Revitalising career counseling for sustainable decent work and decent lives: From personality traits to life project reflexivity for well-being

Abstract

The context of contemporary work scenarios features constant change and innovation in the field of information and communication technologies, which result in frequent work transitions and job insecurity. Such circumstances are highly threatening to the well-being of workers. Moreover, the instability and precariousness of the labour market are aggravated by the current crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals are facing increased critical life and professional challenges and are being asked to take personal responsibility for the direction of their personal and work lives. In this complex context, career counseling needs to be revitalised in strength-based prevention perspectives. Life Project Reflexivity (LPR) addresses future professional and life plans and represents a critical construct for career counseling. The present study among Italian university students in transition to the labour market analysed the relationships between LPR and well-being while controlling for the ‘Big Five’ personality traits. The Big Five Questionnaire, the Life Project Reflexivity Scale and measures of both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being were administered to 278 university students of the University of Florence. LPR and its dimensions of authenticity, no acquiescence and clarity/projectuality explained the incremental variance beyond personality traits with respect to both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, with specific reference to meaning in life. Among the three dimensions of LPR, authenticity was the most promising in this study. These results offered new perspectives for career counseling by supporting a strength-based prevention process for constructing sustainable decent work and life.

Keywords: career counseling; decent lives; decent work; life project reflexivity; well-being.