The World of Boundaryless Careers – About the Need for a Subject’s Proactivity

Abstract

The specific character of qualitatively new changes in the relations between globality and locality implies a completely new perception of reality, ways of interpreting the world and a new quality of judgments about the condition of a modern man – including an individual as “a manager” of one’s own career. The contemporary study of careers requires taking into consideration multicontextual changes in the world of work, which make individuals face new challenges. A career development and career management programs concentrate on multiple aspects: from individual careers and a relationship between work and a family; to policy and strategic dilemmas, such as the aging workforce, the use of new technology or organizational performance. The logic of these changes inclines thinking about “boundaryless career”, “protean career” and “post-corporate career”, as a sort of novelty in planning a broadly defined career and how to climb the career ladder. The zeitgeist implies stressing individual initiative and proactivity, as no job is guaranteed forever and no abilities guarantee a market value. This is the world of careers conceived as “an individual’s property”.

Keywords: Boundaryless Careers, Proactivity, Global Society

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100373