The Limited Effects Of Internal Career Concerns On Self-Initiative Work Style

Author(s)

Kenta Koyama ,

Download Full PDF Pages: 66-75 | Views: 337 | Downloads: 98 | DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3455968

Volume 3 - April 2014 (04)

Abstract

Traditionally employees in Japanese companies had self-initiative work style, on the basis of the peace of mind offered by job security. However, today, Japanese companies cannot guarantee the lifetime employment any more. As a result, in order to support individual career development, universities put a lot of effort to begin career education, which mainly focuses on the internal career concerns. It comes from the concept of “career anchors.” A career anchor consists of one’s own talents and abilities, motivations and desires, and attitude and values. As one’s career anchor stabilizes over one’s lifetime, it is thought that realizing and applying one’s career anchor should be at an early stage.Nevertheless, new employees at Japanese companies who are offered career education do not work in self-initiative style.Against this backdrop, this study focused on limitation of internal career concerns. The results of survey revealed that internal career concerns exerted direct influence over their self-initiative work style in everyday circumstances. But under difficult situations, understanding organizational role, instead of internal career concerns, had direct influence. This study made it clear that internal career concerns had limitation and that internalization of extrinsic values through unexpected jobs offered by organization had direct impact on self-initiative work style in difficult situations. Based on the findings, new basis of peace of mind was discussed for career education and career development workshops in Japan. Suitable one for present Japanese school-to-work transitions is not “career anchor” or “job security (or life-time employment)”, but “capability for change.” 

Keywords

internal careers; self-initiative work style; understanding of roles within an organization; career education; school to work transition

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