A Phenomenology of Career Change in the Malaysian Workforce : The Narratives of Rejectors, Navigators and Seekers

Evolution in economy, technology and social institutions over time have given rise to boundaryless and Protean careers that promote mobility and self-direction in managing one’s career. This has led to the phenomenon of career change whereby individuals undertake a shift from one field of work to a completely different field of work. In career change research, career changers have been studied as a collective, singular group undergoing a similar change experience, which neglects individual differences that may contrast the experience of change from one changer to another. Furthermore, the emotional experience that accompanies a career change has been examined with a primary focus on the role of positive emotions, which overlooks the role of negative emotions in career change. Thus, this book sheds light on three key narratives of career change; Rejectors, Navigators and Seekers, that were identified in a phenomenological study of career change amongst Malaysian working adults. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 career changers across age, gender and ethnicity with a focus on how they made sense and meaning of their lived experience of career change within their environment and context. Each career change narrative was found to have different characteristics, motivations and behaviors respectively, which shaped their unique career change process. Negative emotions were also revealed as key drivers of the career change process, although each narrative expressed different types of negative emotions.Finally, the book also introduces an adaptive perspective to career development by way of the Adaptive Career Construal Model (ACCM) which was proposed based on the continuous bi-directional relationship between career decisions and career outcomes. About This Book Contents About the Authors List of Figures List of Tables 1 When I Grow Old, I Want to Be a... 1.1 Emergence of Career Change in a Contemporary Environment 1.2 The Importance of Studying Career Change 1.3 Gaps in Career Change Research 1.4 A Phenomenological Inquiry of Career Change 1.5 In This Book References 2 Career Change: The Story Thus Far 2.1 Understanding Careers 2.1.1 Definition and Meaning of a Career 2.1.2 Careers in the Contemporary Context 2.2 The Phenomenon of Career Change 2.2.1 Definitions of Career Change 2.2.2 Attributes and Motivations of Career Changers 2.2.3 The Career Change Process 2.2.4 Sense-Making of Career Change 2.3 Careers Through an Emotional Perspective 2.3.1 Emotions in Career Decision-Making, Career Adaptability and Career Perception 2.3.2 Emotions in Career Change 2.4 Career Change in Malaysia 2.4.1 Socio-Economic Background of Malaysia 2.4.2 Sociocultural Institutions in Malaysia 2.4.3 Trending Career Movements in Malaysia References 3 Turning the Kaleidoscope of Career Change 3.1 Narrative 1: Rejectors 3.1.1 Theme 1: The Choice Outsource 3.1.2 Theme 2: Accidental Passion 3.1.3 Theme 3: A Personal Attack, An Emotional Act 3.1.4 Theme 4: Learning and Enjoyment as Identity Currency 3.2 Narrative 2: Navigators 3.2.1 Theme 1: Calculated Deliberation 3.2.2 Theme 2: Emotionally Directed Change 3.2.3 Theme 3: The Driver’s Seat 3.2.4 Theme 4: The Yin-Yang Juggle 3.3 Narrative 3: Seekers 3.3.1 Theme 1: The Meaning of Work 3.3.2 Theme 2: Romanticising Change 3.3.3 Theme 3: Finding “The One” 4 The Five Stages of Career Change 4.1 Disillusionment of Initial Career Choice 4.2 Career Choice Crisis 4.3 Fight or Flight from Initial Career 4.4 Stepping Out of the Loop 4.5 Career Change Narrative Construction 4.6 “Rejecting”, “Navigating” or “Seeking” a Career Change 4.6.1 Rejectors’ Career Change Process 4.6.2 Navigators’ Career Change Process 4.6.3 Seekers’ Career Change Process 5 The Art of Change: Live, Learn, Repeat 5.1 How We Shape Career Decisions 5.1.1 Identity Structure 5.1.2 Emotion Appraisal 5.1.3 Personal Agency 5.1.4 Rationality of Decision 5.2 How Career Outcomes Shape Us 5.2.1 Adaptive Identity Structure 5.2.2 Revised Emotion Appraisal 5.3 The Adaptive Career Construal Model References 6 People Change Careers, So What? 6.1 Fresh Insights in Career Change Research 6.1.1 Identification of Three Different Narratives of the Career Change Experience 6.1.2 Identification of a Five-Stage Career Change Process 6.1.3 Unveiling the Role of Negative Emotions in the Career Change Experience 6.1.4 Introducing an Adaptive Perspective to Career Development 6.2 How Can You Leverage These Insights? 6.2.1 Career Development and Management of Employees in the Contemporary Context 6.2.2 Career Change Toolkit for Potential Career Changers: Take a RISK 6.2.3 Humanising Career Development 6.3 But Also, Take These Insights with a Pinch of Salt 6.3.1 Generalizability of Qualitative Findings 6.3.2 Exploring Perception and Emotion 6.3.3 Longitudinal Study Design to Explore Career Change Experience Over Time 6.4 Concluding Remarks References Appendix Summary of Career Change Narratives