Career counseling in a volatile job market: Tiedeman's perspective revisited

Career Development Quarterly, March, 2008 by David K. Duys, Janice E. Ward, Jane A. Maxwell, Leslie Eaton-Comerford

Today's economic cycle is an unpredictable one, and job security has become an elusive experience. Many workers do not expect to have the same job or to work for the same organization long term (Hall & Associates, 1996). For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2004) expects employment growth in the service-providing areas of the economy, such as education and health services, leisure and hospitality, transportation, and computer occupations, in the near future. In contrast, the manufacturing sector has contributed greatly to the mass layoffs experienced in late 2004. There are reports of employment expansion (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005), of employers replacing full-time workers with part-time or temporary workers, and of the changing climate of competition in acquiring and retaining employment (Fussell & Furstenberg, 2005). Modern-day employers are also more likely to expect that workers embrace complementary and diverse skills, such as multiskilled positions and cross-training responsibilities (Mangumn, 1996), in an attempt to yield more productivity from new or existing employees.

Phillips (1997) noted that the modern worker is faced with an environment in which major career upheavals occur without warning. Trends in corporate restructuring and downsizing, associated with mergers and profit seeking, have dramatically affected careers that were once thought to be secure for life (L. S. Hansen, 1993; Mangumn, 1996). Like the business world, places of private and public education, government agencies, and health care institutions have been faced with making difficult organizational decisions that require a reduction in the number of employees. Displaced professionals are in need of assistance to find work again. They are also caught in the vulnerable situation of finding it unlikely that they will obtain a similar job, at similar pay, with similar benefits.

Career development theory has infrequently addressed these job market realities, yet Super and Knasel (1981) considered career adaptability to be a major predictor of success. Super (1957) saw adaptability as a maturational phenomenon in which an individual develops coping skills to manage his or her life space, clarify vocational identity issues, and master career-related tasks associated with developmental stages. Career adaptability has also been identified as an important concern in career counseling as the structure of work continues to change (Ebberwein, Krieshok, Ulven, & Prosser, 2004; Swanson & Parcover, 1998). Career counselors often work with clients who are making more job changes as working roles become less stable. Some writers have suggested that the career counseling profession needs to respond more effectively to the plight of the modern worker (Herr, 2000; Holland, 1996). Counselors are faced with the challenge of developing programs and individualized counseling interventions that address the unpredictable changes in the labor landscape. This requires complex assessment skills and interventions that support adaptability. In addition to career decision-making concerns, counselors need to be sensitive to the pain their clients are experiencing. Displaced workers may have identified with their occupations for many years or may feel betrayed after years of commitment. Some clients may be willing to begin anew and pursue an entirely different career direction. Whether this choice is made reluctantly, or whether it is embraced enthusiastically, counselors and clients need to be flexible when considering options and alternatives.

Because the current economy continues to be turbulent, career development specialists need to find creative ways to encourage an atmosphere of career adaptability in their counseling sessions (Pelsma & Arnett, 2002). More than 40 years ago, Tiedeman and O'Hara (1963) suggested that career opportunities are not static entities but are more like flowing oceans; avenues for success are turbulent at times and smooth during others. They believed that adaptation was a natural and essential part of career development.

Tiedeman and O'Hara's (1963) central assumption is that security is dangerous for growth. Challenges are essential for human growth and happiness because without such challenges, clients would not have the opportunity to understand and make sense of themselves in a new context (Miller-Tiedeman & Tiedeman, 1990). From some of his earliest writings, Tiedeman regularly made use of metaphors to describe this more turbulent view of career development. He has compared career development to a journey on a ship: A worker (i.e., the client) is like a captain, and a counselor's role is to help clients navigate through all kinds of conditions in all kinds of weather (Miller-Tiedeman & Tiedeman, 1990). In order to address career development in a holistic way, Tiedeman enhanced traditional congruence approaches, positing that the client is an active participant in the process. This notion of active participation is related to other career development perspectives as well. For example, Tiedeman's (1961) model complements the dynamics of social cognitive career theory whereby low self-efficacy sabotages the clarification/induction decision-making process (Lent & Brown, 1996).