10/19/13

Career Calling Career Calling

Dylan Firsick, M.A. Counseling Psychology University of Northern Colorado

What is your Dream for the future? Does it involve that perfect job or occupation? Why?

Would you consider it a calling?

Career Calling
An approach to work that facilitates a sense of Spirituality
meaning and purpose for individuals and also serves society or a higher power. (Duffy, 2006) originating beyond the self, to approach a particular life role in a manner oriented toward demonstrating or deriving a sense of purpose or meaningfulness and that holds other-oriented values and goals as primary sources of motivation Dik & Duffy (2009)

Career Calling
Historically, Calling itself has been viewed from a
religious context ie Calling from God Bloch and Richmond (2007) describe calling as one of seven themes that reflect a spiritual approach to career decision making. (Sharf, 2013, pg. 401) Change, Balance, Energy, Community, Calling, Harmony
& Unity

A transcendent summons, experienced as

In the text Spirituality is defined as a wholeness of

living and understanding ones self Career Calling attempts to incorporate an individuals
personal beliefs, their unique skill set and their goals and ambitions when identifying prospective occupations

Bloch & Richmonds Seven Themes Reflecting a Spiritual Approach to Career Decision-Making Based on the Book Soul Work 1998
7 themes are identified which individuals can use to better understand their lives and their career decisions 1.Change Can be internal or external, is inevitable, learn to cope with change 2.Balance balance work, play, relationships through setting priorities 3.Energy draws energy through work, play, relationships, time along 4.Community work is a means of interacting with ones community 5.Calling Ones ideal work: recognize ones interest, abilities, and values and apply them to productive work 6.Harmony Finding a good fit between yourself and your work environment 7.Unity Feeling connected with self, others, community, and culture

Career Calling
Dik and Duffy deemphasize the spiritual aspect and focus on
an extrinsic motivation to a particular line of work. unique skill set the individual possess making them a perfect fit, for a specific occupation. (ie empathy in counseling) a perceived meaningfulness to satisfying outside motivations such as family legacy, societal need or internal satisfaction.

Three Important Features

(1) motivation for the work comes from an external or
transcendent source (e.g., higher power, social needs) purpose in life with meaning and purpose in the work role positive way. (Dik and Duffy, 2009)

(2) Coherence between one's overall sense of meaning and (3) a focus on how one's work may contribute to society in a

From Sharf (2006) Applying Career Development Theory to Counseling

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Current Research
Individuals endorsing a career calling were
associated with higher income, seeking/obtaining higher levels of education, higher status occupations and taking less sick days (Wrzesniewski, Mccauley, Rozin, & Schwartz, 1997) calling have also been associated with higher life satisfaction, fulfillment, happiness, and life meaning (Steger, Pickering, Shin, & Dik, 2010)

Current Research
Students with a career calling tend to be more
decided and comfortable w / career choice, view future as important, more aware of vocational interests (Duffy & Sedlacek, 2007, Steger et al., 2010). in College students. This relationship was Mediated by Career Decision Self Efficacy and Work Hope (optimism about work) (Duffy, Allan & Dik, 2011)

Individuals who identify their occupation as a

Calling was found to predict Academic Satisfaction

Current Research
Duffy, Allan and Dik (2011) assessed three
potential mediator between Career Calling and Academic Satisfaction. Career-decision self-efficacy (CDSE), Work Hope, and
Meaning in Life.

Current Research

In the sample of 312 undergraduate college students

career calling significantly predicted CDSE and Work Hope, which subsequently predicted academic satisfaction. Career calling also had a significant direct effect on career calling, indicating that Work Hope and CDSE were operating as partial mediators.

Theoretical Position
May best fit within the Theory of Work Relationship
(TWR) Model or the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) Model.
E Reinforcers to P Values Correspondence

TWA Model
P Satisfaction Remain/Quit

Theory of Work Relationship emphasizes Satisfaction

and Satisfactoriness Satisfaction: Being satisfied with ones work. Environment

meets persons needs/requirements Satisfactoriness: The employers satisfaction. Concerns the extent to which individuals adequately meet employers requirements

P Style to E Style Correspondence

Other Factors
(Interests & Personality Traits)

P Tenure

Here!
P Abilities to E Requirements Correspondence P Satisfactoriness Retain/Fire
12

Personal Adjustment Styles

Flexibility, Activeness, Reactiveness and Perseverance

So Where does Career Calling come In?

Here!

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Theoretical Position
Social Cognitive Career Theory Emphasizes that three areas most shape career
choice: Self-Efficacy: belief about ones abilities in a
particular domain performing a behavior future outcome

Research has shown that Career Calling influences these domains

SCCT Model

Outcome Expectations: Imagined Consequences of Goals: Intention to engage in a behavior to effect a

Outcomes/ Attainments

Integrating Religious and Spiritual (R/S) Beliefs

Religion and Spiritual beliefs should be conceptualized as an extension of client preferences

Empirical Support
Worthington, Hook, Davis & McDaniel, 2011

APA ethical standard 2.01:

Where scientific or professional knowledge in the discipline of
psychology establishes that an understanding of factors associated with age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, or socioeconomic status is essential for effective implementation of their services or research, psychologists have or obtain the training, experience, consultation, or supervision necessary to ensure the competence of their services, or they make appropriate referrals, except as provided in Standard 2.02, Providing Services in Emergencies

Meta-analyzed 51 samples from 46 studies Compared R/S therapies to No Treatment Controls, Alternate
Psychotherapies, and Dismantling Designs Psychological and Spiritual outcomes Alternative Therapies for both outcomes Dismantling Designs
outcomes.

R/S Therapies outperformed No Treatment Control and No difference was found for psychological outcomes across
Participants in R/S therapies still outperformed on spiritual

Study suggested that for clients with R/S beliefs, R/S

Thus R/S beliefs should be treated the same as cultural issues, ethnicity and sexual orientation

accommodative therapies may be more effective than secular therapies.

References

Brown, S.D., & Ryan Krane, N.E. (2000). Four (or five) sessions and a cloud of dust: Old assumptions and new observations about career counseling. In S.D. Brown & R.W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of Counseling Psychology (3rd ed., pp. 740-766). New York: Wiley. Cardador, M.T. & Caza, B.B. (2012) Relational and identity perspectives on healthy versus unhealthy pursuit of callings. Journal of Career Assessment. 20. 338-353 Domene, J.F . (2012) Calling and career outcome expectations: The mediation role of self-efficacy. Journal of Career Assessment. 20: 281-292. Duffy, R. D. (2006). Spirituality, religion, and career development: Current status and future directions. The Career Development Quarterly, 55, 52-63 Duffy, R.D., Allan, B.A., & Dik, B.J. (2011). The presence of a calling and academic satisfaction: examining potential mediators. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 79. 74-80. Duffy, R. D., & Sedlacek, W. E. (2010). The salience of a career calling among college students: Exploring group differences and links to religiousness, life meaning, and life satisfaction. The Career Development Quarterly, 59, 27-40 Duffy, R. D., & Sedlacek, W. E. (2007). The presence of and search for a calling: Connections to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70, 590-601. Steger, M. F ., Pickering, N., Shin, J. Y., & Dik, B. J. (2010). Calling in work: Secular or sacred? Journal of Career Assessment, 18, 82-96. Wrzesniewski, A., McCauley, C., Rozin, P ., & Schwartz, B. (1997). Jobs, careers, and callings: Peoples rela- tions to their work. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 2133.