Project Materials

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Making adequate career choices and following positive career pathways lead to job satisfaction as well as social integration, (e.g., Feldman, 2009). Since the 1990s, the socioeconomic context of Western countries is characterized by globalization, a growing need for career mobility and flexibility, and unpredictable career pathways (Mirvis & Hall, 2014; Sennett, 2010).

These changes stress the crucial character of career decisions. In this context, individuals might frequently be exposed to numerous and complex vocational choices, which in turn may induce at-risk situations, such as difficult transitions, social, educational and professional exclusion, and trajectories toward unemployment or poverty (Creed, Muller, & Patton, 2009; O’Brien, Dukstein, Jackson, Tomlinson, & Kamatuka, 2011).

In such a fast-evolving and demanding environment, pre-career counseling plays a key function in terms of individual and social development and prevention of at-risk situations (Blustein, Juntunen, & Worthington, 2009).

It becomes, therefore, fundamental for researchers and practitioners to seek to promote and validate the usefulness and the efficacy of pre-career counseling (e.g., Bernes, Bardick, & Orr, 2007; Sexton, 2013). Despite the existence of a large variety of pre-career interventions and programs, only few of them have been systematically and empirically evaluated regarding their actual impacts.

Moreover, the existing studies often show methodological weaknesses (Heppner & Heppner, 2009; Whiston, 2012; Whiston, Brecheisen, & Stephens, 2009). Meta-analyses have shown that career interventions are globally and moderately effective, with adjusted effect sizes ranging from .30 to .50 (Whiston & Rahardja, 2008).

Effect sizes vary when considering different variables, such as client attributes, the treatment modalities, the intervention ingredients, or the number of sessions (Brown et al., 2009; Whiston et al., 2009, Whiston, Sexton, & Lasoff, 2010).

For example, counselor-free interventions are the less effective intervention modalities, whereas individual counseling seems to be the most effective modality (Whiston & Rahardja, 2008).

The effectiveness also seems to vary according to the chosen effect indicator, ranging from specific career indicators, such as career choice anxiety (Hung, 2012) or career exploratory behaviors (Mau, 2011), to more general indicators, such as generalized indecisiveness (Hung, 2012) or client satisfaction (Healy, 2010).

However, these analyses pointed out that it is still unclear which type of intervention modality (e.g. group or individual counseling) is the most effective for which kind of clients. Further research is also needed to identify which process variables influence the impacts of pre-career counseling (Heppner & Heppner, 2009; Whiston & Rahardja, 2008).

Among the variety of outcome indicators, career decision difficulties are frequently used as career-specific indicators of the effectiveness of pre-career counseling. Career decision difficulties are associated with the notion of career indecision, which consists in the ‘‘inability to make a decision about the vocation one wishes to pursue’’ (Guay, Sene´cal, Gauthier, & Fernet, 2009).

Tyler (1961) was the first author who made a distinction between undecideness (a developmental, episodic indecision) and indecisiveness (a chronic state of indecision). Recent studies tend to confirm this distinction (e.g., Guay, Ratelle, Sene´cal, Larose, & Deschenes, 2013). Gati, Krausz, and Osipow (2013) elaborated a taxonomy of career decision difficulties.

They identify three categories of difficulties, each of them divided into several subcategories: lack of readiness (related to three subcategories: lack of motivation, general indecisiveness, and dysfunctional beliefs), lack of information (related to four subcategories:

lack of information about the career decision-making process, the self, the occupations, and the ways of obtaining information), and inconsistent information (related to three subcategories: unreliable information, internal, and external conflicts).

The indecision level and the decision difficulties of clients represent valid cognitive-oriented, career-specific indicators of the effectiveness of career interventions (Baker, 2012; Gati, Saka, & Krausz, 2010; Hung, 2012; Jurgens, 2009; Peng, 2010).

Job satisfaction can be considered as a general indicator of the effectiveness of pre-career counseling. This construct is linked to the more general concept of well-being, which is defined as ‘‘an optimal psychological functioning and experience’’ (Ryan & Deci, 2010).

Subjective well-being is considered as an operational, measurable definition of well-being and is commonly divided into two components: the affective aspect and the cognitive aspect. The latter is also referred to as job satisfaction (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Grifffin, 2010; Pavot & Diener, 2011).

Job satisfaction is a result of employee’s perception of how well their job provides those things that are viewed as important” (Tella et al., 2007). Recent research has shown that domain-specific satisfaction in a valued life domain often correlates with global life satisfaction (e.g., Lent et al., 2013).

As a consequence, specific satisfaction with one’s career decisions and their consequences, such as positive career experiences and adjustment to the world of work, may be related to global life satisfaction (Feldman, 2009; Lounsbury, Park, Sundstrom, Williamson, & Pemberton, 2010).

During the past 20 years, job satisfaction and subjective well-being were often studied in correlational terms with career-related issues, such as career counseling with at-risk populations or school-to-work transitions. Hence the study, influence of pre-career couselling on job satisfaction

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Graduates face many issues finding gainful employment (King, 2007), including lack of self awareness of their work motivation, and not having a clear sense of what the occupations really involve, as a result of lack of pre-career counseling during the time of choosing career.

A lack of research exists concerning pre-career counseling influence on job satisfaction (D‘Aprix et al., 2010; Deters, 2008; Wiggins, 2011). As burnout and job dissatisfaction continue in different profession, investigating the influence of pre-career counseling on job satisfaction becomes of utmost important.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The major aim of the study is to examine the influence of pre career counseling on job satisfaction, other specific objectives of the study include;

1. To assess the effects of this pre-career counseling intervention on job satisfaction of employees.
2. To identify the factors influencing the pre-career counseling in our society
3. To examine the influence of pre-career counseling factors on the job satisfaction.
4. To examine the major contributory factors while measuring the job satisfaction.
5. To identify the relationship between pre-career counseling and job satisfaction.
6. To examine the role of  pre-career counseling in the overall job satisfaction of the employees
   1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is the effect of this pre-career counseling intervention on job satisfaction of employees?
2. What are the factors influencing the pre-career counseling in our society?
3. What is the influence of pre-career counseling factors on the job satisfaction?
4. What are the major contributory factors while measuring the job satisfaction?
5. What is the relationship between pre-career counseling and job satisfaction?
6. What is the role of pre-career counseling in the overall job satisfaction of the employee?
   1. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1

H0: There is no significant influence of pre-career counseling factors on the job satisfaction.

H1: There is a significant influence of pre-career counseling factors on the job satisfaction

Hypothesis 2

H0: There is no significant relationship between pre-career counseling and job satisfaction.

H1: There is a significant relationship between pre-career counseling and job satisfaction.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research is important in that the result of the study will add to counselors‘values and career satisfaction of counselors. Counselors have an interesting professional position as they can work in environments similar to social workers and psychologists even though their training, professional mission, and therapeutic focus are distinct (Kottler & Brown, 2009).

This study will help further define the professional identity of counselors.  The study would also be of immense benefit to students, researchers and scholars who are interested in developing further studies on the subject matter.

1. SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study is restricted to the influence of pre career counseling on job satisfaction.

1. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview)

Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Career: A career which is in line with your personality can make you adjust to work without any extra effort. Personality assessment can give you a clear picture about what type of job suits you the most.

Job satisfaction: can be measured in two forms, facet free Items and facet based items. As facet free items identify the job satisfaction as an overall view, feeling on the whole about the job and facet based items identify the job satisfaction through different aspects of the job some of them are intrinsic and some of them are extrinsic in nature (Stellman, 2010)