Career pandemonium: Realigning organizations and individuals

Abstract

Widespread internal changes in organizations are wreaking havoc on traditional careers. Many people are experiencing major difficulties in their attempts to adapt to the uncertainties of career life. Observing these difficulties, writers on careers have begun to advise individuals to take personal control over their careers by becoming more versatile in their skills, accepting of change, and active in shaping their life at work. Increasingly, organizations are seen as freed from the responsibility of managing careers in their efforts to remain flexible and ready to shift with environmental changes. However, both individuals and organizations have needs for stability and for change. Organizations are better advised to adopt a pluralistic approach to career management that embraces different definitions of career success. In so doing, they will be better able to support the diverse needs of their employees and, simultaneously, enable the organization to reward and maintain diverse competencies in their workforces.