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MHS 5340Foundations of Career Development

James P. Sampson, Jr.

Florida State University

Evolution of Work, Mental Health, Family, Education, and Leisure

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Why work?

• Economic

• Social

• Psychological

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• Hunter-gatherer model– Men hunted, women gathered

• Agrarian / Agricultural model– Tools needed to work farms

– Trade became popular

• Class development– Landowners vs. laborers

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• Class development– Middle class composed of merchants

and very skilled craftsmen

– Professions develop• Clergy• Medicine• Law

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• Children– Eldest son enters father’s occupation

– Other sons enter varied occupations

– Daughters become wives and care for children as well as work in the home and often work in the family business

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• Industrial Revolution– Movement of workers from farms to

cities• Self-employment to working for others

– Difficulty with career development in new trades• Families less helpful in guiding children• Family influence strong in deterministic

society

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• Immigrants– New groups wanted to reinvent

themselves in America– Commonality of achievement motivation– Needed education – Ability to read & write supports vibrant

middle class– Still needed vocational guidance

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• Frank Parsons (1908) – Leader in social reform movement

– Innovative practitioner and theorist

– Three-part model of decision making• Self knowledge• Occupational knowledge• True reasoning

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• W W I– Tests developed for selection of

soldiers and officers

– Aptitude tests created

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• School guidance and work– Education and economic

achievement at work allows upward mobility in social class• unprecedented social development

– Guidance programs• Vocational education• College selection

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• W W II– Women moved into work force

vacated by men– Women didn’t want to stop working

after war – valued independence– Rise of women’s movement– Soldiers needed counseling for “shell

shock” (now PTSD)

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• W W II– Soldiers needed career counseling for

college major choice for post-military careers

• Sputnik (1957)– Russians launch 1st satellite– Americans surprised and embarrassed– Counselors encouraged to “guide” students

into math and engineering careers

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• Alternative ways to work– Permanent full-time– Part-time– Flextime– Overtime– Shift work– Multiple jobs

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• Alternative ways to work– Job sharing– Telecommuting– Independent contractor, Self-employment,

Freelancer or Consultant– Contingent workforce

• Outsourcing, temporary services, on-call workers, interns, co-ops

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Past, Present, & Future Trends

• Career Education integrates the school, community and employers

• Human Resource Development emerges among private, not-for-profit, and public sector employers

• School-to-Work movement emerges from the career education movement

• One-Stop Centers integrate public employment, training, and social services in one location

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Problems of Unemployment

• Admundson & Borgen:– Job loss and grieving process

• denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance

– Job search / burnout• enthusiasm, stagnation, frustration,

apathy, and further depression

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Work Adjustment Counseling

• Work Adjustment Counseling integrates mental health counseling and career counseling– Problems working with fellow employees– Problems relating to supervisors– Problems in job performance not related to

skills– Chronic unemployment

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Employee Assistance Programs

• Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) initiated to cope with substance abuse on the job:– Absenteeism

– Poor/unsafe performance

• EAP’s now handle any problem that interferes with work

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Employee Assistance Programs

• EAP issues:– Health problems

– Family

– Work addiction

– Anxiety

– Depression

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Employee Assistance Programs

• Service delivery:– In-house (company EAP)

– Referral (contract out to EAP firm)

• Less expensive to provide EAP service than to hire and train a new worker

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Systems Approach to Career

• A system of interrelated factors affect Career Development

• Three levels:– I. World events (war, economics)

– II. Culture

– III. Elements of work, family, education / training, and leisure

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Systems Approach

• World and economic events may affect work, family, education, and leisure

• Interventions in one life role affect other life roles

• Be aware of client’s culture when considering his/her system of work, family, education, leisure

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Leisure

• Hard work highly valued

• This century has seen increase in leisure time

• Better leisure = better work

• People don’t always make good leisure choices

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Types of Leisure

• Blocker & Siegal

– Complementary

– Supplementary

– Compensatory

• Supplementary and Compensatory can be the same activity

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Contributions of Leisure

• Challenge

• Support

• Structure

• Feedback

• Application

• Integration

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Homework Assignment #2

• What are your leisure activities?

• What types of leisure are they?– complementary, supplemental,

compensatory

• What contribution does your leisure give you?

For Additional Information

www.career.fsu.edu/techcenter/

Thank You

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