Nonwork orientations are related to higher career and life satisfaction

When planning a career, many people take nonwork orientations into account, such as family, personal interests and civic engagement. Our team has conducted a study among over 500 employees in German and found that people who strongly consider the role of the family in career planning report more satisfaction with their career and their lives in general. Surprisingly, nonwork orientations also showed no negative effects on earnings.

Read the full media release at the University of Bern Media Relations Website

Hirschi, A., Herrmann, A., Nagy, N., & Spurk, D. (2016). All in the name of work? Nonwork orientations as predictors of salary, career satisfaction, and life satisfaction. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 95–96, 45-57, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.07.006.

How satisfied are you with your career choice?

Career choices are one of the major life decisions and therefore strongly linked to life satisfaction and well-being. According to a study with Croatian college students, several characteristics are linked to satisfaction with career choice. Generally the tendency towards experiencing regret after having made a decision is not beneficial to career choice satisfaction. Instead, having confidence in the made decision and committing to it is beneficial for immediate satisfaction. In the long term career choice satisfaction is predicted by a greater number of considered alternatives, perceiving the primary choice as appealing, and a sense of immediate satisfaction with the made decision.

Bubic, A. (2014). Decision Making Characteristics and Decision Styles Predict Adolescents’ Career Choice Satisfaction. Current Psychology, 33(4), 515-531, 

The downsides of early career success: Positive career shocks and career satisfaction impede further occupational education

Positive career shocks such as a quick raise or promotion in early career stages reduce the participation in further graduate education, according to a study with alumni of two universities in the U.S. High career satisfaction, especially for employees with high extrinsic career goals, was also detrimental for the decision to take up further occupational education. In contrast, employees with high intrinsic career goals and who were engaged in career planning applied more often to a graduate education program. Organizations should thus be aware of potential long-term human capital loss in case of highly extrinsically motivated employees who receive too much rewards immediately after job entry. Providing secure and upward-oriented career paths also in case of education drop-out could resolve this problem.

Journal of Applied Psychology

Career engagement during university leads to more job and career satisfaction after graduation

University students who are more active in their self-directed career management report higher job and career satisfaction in their jobs several months after graduation, according to a German study. If students remain passive regarding their career while at university they have a higher change of landing in less satisfying jobs.

Journal of Career Assessment