Professionals who quit: their changing perceptions of careers and the meaning of work
by Melinda L. Costello
International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management (IJHRDM), Vol. 1, No. 2/3/4, 2001

Abstract: This paper describes the changed perceptions of a unique group of career changers - those who voluntarily left established professional, technical, or managerial careers to become working proprietors of their own small businesses in non-professional, non-technical, or non-managerial areas (for example, one manager became an organic farmer). They left what appear to have been highly valued and desired positions - careers in organisations - to start small businesses. An unstructured interview with six men and four women was used to discover how the subjects understood their changes. The popularly held notion of career as an upward progression of moves through an organisational hierarchy fitted this group as they described their past positions. The concept did not fit their jobs as working proprietors. They rejected their previous focus on income, status, and power, and seemed to change their ideas of what gave meaning to their work lives. They discussed five characteristics of their jobs that were important to them pride in the finished product or service; enjoyment of the process of creating the product or service; social connections with family, customers, and their communities; autonomy; and personal change and growth. This study brings into question the effectiveness of the traditional career path as a means to influence and motivate employees in organisations.

Online publication date: Mon, 18-Aug-2003

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management (IJHRDM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com