1. Chapter Twelve
Work and Leisure: Occupational and Lifestyle Issues in Young and Middle Adulthood

2. 12.1 Occupational Selection & Development: Learning Objectives
How do people view work? How do occupational priorities vary with age?
How do people choose their occupations?
What factors influence occupational development?
What is the relation between job satisfaction and age?

3. The Meaning of Work
Most people work to make a living but also find meaning in their work
Meaning-mission fit: the alignment between one’s personal view of work and the company’s missions
Greater alignment can have multiple self and other benefits
Personal fulfillment is derived from work in 4 ways
Developing and becoming self
Union with others
Expressing self
Serving others

4. Occupational Choice Revisited
Holland: people pursue careers that are a good fit between their (a) abilities and (b) interests
Six personality types result from (a) and (b) — investigative, social, realistic, artistic, conventional, and enterprising
Gender, but few ethnic/racial, differences exist
Women are more likely manifest the social, artistic, or conventional type
Men and women in the same occupation are similar in personality type

5. Occupational Choice Revisited (cont’d)
Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT)
The 4-variable version
Self-efficacy (perceived ability)
Outcome expectations (predicted success)
Interest (what one likes)
Choice goals (what one desires to achieve)
The 6-variable version adds two more factors
Support (how environment would help)
Barriers (how environment would frustrate one’s career)

6. Fig 12.1 The 4-variable (paths 1-6) and 6-variable (paths 1-13) versions of the Social Cognitive Career Theory interest/choice models.

7. Occupational Choice Revisited (cont’d)
The 6-variable SCCT model receives better support
People will not choose an occupation or career, even though interested, unless they have high self-efficacy
External factors (e.g., stereotypes) affect perceptions of self-efficacy

8. Occupational Development
How we advance within chosen occupations depends on many factors, including
expectations
support from coworkers
priorities
job satisfaction
Vocational maturity: a continuum through the working years reflecting how congruent a person’s occupational behaviors are with what is expected of them at different ages

9. Super’s Theory
Changes in self-concept and adaptation to one’s occupational role progress through five distinct stages
Implementation
Establishment
Maintenance
Deceleration
Retirement
During adulthood, people progress through three developmental tasks
Implementation (trying out jobs)
Stabilization (making an occupational choice)
Consolidation (advancing up the career ladder)

10. Super’s Theory (cont’d)
The three adult developmental tasks overlap with four developmental stages
Exploratory (age 15-24)
Establishment (age 24-44)
Maintenance (age 45-64)
Decline (age 65 and beyond)
As we stay in a career or change careers, we cycle and recycle through the tasks and stages
Aspirations of U.K. 16-year-olds predicted actual occupational attainment at age 33
Supports Super’s theory

11. Occupational Expectations
Occupational and career expectations change over time as a function of changes in self-concept and self-efficacy
Ex.: interests change as we experience our occupation as a poor fit or as requiring different types of education
Reality shock: what we learned during training (e.g., in a classroom) may not transfer directly into what the “real world” job expects of us or needs us to know to perform the job well

12. The Role of Mentors and Coaches
Compared to any formal training, more experienced workers often communicate informally the most critical kinds of information
Mentors help young workers avoid trouble and explain the unwritten rules of the job
Mentors often guide young workers, ensuring supervisors notice them and give them credit; help job and pay advancement
Mentoring is one way for the mentor to fulfill Erikson’s generativity stage

13. The Role of Mentors (cont’d)
Kram described four phases of the mentoring relationship
Initiation
Cultivation
Separation
Redefinition

14. Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction: the positive feeling resulting from an appraisal of one’s work
Increases with age for white collar workers, but decreases for blue collar workers
Middle-aged workers are more satisfied with work’s intrinsic rewards than its extrinsic rewards (e.g., pay)
Satisfaction’s relationship to age is cyclical, depending on
how well the job allows one to meet the family responsibilities present at any given age
age-related differences in how people balance their lives with work

15. Figure 12.2 Super’s occupational stages during adulthood.

16. Alienation and Burnout
Alienation: workers’ feelings that their work is meaningless and devalued, or when they see no connection between what they do and the end product
Reducing alienation requires workers
feeling trust in the organization
being involved in decision-making
having flexible work schedules
having access to employee development or enhancement programs

17. Alienation and Burnout (cont’d)
Burnout: feeling exploited and the depletion of a worker’s energy, motivation, and occupational idealism
State of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion
Results from job stress
Can be avoided by stress-reduction techniques, cognitively restructuring the work, lowering other people’s expectations, and finding other ways to enhance personal growth and identity

18. Alienation and Burnout (cont’d)
Passion: strong inclination toward an activity one likes or loves, values, and in which one invests time and energy
Passion model: two types of passion accurately predict who burns out
Obsessive passion: uncontrollable urges to engage in work; interferes with positive feelings or satisfaction; leads to conflict in other life areas because person cannot disengage fully from work
Harmonious passion: freely choosing to engage in work, and work does not overpower one’s identity

19. FIG 12.3 Path analytic model of the relationships among passion, satisfaction at work, conflict, and burnout. Harmonious passion predicts higher satisfaction at work, which predicts lower levels of burnout. In contrast, obsessive passion predicts higher levels of conflict, which in turn predicts higher levels of burnout.

20. 12.2 Gender, Ethnicity, and Discrimination Issues: Learning Objectives
How do women’s and men’s occupational expectations differ? How are people viewed when they enter occupations that are not traditional for their gender?
What factors are related to women’s occupational development?
What factors affect ethnic minority workers’ occupational experiences and occupational development?
What types of bias and discrimination hinder the occupational development of women and ethnic minority workers?

21. Gender Differences in Occupational Selection
47% of U.S. workforce is female
60% of all 16-year-old females are working
62% of African-American women work
56% of Latina women work
Although more women have entered nontraditional occupations, society still perceives them negatively and disrespects them,
describing them as being cold, bitter, quarrelsome, selfish, deceitful, devious
with men still preferring to date women who work in traditional settings

22. Gender Differences in Occupational Selection (cont’d)
People are less likely to perceive sexual coercion as harassing when directed to women in nontraditional occupations
Women themselves are less likely to see themselves as having been sexually harassed when working in a nontraditional field

23. Women and Occupational Development
More recent generations of women do negotiate their salaries, benefits, and work environments
However, women of these generations still tend to commit more to traditional jobs
Women working in traditional jobs report increased financial and emotional stress associated with family obligations
Working mothers are not seen as team players or being able to do the tough work

24. Women and Occupational Development (cont’d)
Female professionals leave jobs for two reasons: they see the organization as
supporting masculine values rather than women’s preference for ones valuing relationships, interdependence, and collaboration
alienating, where workers are disconnected from each other and where the work lacks meaning

25. Ethnicity and Occupational Development
No ethnic group differences in women choosing nontraditional occupations
Compared to European Americans, African-American women choosing nontraditional careers
seek more formal training, becoming overqualified
report lower levels of leadership aspiration
Latinas may unnecessarily limit their career choices due to perceptions of career barriers and myths

26. Ethnicity and Occupational Development (cont’d)
Women more favorably perceive organizations that are responsive and communicative regarding ethnic minorities’ needs
Compared to European Americans, African-American managers report
negatively on their careers and the organizations treatment of them
more career dissatisfaction, lower performance evaluations, and too quickly reaching promotion plateaus
All ethnic groups benefit the most from same-ethnicity mentors, but many minorities still receive cross-ethnic mentoring

27. Bias and Discrimination
Gender bias
Only 15 women are CEOs in the Fortune 500
In 2010’s U.S. elections, the number of women in Congress declined
Gender discrimination: denying someone a job based on their gender
Glass ceiling: the promotional level above which women may not go
Glass cliff: women obtaining a precarious promotion, e.g., in times of an organizational crisis

28. Bias and Discrimination (cont’d)
Gender bias (cont’d)
Men at the top keep women out of high- status jobs
Women are paid, on average, 80% of what men in the same positions are paid

29. Fig 12. 4 Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s
Fig 12.4 Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by age, 1979–2009.

30. Bias and Discrimination (cont’d)
Needed to reduce the gender bias and gap are
women digging deep into the organization to make informed decisions
women getting necessary support, resources, and buy-in; also, showing one makes a difference to the company
companies must value women’s competencies (e.g., interpersonal and democratic orientations), make men more comfortable with female colleagues, and provide mentoring to women

31. Bias and Discrimination (cont’d)
To reduce pay inequities, organizations should
encourage women to negotiate salaries more effectively
rethink using the number of hours worked as the main measure of productivity
value women’s competencies
create more work options for working mothers
end gender discrimination in the workplace

32. Sexual Harassment
Women in the workplace report being sexually harassed (28%+) or its potential (58%)
16% of formal legal charges involve sexual harassment of men
U.S. women judged specific acts as more sexually harassing than did men, whereas there was no gender effect in other cultures
Victims are most often young, single, or divorced
Research shows that harassment results in negative emotional, mental health, and job-related outcomes
Federal law protects men and women from sexual harassment

33. Age Discrimination
Age discrimination: denying a job or promotion to an individual solely based on age
Age discrimination usually occurs when employees rather than HR make the hiring decision
Federal law prohibits this practice for workers over the age of 40
People must be hired based on their ability
Age cannot be even an indirect factor in job performance ratings
Nonetheless, older people commonly are offered retirement incentives to stop working and stereotyped beliefs affect their job performance

34. 12.3 Occupational Transitions: Learning Objectives
Why do people change occupations?
Is worrying about potential job loss a major source of stress?
How does job loss affect the amount of stress experienced?

35. Occupational Transitions
The reasons people leave their jobs are varied
Unhappy with the work
Obsolete skills
Economic trends
Pursuing additional training or education
Retraining workers
Career plateauing occurs when there is a lack of opportunity or when a person decides not to seek advancement
The retraining of mid-career and older workers emphasizes the need for lifelong learning

36. Occupational Insecurity
Economic conditions in the U.S. have resulted in many people losing jobs
Many people experience feelings of insecurity
People who worry about their jobs tend to have poorer mental and physical health

37. Occupational Insecurity (cont’d)
Even if their job is not in jeopardy, people who worry about job loss suffer poorer well-being
People’s coping strategy predicts how stressed they will feel about job loss regardless of whether they have or have not been laid off
Emotion-focused coping: trying to make oneself feel better about a stressful situation or denying their feelings; results in greater stress.
Problem-focused coping: recognizing the problem and doing something to fix it

38. Coping with Unemployment
Unemployment often results in declines in physical and mental health plus self-esteem
Middle-aged men are more susceptible to the negative effects of unemployment
Unemployment rates are higher for ethnic minority groups than for European Americans.
Unemployment-related stress similarly affects all ethnic groups

39. Figure 12.5 Psychological and physical well-being after losing one’s job is affected by many variables.

40. Coping with Unemployment (cont’d)
Recommendations
Approach job loss with a healthy sense of urgency
Consider next career move and what must be done to achieve it, even if there are no immediate prospects
Admit and react to change as soon as you realize it is there
Be cautious of stop-gap employment
Identify a realistic goal and list the steps needed to achieve it

41. 12.4 Work and Family: Learning Objectives
What are the issues faced by people who care for dependents?
How do partners view the division of household chores? What is work-family conflict? How does it affect couples’ lives?

42. The Dependent Care Dilemma
Employed caregivers revisited
Many mothers have to return to work after the birth of a baby
57% of married and single mothers with children ≤ 1 year old work for pay
Some women struggle with the dilemma of financial need vs. caring for their children
Some women feel the need to return to work as a result of attachment to their work
Stage of the lifecycle and gender both affect perceptions of ideal working hours

43. Figure 12.6 The ideal number of hours that men want to work stays about the same regardless of whether they have children; women’s ideal number of hours depends on whether they have children and how old the children are.

44. Employed Caregivers (cont’d)
U.S. women are punished even for taking short leaves
Swedish women also are punished for taking long leaves although living in a women-friendly country
80% of women spend 23 hours/week caring for parents and 70% contribute money
Caring for dependents negatively affects
stress levels
career opportunities and promotions
coping abilities

45. Dependent Care and Effects on Workers
Women caregivers experience greater problems than men
Problems can be ameliorated by providing
good partner or family support systems
women with high control over their jobs (e.g., schedules)

46. Dependent Care and Employer Responses
Backup care: emergency care for dependents preventing employee from missing work
Backup care results in less work-family conflict, lower absenteeism, and higher job satisfaction only when organizations adopt a justice approach
Sympathetic and supportive supervisors
Support for family and childcare issues
Also helpful are job sharing, nursery facilities, better job security, autonomy, lower productivity demands, and flexible schedules

47. Juggling Multiple Roles
Dividing household chores
Women still perform the lion’s share of housework
Men are contributing more since 1970, but mostly on weekends and regardless of whether their wives work
Men endorsing feminine or androgynous rather than masculine gender roles do contribute more
Unequal division of labor causes the most arguments and most unhappiness in dual-earner couples
Men do perform more household chores the longer their wives have been in the workforce

48. Juggling Multiple Roles (cont’d)
Dividing household chores (cont’d)
Satisfaction with the division of household labor is higher for
men when equitably divided and based on the number of hours spent, especially if they spend few hours
women when men are willing to perform women’s traditional chores (e.g., cooking, childcare)

49. Dividing Household Chores (cont’d)
European-American men help with chores less than Latino- or African-American men
In dual-earner couples, African-American women are twice as likely as men to feel overburdened with housework and dissatisfied with family life
Mexican-American men born in Mexico help out more especially when their wives earn more of the family’s income
Navajo women not living on a reservation do more of the traditional chores, but men and women share equally in home maintenance
Women report spending more time on housework than do men in several world countries

50. FIG 12. 7 International perspective on gender differences in housework
FIG 12.7 International perspective on gender differences in housework. Mean housework hours in selected countries.

51. Work-Family Conflict
60% of married couples with children are dual-income earners
Highest stress level and work-family conflict is when there are at least two preschool children in the home
Cross-cultural data suggests that work- and parenting-related burnout is more likely to affect women

52. Work-Family Conflict (cont’d)
Women are most bothered when husbands are unwilling to do “women’s work”
The inequitable division of household labor reflects past socialization experiences
Dual-earner couples have difficulty finding time for each other
Enjoying time together and spending it on shared activities is more important than the amount of time

53. Work-Family Conflict (cont’d)
Work need not negatively affect family life if
both partners’ work schedules allow for coordination of childcare and other home responsibilities
Work-family conflict can be reduced by
keeping open lines of communication between partners
teaching children that men and women are equally responsible for household chores

54. 12.5 Leisure Activities: Learning Objectives
What activities are leisure activities? How do people choose among them?
What changes in leisure activities occur with age?
What do people derive from leisure activities?

55. Types of Leisure Activities
Leisure: discretionary activities including simple relaxation and those for enjoyment or creative pursuits
*Cultural *Crafts *Games *Physical *Technology
*Social-Private *Social-public *Religious
*Travel *Experiential *Developmental *TV
Choice of leisure activities depends upon
perceived competence, psychological comfort
health, income, transportation, education, social characteristics, interests, and abilities
Depression and dementia increase as frequency of leisure activities decreases

56. Developmental Changes in Leisure
Young adults participate in a greater range of, and more intense, activities
Middle-aged adults’ leisure activities are home- and family-oriented and less physically strenuous
Engagement in, and preferences for, types of leisure activities is stable from young to older adulthood

57. Consequences of Leisure Activities
Participation in leisure activities
is related to well-being, mental health
strengthens feelings of attachment to, and satisfaction with, partners, family, and friends
allows exploration of interpersonal relationships and approval seeking
improves social acceptance, friendships, and acceptance of differences in persons with disabilities
serves as a personal transformation vehicle

58. Consequences of Leisure Activities (cont’d)
Participation in leisure activities (cont’d)
is a primary coping strategy, lessening effects of unforeseen negative events or stress by
distracting us from the negative
promoting optimism about the future because leisure itself is pleasant
connecting us to our personal past
can create family conflict if taken to extremes
High post-vacation workloads can
largely undermine a vacation’s benefits
promote mood or sleep deficits even after a restful vacation