Contextual Factors in Working

Contextual Factors in Working More and more, the literature recognizes that work is influenced by contextual factors: this prĂŠcis traces the argument, considers of the relative importance of individual, group, and global factors in this researcher's work experience, and sketches ways of coping with the global contextual factors of work.

Olivier Serrat 14/03/2019

1 Functions of Work Everywhere, work holds a central role in the lives of most adults and adolescents, this to such an extent that most of them will spend more time engaged in work than in any other waking activity (American Psychological Association, 2016). The centrality that work holds in lives owes to the three core functions it can hypothetically fulfill: as articulated by Blustein (2006) (a) work is as a means for survival and power—"The first function of work is the role that work plays in providing people with a means of accessing survival and power (p. 22)"; (b) work is a means of social connection—"The second major function of work is the way in which working connects people to their social context and to interpersonal relationships (p. 22)"; and (c) work is a means of self-determination—"The third major function of work … is the potential offered by work in fostering self-determination (p. 22)". For sure, however, work has had a complex history and the three functions that Blustein (2006) helpfully made out have not always been fulfilled alongside, if at all in the same individual degree, across—say—time, geographic location, sector or industry, worldview, culture, labor markets, occupation, socioeconomic status, age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, etc.; to note, especially (but not exclusively) in lowerincome countries, the primary function of work is still to ensure survival and the functions of social connection and self-determination are the stuff of fantasy.

Contextual Factors of Work In the wake of the Industrial Revolution and well into the 20th century, vocational counselors and applied psychologists did little more than assume a fixed environment and (endeavor to) help individuals fit within it. Belatedly, just as the current new millennium was beginning, Blustein (2006) cautioned that wholesale preoccupation with career choice and development overplayed choice, ignored the reality of people who do not have the access to resources that might afford career choices, and—indeed—that the very concept of job security,1 never mind career, had probably become irrelevant in the age of globalization and information and communication technology.2 Blustein (2006) credited Marx as the originator of contextualized perspectives regarding the functional analysis of work (p. 19).

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Blustein (2006) saw that, owing to the spread of free market capitalism, lack of job security had become a major theme in the narrative of the new economy (p. 43); Blustein (2006) saw also that the integration of technology with globalization had created a labor market that was no longer bounded by national or linguistic lines (p. 43); and, Blustein (2006) saw further that what workplaces remain have become more stressful and frenetic (p. 45). As a result, among others, the erstwhile psychological contract is being recast (where it still exists at all); workers long for connection; caregiving is no longer carried out exclusively by women (in consequence of the push for dual working couples); labor unions are in decline; many struggle to find employment; and there is a continuing need for even greater levels of skills and knowledge. Thence, the major counterpoints that Blustein (2006) detected were, first, that there is too much work but not enough jobs; and, second, that people no longer experience feelings of connection, social engagement, and investment in a greater social entity because of technology (p. 63). In sum, we are left to ponder the meanings of work as a means of self-expression and spiritual growth versus work as a means to an end (Blustein, 2006, p. 64).

2 There is little doubt that information and communication technology in particular has grown into one of the most powerful forces shaping the 21st century. Through the globalization it simultaneously feeds on and accelerates, it is reshaping societies, economies, and governments worldwide.

2 What will not change whatever may happen is the importance of contextual factors, some of which were listed earlier. Contextual factors are characteristics (or circumstances) that, through connectedness (or linkages),3 are unique to groups, communities, societies, and individuals: and so, it follows that community, economic, environmental, legal, political, social, and technological contexts, to name the most crosscutting, must often be taken into consideration when developing solutions to challenges or, conversely, seizing opportunities. (To note, contextual factors can also be at large within an organization, not just in its external environment, and so impact workers internally.) At the level of the individual, Super's (1980) insights about personal contextual factors are also likely to perdure, even though lengthening lifespans will test the ambit of the development stages he particularized, particularly the Maintenance (or Management) and Decline (or Disengagement) stages.4 Because of the role that contextual factors (at both group and individual levels) play in working, the American Psychological Association (2016), for one, instructed psychologists to strive to understand how economic, legal, and social factors impact opportunities for and barriers to employment, and subsequently alter the career trajectory.5 The stipulated rationale behind American Psychological Association (2016) was that (a) "The impact of global economies, advances in technology, and decreased confidence in the predictability of employment increase the likelihood that adult workers will experience multiple work transitions, both expected and 3

Socially, people are drawn together in organizations and groups framed by formal and informal rules (e.g., laws, mores, policies, regulations), resources (e.g., environmental, financial, human, and in-kind), and relationships.

4 Super (1980) proposed that—across their entire lifespan—people go through five developmental stages: (a) Growth (0–14), with emphasis on physical growth, forming the selfconcept, and exploring early interests and abilities; (b) Exploration (15–24), with emphasis on exploring different areas of work, beginning to focus on a specific career direction, getting specialized training, and beginning to engage in work; (c) Establishment (25–44), with emphasis on settling into a career field, making contributions to the field, and achieving higher levels of responsibility; (d) Maintenance (or Management) (45–64), with emphasis on maintaining a job position, updating skills as needed to stay competitive, and planning for retirement; and (e) Decline (or Disengagement) (65+), with emphasis on gradually separating from work and engaging in other projects such as leisure, time with family, and community activities.

5 The full set of the American Psychological Association's Guidelines for Integrating the Role of Work and Career into Professional Psychology Practice is: • Guideline #1: Psychologists strive to have an awareness of the pervasive impact of work on an individual's identity and quality of life.

• Guideline # 2: Psychologists are encouraged to be aware of the influence work has on behavioral, emotional and physical health, as well as the influence of health on work.

• Guideline # 3: Psychologists are encouraged to understand the role of work transitions across the lifespan.

• Guideline # 4: Psychologists strive to understand how cultural, individual, and role differences, including those based on age, gender, gender identity, geographic location, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and language, may influence the pursuit and experience of work.

• Guideline # 5: Psychologists strive to understand how the individual negotiates multiple life roles, including that of the worker.

• Guideline # 6: Psychologists strive to understand how economic and social factors impact opportunities for and barriers to employment, and subsequently alter one's career trajectory.

(American Psychological Association, 2006)

3 unexpected" (p. 19); (b) "Periods of economic stress, such as recessions or depressions, have a significant impact on employment and on well-being" (p. 9); (c) "… [E]ven in times of global recession and economic distress, the impact is not equivalent across groups" (p. 9); (d) "Racial, gender, ability, and sexual identities have all demonstrated some relationship to differential employment statistics, in both good and bad economic periods" (p. 9); (e) "… [S]ocial and legal factors intersect in the employment of individuals with a history of incarceration and these individuals face multiple barriers to obtaining employment after release" (p. 20); and (f) "…

[S]ome workers are employed in settings that are either toxic or unhealthy" (p. 20).

Contextual Factors of Work: An Appreciation 1. Individual Context For Super (1980), "A career is defined as the combination and sequence of roles played by a person during the course of a lifetime" (p. 282). Along the continuum of Super's (1980) five development phases, in terms of age, I am to find myself at the Maintenance (or Management) stage. However, the major task of the Maintenance (or Management) stage is—allegedly— continual adjustment to improve one's position. And, in terms of developmental tasks, one is to sequentially accept one's own limitations (Growth), identify new tasks to work on (Exploration), develop new skills (Establishment), hold one's own against competition (Maintenance or Management), and focus on essentials (Decline or Disengagement). The main idea, it seems, is that little new ground is broken: one continues established work patterns, preserves gains, and faces competition from younger workers; thus, this stage could be a plateau. Without going into details, I cannot see that any of these apply to my situation but am mindful (see below) that I may have a relatively unusual background, set of experiences, competencies, etc.).

Notwithstanding, I opine that Super's (1980) developmental view of career development, preferably enriched by the concept of adaptability per Herr (1997), is appropriate to the 21st Century workplace. Certainly, Super's (1980) framework can helps identify the career development stage one is at and set goals for mastery of the tasks unique to each stage; it provides much food for thinking about individual contextual factors.

2. Group Context Owing to international education, work on three or four continents, and a life spent overseas, the key items in my culture identity structure are global citizen, male, well-traveled, polyglot, multidisciplinary competencies, interested in Organization 4.0, and keen on organizational leadership: this is distinct from the standard typologies of diversity, viz., race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, physical abilities, social class, age, etc., this in a globalizing, multicultural world (Serrat, 2017). (Millennials might bridle at such reductionism.) The contention is that unless one lives in a tightly circumscribed environment—and who does, these days?— there is every chance that a person considering dissimilar reference groups will respond differently to such questions as: What is the group like? How do I feel about it? What relationship is there between me and the group? Strikingly, even where cultural identity structures are similar, cultural identity mapping can (and usually does) reveal different individual interpretations of where, how, and to what degree a group's culture is represented in the self (Serrat, 2017). The departure from the vignettes in Blustein (2006)—one dated 1978 on life in a mill town (p. 32), another dated 1889 (pp. 33–34) on the lives of many workers, and a third taken from a song dated 1978 (p. 34) on the routine of industrial era workers—is striking.

4 3. Global Context In a globalizing world characterized by job insecurity and—paradoxically—isolation, the global context will play an ever-greater role in self-concept, life span, and life space, to use Super's (1957) continuingly useful notions, even if career development—"a series of upward moves with steadily increasing income, power, status, and security", is with job security per se a thing of the past (Hall & Associates, 1996, p. 1). In the literature—even as the productive energies and abilities of the poor, uneducated, or simply less privileged are constrained to the detriment of society—"boundaryless", "portfolio", and "protean" are in relation to the now defunct career terms that imply the necessity for individuals to ongoingly their human capital and trade job security for employability (Hall & Associates, 1996). Irrespective, we have little choice but to explore a wider, more inclusive, comprehensive, and diverse world of work and be open to the possibilities for growth, learning, and change (Covey, 2004).

Coping with the Global Contextual Factors of Work Job insecurity and the accompanying loss of the psychological contract, isolation, stress, and changes in the fabric of the family are factors of global origins now impacting work. To cope with each, workers may—sundrily—have to reinterpret what job security now means to them and trade the erstwhile understandings of the psychological contract for "employability security"; offset lack of social interactions by participating in interest groups or other social groups; find activities that put them at ease and help restore energy; and proactively experience other aspects of their personality by trying on different roles in the family (R. Gramillano, personal communication, March 13, 2019).

References

American Psychological Association. (2016). Professional practice guidelines for integrating the role of work and career into psychological practice. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/about/policy/work-career-practice.pdf Blustein, D. (2006). The psychology of working: A new perspective for career development, counseling, and public policy. New York, NY: Routledge.

Blustein, D. (2013). The psychology of working: A new perspective for a new era. In D. Blustein (Ed.), Oxford handbooks online. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199758791.001.0001/oxfo rdhb-9780199758791-e-001 Covey, S. (2004). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Restoring the character ethic. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Hall, D., & Associates (Eds.). (1996). The Career is dead—Long live the career: A relational approach to careers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Herr, E. (1997). Super's life-span, life-space approach and its outlook for refinement. The Career Development Quarterly, 45(3), 238–246.

Serrat, O. (2017). Who am I? Presenting cultural identities [PowerPoint presentation]. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320507969_Who_Am_I_Presenting_Cultural_I dentities.

Super, D. (1957). The psychology of careers. New York, NY: Harper & Row. Super, D. (1980). A life-span, life-space, approach to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 13, 282–298.