For Work / Against Work
Debates on the centrality of work

"Work as the Catalyst of Reciprocal Adult Development and Learning: Identity and Personality"

by Hoare, Carol (2006)

Abstract

This chapter on the relationship between work and individual development and learning primarily examines the positive effects of adult work on identity and personality characteristics, a process in which learning leads to development and development often leads to learning. Understanding the positive personal effects of work is particularly important in an era characterized by an absence of the prior social contract-that is, the expectation that a company will provide a lifetime of employment. In the tenuous work environment defined by the absence of this contract, it is essential to consider occupational contributions to the individual's development and learning that go beyond skill acquisition and a paycheck. What might workers expect from their employers? Should they not, for example, expect their employing organizations to provide opportunities for intellectual and cognitive development and for experiences that enhance (rather than undermine) identity and personality development? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Keywords

Development, Psychological Development, Identity, Personality, Personality Theory, Cognitive Maintenance, Reciprocity

Themes

Psychological Centrality of Work

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