In this article the five career narratives of three siblings and two unemployed men are drawn upon to critically examine the use of contemporary career discourse as a means to negotiate changes to work since the 1980s and to the present time. A critical analysis enables contemporary career discourse and workplace change to be located within the historic, sociopolitical, and economic context. The five career narratives could be described by drawing upon various contemporary career models. However, these models failed to account for the participants' less optimistic experiences. Their experiences are micro-level examples of macrolevel trends associated with structural adjustment programs, organisational restructuring, and increased global competition. Careers theorists, practitioners, and administrators are in a unique position to become proactive in drawing political attention to the less positive outcomes of workplace change.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdlerP.AdlerP. (1994). Observational techniques. In DenzinN.LincolnY. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 377–92). London: Sage.
AlvessonM.SköldbergK. (2000). Reflexive methodology: New vistas for qualitative research. London: Sage.
4.
ArthurM. (1994). The boundaryless career: A new perspective for organizational inquiry. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 15 (4), 295–306.
5.
BrousseauK.DriverM.EnerothK.LarsonR. (1996). Career pandemonium: Realigning organisations and individuals. Academy of Management Executive, 10 (4), 52–66.
6.
Career Edge. (2001). Career information: The common sense of our times. An interview with Associate Minister of Education. Career Edge, 6, 2–5.
7.
Career Information and Guidance Review Panel. (1995). The careers information and guidance report. Auckland, NZ: National Research Bureau.
DeetzS. (1992). Democracy in an age of corporate colonization: Developments in communication and the politics of everyday life. New York: State University of New York, Albany.
10.
DyerS. (1998). Flexibility models: A critical analysis. Journal of Manpower Planning, 19 (4), 223–33.
11.
DyerS. (2003). Normalising globalisation and workplace change through contemporary career management and development discourse: A New Zealand case study. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand.
12.
EhrensalK. (1995). Discourses of global competition: Obscuring the changing labour processes of managerial work. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 8 (5), 5–16.
13.
ForesterJ. (1985). Critical theory and public life. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
14.
GreenhausJ.CallananG.GodshalkV. (2000). Career management. Orlando, FL: Dryden Press.
15.
GreyC. (1994). Career as a project of the self and labour process discipline. Sociology, 28 (2), 479–97.
16.
HallD., & Associates (1996). The career is dead: Long live the career. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.
17.
HandyC. (1994). The empty raincoat: Making sense of the future. London: Hutchinson.
18.
HumphriesM. (1998). For the common good: New Zealanders comply with quality standards. Organization Science, 9 (6), 738–749.
19.
JermierJ. (1985). When the sleeper wakes. A short story extending themes in radical organisation theory. Journal of Management, 11 (2), 67–80.
20.
KelseyJ. (1999). Reclaiming the future: New Zealand and the global economy. Wellington, New Zealand: Bridget Williams Books.
21.
KvaleS. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. London: Sage Publications.
22.
LekaS.GriffithsA. (2003). Work, organisation, and stress: Systematic problem approaches for employers, managers and trade union representatives. Protecting workers' health series No. 3. Switzerland: World Health Organization.
23.
ManderJ. (1996). The dark side of globalization: What the media are missing. The Nation, 263 (3), 9–32.
24.
McBrideS. (1999). Towards permanent insecurity: The social impact of unemployment. Journal of Canadian Studies, 34 (2), 13–30.
25.
KanterR. Moss (1989). When giants learn to dance: Mastering the challenges of strategy, management and careers. London: Unwin.
26.
PattonW.McMahonM. (1999). Career development and systems theory: A new relationship. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
27.
PryorR.BrightJ. (2005). Chaos in practice: Techniques for career counsellors. Australian Journal of Career Development, 14 (1), 18–29.
28.
RoseN. (1989). Calculable minds and manageable individuals. History of the Human Sciences, 1 (2), 179–200.
29.
SmithL. (1994). Biographical method. In DenzinK.LincolnY., (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 286–305). London: Sage.
30.
StoryM. (1997, March 9), Job for life with one firm is not realistic. Sunday Star Times, 8.
31.
The great American jobs machine. (2000, January). Economist, 15, 35–6.
32.
WatsonM. (1999). Rethinking capital mobility: Re-regulating the financial markets. New Political Economy, 4 (1), 55–75.
33.
WattsT.FretwellD. (2003). Public policies for career development: Policy strategies for designing career information and guidance systems in middle-income and transition economies. Washington, DC: World Bank.
