and vice versa; (b) a longitudinal mediating role of the parent-child relationship between parental career-related behaviors and career adaptability. This study suggests that career adaptability can develop from career-related support and positive parent-child relationship. Relevant interventions could be integrated into educational and counseling programs to equip parents with effective strategies for supporting their children's career development.

Drawing on approach–inhibition theory and proactivity research, this study examines the potential dark side of peer proactive personality for employee innovative behavior by exploring the mechanism through which peer proactive personality hinders employee innovative behavior and the underlying boundary condition. To test the hypotheses, we conducted a three-wave field study using a nested dataset (i.e., 861 employees and their 122 leaders) in China and an experimental vignette study with a U.S. sample. The results supported our hypotheses that peer proactive personality has a negative effect on employee innovative behavior via reduced employee sense of power, depending on the level of team cooperative climate. This study shifts research attention from the focal employees' proactive personality to peer proactive personality and advances the proactive personality literature by highlighting the potential dark side of peer proactive personality.

As artificial intelligence (AI) use expands within organizations, its influence is increasingly permeating careers and vocational domains. However, there is a notable lack of structured insights regarding AI's role in shaping individual career paths across career stages. To address this gap, we undertook a systematic literature review of 104 empirical articles, aiming to synthesize the scholarship on AI in the context of careers. Drawing upon career stage theory, we examine the implications of AI on careers, identify key barriers and enablers of AI use in this area, and reveal how the utilization of AI impacts individuals' career competencies. In doing so, we illustrate how AI actively shapes individuals' career trajectories and we dissect these effects both within and across various career stages to situate AI within the broader context of careers research. Adopting a sustainable career lens, we conclude by outlining a future research agenda that advocates for the design and adoption of AI systems that promote sustainable and equitable careers.

Occupational exoskeletons are wearable devices that can augment a human worker's physical abilities. They are designed to protect the worker from physical stress and strain due to physically demanding tasks. They are also designed to increase a worker's ability to perform these tasks with less effort or to accommodate tasks with greater physical loads. There is a labor shortage for many physically demanding jobs in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and healthcare. Occupational exoskeletons may enable more women and older workers to qualify for these jobs. Literature reviews on occupational exoskeletons and workplace diversity and inclusion were conducted to explore how this technology can facilitate diversity and inclusion goals. Future research directions are discussed for exoskeleton design and how they might affect work identities and perceptions of organizational inclusion for women and older workers who pursue vocations in physically demanding work.

A key component of team performance is participation among group members. One widespread organizational function that provides a stage for participation is the workplace meeting. With the shift to remote work, roughly half of all meetings are conducted virtually. One encouraging opportunity that can elevate meeting participation in this context is the use of written chat. Chat offers a second avenue of participation during a meeting, where attendees can synchronously contribute to the conversation through writing. This study explores factors influencing participation in virtual meetings, drawing on individual differences (status characteristics theory), psychological safety perceptions, and group communication. Results reveal gender and job level nuances: women engage more in chat, while men verbally contribute more frequently. Further, we found men highest in job level verbally contributed the most in virtual meetings, whereas women highest in job level use the chat the most frequently. Regarding type of chats sent, women use emoji reactions more often than men, and men send more attachments than women. Additionally, results revealed psychological safety moderated the relationship between job level and overall chat participation, such that employees low in job level with high perceptions of psychological safety sent more chats than their counterparts. This study provides insights into communication patterns and the impact of psychological safety on participation in technology-mediated spaces.

The relationship between an employee and their immediate supervisor has an established impact on subordinate work-family conflict (WFC). Likewise, the leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship is a resource to address WFC both proactively and on an episodic basis. This study draws from LMX literature as a foundation to test a resource and socio-cognitively-based process model. The model purports that subordinates address WFC on a daily basis through the autonomy their LMX relationship provides; and, in turn, the LMX relationship evolves and strengthens. Using an experience sampling methodology over the course of ten business days, 130 individuals provided 1124 observations. Extending prior work linking LMX to WFC cross-sectionally, our model supported that LMX at the start of the study was linked with cumulative daily WFC through daily autonomy. Testing latent change in LMX, the model also supported that cumulative daily autonomy related to changes in LMX through cumulative daily WFC and perceptions of daily support. Our theoretically-driven model underlines the critical role of supervisors in addressing WFC and responds to calls in work-family and LMX literatures by capturing the dynamic nature of the constructs and processes involved in accommodating WFC. Moreover, our results highlight how LMX relationships stand to benefit both the supervisor and subordinate. Findings support the application of LMX literature and advance literature by documenting the complex and dynamic process involved in addressing WFC and changes in LMX quality. Practical implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.