Subjective career success and adaptation of early career academics: A career construction theory approach

Abstract

This study draws on the career construction theory to investigate how individual and institutional features enhance the subjective career success of early career academics in a university in South Africa. A qualitative research design was used to gather and analyse data by way of semi-structured face-to-face interviews among 16 early career academics who were purposively sampled. Results revealed that hierarchical barriers, perceived unclear policies on work processes, and challenges pertaining to academic freedom impede early career academics’ subjective career success. Conversely, availability of teaching and learning resources, exposure to professional networks, and social interaction enhance the subjective career success of early career academics. At the individual level, early career academics’ sense of inadequacy, challenges in socialising with colleagues, and high teaching workloads negatively affect their subjective career success. This study recommends that universities should prioritise the subjective career success of early career academics by supporting their individual goals through institutional support mechanisms that include career advising and mentoring.

Keywords

Early career academics career construction theory subjective career success job satisfaction adaptation

Introduction

The career success of academics in universities has become a topical issue due to growing interest among researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders in the education industry in ensuring that academics are equipped with relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes to contribute to knowledge production and dissemination. One such area of growing interest is the subjective career success of ‘Early Career Academics’ (ECAs) and their career advancement. Recent theoretical developments suggest that situational moderators and in-person psychological courses mediate how personality traits relate with career behaviours, human capital, and career outcomes (Heslin et al., 2019; Zimmerman et al., 2016). The career success of ECAs is therefore contingent on a myriad of factors that include their professional experiences, personal goals, satisfaction with existing work processes, and achievements based on intrinsic and extrinsic attributes.

First, career success explains the positive work-related outcomes that are linked with the professional experiences and personal goals of individuals over time (Arthur et al., 2005; Benson et al., 2020; Blokker et al., 2019). Therefore, when ECAs connect their professional experiences with their personal goals and positive work-related outcomes, it leads to perceived career success. Secondly, career success explains the goals of individuals that have direct consequences for an institution (Dose et al., 2019; Harris & Ogbonna, 2006). The third factor is linked to what Cenciotti et al. (2017) explain as the actual or seeming achievements employees accumulate based on the outcomes of their work experiences that is linked to intrinsic attributes (subjective reactions) or extrinsic attributes (objective and observable outcomes) at the workplace.

Among the most widely studied forms of career success is the subjective career success that explains the evaluation of the career progress and satisfaction of individuals based on their ideas and opinions (Volmer et al., 2016). Although a number of studies have examined the importance of subjective career success to employees, there are discrepancies and gaps regarding how these subjective career success features are enhanced by individual and institutional support systems. Central to the subjective career success of ECAs in higher education is the satisfaction they gain from their work, entitlements and responsibilities. Therefore, subjective career success is linked to those elements that enhance ECAs’ feeling of satisfaction with their career (Volmer et al., 2016). Prior scholarly study has shown that universities serve as social organisations that are underpinned by two main values: (1) the production of knowledge for society, and the intellectual skills and attitudinal development of students; and (2) the commitment of academics to collegiality and autonomy that serves as the foundation of their professional ethics (Austin, 1990). Interestingly, these two sets of values are inextricably linked to the subjective career success of ECAs in the university setting because they represent how well ECAs derive satisfaction from their core jobs, and the degree of autonomy they enjoy that serves as the foundation of their professional ethics.

The essence of investigating the practical and theoretical gaps in how ECAs develop their professional careers and experiences in relation to their subjective career success constitutes the current study's major point of departure from earlier studies conducted on the subject. Consequently, this study adopts the ‘Career Construction Theory’ (CCT) as its main theoretical underpinning, and accordingly examines the contextual factors of the subjective career success of ECAs by: (1) undertaking an empirical study among ECAs in a university setting; (2) identifying and analysing the specific factors that enhance the subjective career success of ECAs; (3) highlighting the complexities of subjective career success factors of ECAs in a multi-campus university setting and; (4) drawing conclusions on how the perceptions of ECAs about their subjective career success could be prioritised to ensure their smooth integration into the academic environment and career advancement. The study was therefore guided by two research questions: 1 – What individual and institutional factors enhance the subjective career success of ECAs in a university setting? 2 – How can the subjective career success factors of ECAs be directly influenced to ensure the ECAs’ smooth integration and career advancement in the university system?

The career construction theory

The CCT explains how individuals construct and reconstruct their careers by pursuing activities that provide them with the greatest motivation (Savickas, 2006, 2013). Essentially, career construction theory is based on the proposition that human development is motivated by adaptation to social environment with the objective of integrating individuals into their environment (Savickas & Porfeli, 2012). Available evidence suggests that a large number of employees explain their career success by way of subjective success factors rather than objective success factors such as salary, promotions and conditions of service (Ng & Feldman, 2014). Importantly, career construction theory is rooted in the contextual and cultural perspectives of social adaptation and niche making that support human-environment adaptation within core and peripheral roles (Savickas, 2005).

Subjective career success involves the actual or seeming achievements employees accumulate that are based on the outcomes of their work experiences, and could be linked to intrinsic attributes (Cenciotti et al., 2017). In providing a clear connection between the subjective career success of ECAs and CCT, this study identifies the construction of knowledge by ECAs, the influence of institutional environment on their vocational behaviour, their personal motivation for achieving their individual goals and work outputs as very essential inputs. Prior study has shown that subjective career success is linked to those elements that enhance an individual's feeling of satisfaction with his or her career (Volmer et al., 2016). Similarly, Ng and Feldman (2014) have argued that dispositional traits, motivation, social networks and organizational job support systems are directly linked with the subjective career success of employees. This therefore brings to the fore the importance of institutional conditions, individual goals and motivation to the subjective career success of ECAs. In particular, career success predictive factors such as organisational sponsorship, socio-demographic factors and human capital requirements are known to produce a higher motivating influence on the subjective career success of individuals than the objective career success factors (Heslin et al., 2019; Ng et al., 2005). In relation to empirical assessment of the concept, subjective career success could either be measured as career satisfaction, perceived career success or as a multidimensional assessment of career features such as growth and development in the workplace and personal life (Spurk et al., 2019).

The second important feature under the CCT concept that relates to the current study is adaptation. Adaptation is central to career success because it represents different processes such as adaptive readiness; adaptability of resources; adapting responses and; adaptation of results (Savickas & Porfeli, 2012). Therefore, career adaptability of ECAs in the work environment serves as a psychosocial resource that consists of concerns about future expectations, and control over one's career with regard to self-discipline, confidence, curiosity (Haenggli & Hirschi, 2020) and cultural malleability. In particular, cultural malleability is important for ECAs in the academia because it enables them to understand and cope with the job environment and work to achieve the institutional vision. Other factors that relate to personality traits such as agreeableness, openness and conscientiousness that have a direct impact on the career outcomes of individuals (Heslin et al., 2019; Turban et al., 2017) are also essential to the subjective career success of ECAs.

Study context

The history of the current study context is akin to other historically white universities in South Africa that have evolved through several years of transformation. Originally established in 1904 as a predominantly white university, the institution in the research study has grown to become a racially diverse university with three geographically-dispersed campuses. In order to achieve its objective of training skilled human capital for both industry and public service, the career advancement of academics, including ECAs, has been highlighted in some institutional and state policy documents. In support of this, Pienaar and Bester (2006) have argued that, it is essential for new academics to be given support in the area of teaching, research and community service by means of frequent training opportunities, regular feedback and mentorships in their specific disciplines. Similarly, the SAHRC (2016) has underlined the need for universities to be committed to attracting and retaining new academics who are well resourced within an ‘inclusive nurturing culture’ that will enable them to work effectively.

Methods

Research design overview

A qualitative research approach was used to gather data from ECAs who were drawn from three campuses and seven faculties in the university. The object of qualitative research is to comprehend happenings in their natural setting with a focus on the perspectives and experiences of individuals that cannot be explained using objective measurements (Castleberry & Nolen, 2018; Kyngäs et al., 2020). Whilst earlier studies have measured subjective career success by way of income, number of promotions and hierarchical level attained (Nicholson & De Waal-Andrews, 2005), this study focused on the subjective career success of ECAs by way of the following variables: support for teaching, preparation and assessment of students; teaching and learning processes; career advising by senior academics; support for researcher ratings; and academic promotions.

Study participants

Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used in selecting 16 ECAs for the study. Particulars of the participants were obtained from the respective academic faculties and departments through direct personal contacts and referrals. There were more male participants (n = 11) than females (n = 5). The academic ranks of the participants were lecturers (10) 62.50%; junior lecturers (3) 18.75% and; academic facilitators (3) 18.75%. The geographical and discipline diversity of the participants served to provide a valuable set of data with different opinions regarding the perceptions of ECAs about their subjective career success and adaptation to the university environment. Participants were allocated pseudonyms to conceal their true identities.

Procedure

For the current study, narrative data by way of interviews were collected from participants. Formal invitations via email were sent to ECAs who consented to participate in the study. Thereafter, the researcher agreed with the ECAs about the interview dates, time, duration and venue. During the interviews, participants were briefed about the purpose of the study after which they were made to sign a consent form. They were also informed about the potential benefits and risks of the study, as well as their right to withdraw from the study if they so wished. The duration of each interview was between 45 and 60 min. The interviews were held in either the offices of participants or a meeting room at the department to prevent noise and distractions. For purposes of confidentiality, only the interviewer and the interviewee were present at the interview venue while voice recorders were placed in the clear sight of the interviewees. A semi-structured interview schedule was developed to gather data from the ECAs concerning their perceptions about the subjective career success factors and the various forms of support they receive from the university (see Appendix 1). In order to provide assurance to the participants about absolute confidentiality of the information provided by them, three processes were followed. First, each participant was informed of the procedure adopted to safely process and store the data. This process includes storing the electronic data on a password-protected computer and the hard copies of the transcripts in a safe with lock for a period of five years. Second, participants were informed not to provide any personal identifiers that could easily link them to the data. Lastly, only the interviewer and the interviewee were present at the interview venue while the voice recorders were placed clearly at the sight of the interviewee. This research was approved by the university's Research Ethics Committee in fulfilment of the requirements for conducting research in the university. In line with the university's rules of ethical consideration, the rationale for the study, potential risks and benefits, and the right of participants to withdraw from the interview if they felt they could not continue for personal reasons, were explained to all participants.

Analysis

The data for the current study were examined using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis involves the development of codes to categories and themes. The rationale for developing codes, categories and themes of the data gathered is to provide details about the characteristics of a dataset (Korstjens & Moser, 2018; Nowell et al., 2017) and in particular, how ECAs perceive and experience their adaptation and subjective career success in the university. One of the advantages of thematic analysis is the theoretical freedom and flexibility (Braun & Clarke, 2006) which provides researchers with complex, rich and detailed sets of data through analysed patterns (Neuendorf, 2019). In the current study, the first step involved exploring the data for important phrases and sentences from the ECAs that addressed how individual and institutional features enhance the subjective career success of ECA. To determine the best codes that represent the views of participants, codes that appeared at least eight times or more were highlighted. Some examples of the codes that emerged were: ‘I create networks through conferences’, ‘I work on research projects with colleagues in other universities’, and ‘the relationship between established academics and ECAs must be improved’. The second step involved collapsing the codes that emerged into categories. For example, ‘I create networks through conferences’ and ‘I work on research projects with colleagues in other universities’ were categorised as ‘professional networks and collaboration between ECAs and other academics outside the university’.

The third step involved the process of identifying the themes based on the patterns developed from the codes and categories. Some examples of the themes that emerged were ‘engaged scholarship’; and ‘life satisfaction’. The process of drawing interpretations from an analysed set of data is essential to arriving at conclusions in a research that adopts thematic analysis (Castleberry & Nolen, 2018) through the use of themes and codes. However, one of the limitations of thematic analysis is the seeming lack of clear guidelines in its application. To address this seeming weakness, the narrative data gathered were thoroughly probed while repeated patterns of meanings from the text were systematically grouped and analysed according to the themes. Prior studies have shown that trustworthiness in qualitative research include the methodical thoroughness of the research design, the credibility of the researcher, the authenticity of the findings, and how applicable the research methods are to future research (Johnson & Parry, 2015; Pratt et al., 2020; Rose & Johnson, 2020). Table 1 shows the responses of participants delineated to the various themes, codes and sample quotes.

Table 1.

Subjective success factors delineated to the various themes, codes and sample quotes.

Themes	Codes	Sample quotes
Access to professional networks	I create networks through conferences; I work on research projects with colleagues in other universities.	Internally, there is not much interconnectivity between ECAs through organized conferences etc., but we are able to connect with colleagues from other universities through such conferences [Samuel]
Job satisfaction	Early career academics must be provided with office space; there should be adequate lecture rooms and laboratories.	Lack of support does not only refer to financial support. It also refers to lack of laboratory and office space for young lecturers [Lefa].
Working relationships with other academics	The relationship between established academics and ECAs must be improved; I develop close ties with my colleagues.	The support of lecturers in more senior positions definitely made me feel secure in the setup. I was brought into the system and that made me feel more secure [Katelyn]
Engaged scholarship	I participate in community projects; the university provides support to ECAs who wish to engage in community projects.	I am involved in community projects and my assistant Dean is the one who actually brought me into the project …… so we are working with local entrepreneurs[Nku]
Life satisfaction	There should be fair and equal distribution of workload; I derive satisfaction from teaching students.	It is necessary to ensure that across different faculties and departments, there is equal workload distribution. I understand that is not very easy to achieve because in my faculty we teach thousands of students whereas ECAs in other faculties teach as low as 30 students [Rachel]
Socialising with senior academics	There is little socialisation between ECAs and senior academics.	There is no time for people to sit around….People just move in and out, and you just work with whomever you are assigned to work with [Paseka].

Results

Six themes emerged from the data analysed: access to professional networks; job satisfaction; working relationship with other academics; engaged scholarship; life satisfaction and; socialising with senior academics.

Access to professional networks

Professional networks serve as one of the avenues for introducing ECAs to senior academics and other categories of academics in academia. The study sought the views of ECAs on how they develop their professional networks in the university through the support of senior academics. A good number of participants identified attendance at conferences as an important machinery for establishing professional networks. Tyler, who is an ECA at the Faculty of Education, shared his experience about how he develops his professional networks, ‘networking opportunities come through conferences’. He further explained the challenges ECAs face concerning conferences, ‘only a few people get the opportunity to attend conferences’. ‘Although it is an open process, the reality is that we are expected to take care of ourselves, in terms of generating our own funds and paying ourselves, to attend conferences’ [Tyler].

Palesa corroborated the views of Tyler by explaining how conferences organised by his department create opportunities for networking: ‘the department hosts annual conferences so I have made a number of contacts through these. Additionally, I do make new contacts each time I go for a conference’. Another participant from the Faculty of Humanities highlighted the importance of receiving support from senior academics in creating professional networks, ‘you can find this network of senior academics so long as you have the support of your senior colleagues … Unfortunately, we do not have enough in terms of networking programmes in the university’ [Philani].

Feedback from participants revealed that while conferences serve as important avenues for connecting different researchers, the support of senior academics is integral to the establishment of professional networks.

Job satisfaction

This study identified job satisfaction as one of the important subjective career success factors that can enhance the career advancement of ECAs in a university. Different factors account for the job satisfaction of ECAs in the university setting. For instance, the absence of freedom to develop or revise existing modules by ECAs was noted by Wyatt as one of the challenges ECAs face:

I have been in this university for five years now but I am yet to teach any curriculum that is my own design. When you join, you have a ready-made curriculum handed over to you to teach. Remember that the curriculum typically represents the research expertise of the more senior academics in the department.

On her part, Nicole decried what she termed as additional jobs by way of administrative tasks, and how these tasks make ECAs overburdened with work, ‘we are expected to perform a lot of administrative tasks, although as academics, we are only paid to do teaching and research. This is causing us a lot of unhappiness. For instance, I have had to do my own requisitions’. Lefa touched on how heavy teaching workloads hinder research activities of ECAs and eventually lead to low staff morale and lack of job satisfaction. According to him, ‘teaching workloads can be a hindrance to research. Rather than taking three years, someone could take six years to develop his first research article for publication and would therefore become frustrated and resign from his position’ [Lefa]. Another participant emphasised student academic achievement as a source of motivation and high job satisfaction: “I enjoy what I do in terms of teaching because there is a lot of progress in the performance of my students. That is the kind of performance that motivates me” [Sibusiso].

Working relationship with other academics

Interaction and workplace relationships, especially between ECAs and other categories of academics in the academia, are important for promoting a healthy working environment. However, one of the challenges in many academic environments is the absence of relationships, especially among colleagues. A telling example is the submission by a participant who pointed to minimal interaction. ‘I do not see that relationship where I am. People just move in and out, and you only have to work with whoever you are assigned to work with’ [Rachel]. On his part, Lefa asserted that he is able to develop stronger social ties with his colleagues than with senior colleagues, ‘the structure is hierarchical … you create networks with the people at your level and department. Again, our schedules conflict a lot; you will find that when I am not in class I might be doing research’ [Lefa]. The feedback from participants shows that busy work schedules, hierarchical barriers that arise from the institutional structure, institutional cultures and sub-cultures, and individual's commitment to creating networks tend to influence the relationships among different groups of academics in the academia.

Engaged scholarship

The contribution of academic staff to the development of their communities and the society is important to many universities worldwide. We sought the views of participants concerning their contribution to society, particularly with regard to the development and dissemination of academic knowledge, influencing people's behaviour, and influencing change in a local community. A participant shared his engagement with us as follows, ‘I recently started an NGO that seeks to give civic education to members in neighbouring communities, and that is exactly what my organization is currently doing’ [Sizwe]. Another participant also declared her interest as providing support for people with disabilities, ‘I love working with people who have disabilities. My core passion in life is to advocate for people with disabilities, and I like talking to them about their health needs’ [Palesa]. Feedback from participants revealed that a few senior academics have engaged some ECAs in various community development programmes. It is pertinent to note that a good number of the ECAs disclosed that they have a strong passion for community support programmes and so were either involved in some projects or planning to start their own projects.

Life satisfaction

Life satisfaction represents a subjective career success factor that can affect the well-being of ECAs in the academia. The excerpt below clearly illustrates how a participant reflected on a particular workplace incident that has impacted negatively on her wellbeing, ‘I am a victim of workplace bullying. I remember there was a time I wanted to see a psychologist on campus because I realized that the constant thought of the bullying incident was seriously affecting my relationship with other people’ [Thabisa]. Nthatisi also explained how the challenges associated with her work rather provide motivation for her to continually support her students, especially those from poor backgrounds like herself:

Ours is an institution that has about 60% black student population. I can surmise that some of these black students come from similar backgrounds with me so they know poverty. I believe they can see that there are a good number of Black academics like myself who have worked steadfastly to overcome the challenges that confronted us to attain our present status so they too can achieve similar progress if they work very hard. [Nthatisi]

Feedback from the participants clearly revealed divergent opinions on what constitutes life satisfaction to ECAs. First, the feedback showed that workplace bullying has the potential to negatively affect the sense of wellbeing of ECAs. Second, when ECAs identify themselves as role models for their students, it goes a long way to motivate the students to aspire to attain higher educational qualifications.

Socialising with senior academics

Socialising with other categories of academics in the university, particularly senior academics, by ECAs is important for purposes of sharing ideas or participating in common university programmes and events. However, some of the participants disclosed that such encounters are rare and that the few times they get the opportunity to socialise with senior academics are during departmental meetings and seminars. For instance, Lefa stated that ECAs and senior academics socialise during events and programmes, ‘events and programmes in the university encourage socialisation but on a limited scale. We get to socialise about once or twice a year – that is, at the beginning of the year and the end of the year where there are closing celebrations’. Similarly, Samuel noted that the only time he socialises with established academics is during department meetings: ‘the only time we meet is during meetings. Senior academics are very busy and so there is no time to socialise’. The results revealed that although ECAs wish to socialise with senior academics, there was very limited time available to engage in social activities.

Discussion

The basic premise of this study is that while a lot of scholarly studies have focused on the importance of the career development of ECAs, the subjective career success factors of ECAs have received insufficient attention (Sutherland, 2017) especially in the context of universities in the global south. Using the career construction theory (Blokker et al., 2019; Savickas & Porfeli, 2012) as the theoretical underpinning, this study contributes to the literature on the subjective career success of ECAs in three significant ways. First, the findings of the current study revealed that ECAs perceived a lack of academic freedom, absence of clear policies on work processes, and a lack of resources as some of the factors that impede their subjective career success. Therefore, clear policies on work processes, academic freedom and a clear understanding of job roles need to be urgently implemented in order to enhance job satisfaction among ECAs. Furthermore, the provision of resources (physical and psychosocial) by institutions could help ECAs to improve their subjective career success. This finding aligns with prior scholarly study that shows that the subjective career success of individuals is influenced by their opinions about their current jobs in relation to their evaluation of job satisfaction (Volmer et al., 2016), organisational commitment to career advancement, and the availability of resources (Ng & Feldman, 2014). In complementary ways, the provision of such resources represents valuable inputs by the institution that could be used to obtain important outcomes such as career satisfaction (Haenggli & Hirschi, 2020; Hobfoll et al., 2018).

Second, the study revealed that departmental support through the provision of resources for community projects, support from senior academics to ECAs to develop their professional networks, and support in the area of social activities all go to enhance the subjective career success of ECAs. Such institutional support, coupled with the support of experienced academics help to facilitate a learning process where ECAs easily adapt to the institutional and societal norms and values that could lead to the enhancement of their subjective career success (Turban et al., 2017). In particular, previous studies have shown that organizational support could have a direct impact on the subjective career success of employees (Dose et al., 2019; Ng et al., 2005).

Third, at the individual level, ECAs’ feeling of inadequacy or low self-esteem, challenges in socialising with other colleagues and senior academics, and heavy teaching and allied workloads served as sources of low level of job satisfaction. For instance, a participant revealed that workplace bullying negatively affect ECAs sense of well-being. Conversely, easy access to professional networks and students’ achievement serve as high motivating factors that tend to induce high levels of job satisfaction in ECAs. In particular, personality-job satisfaction fit which is dependent on the proactive and intentional actions of individuals which ECAs require to positively construct their careers is essential for enhancing their subjective career success (Abele & Spurk, 2009; Cenciotti et al., 2017). From a career context, matters such as personality-job satisfaction relationship, (Heslin et al., 2019) workplace culture that underlies the human resource practice (Benson et al., 2020), and ECAs’ adaptation to the work environment are all important factors that enhance the subjective career success of ECAs. Also, institutional culture and subcultures have an indirect impact on social networks and relationships, well-being, and ECAs’ feeling of inadequacy.

Figure 1 shows the subjective success framework showing the six factors: access to professional networks; job satisfaction; engaged scholarship; working relationships; socialising and life satisfaction.

Figure 1.

Subjective career success framework.

Access to professional networks

The study revealed that ECAs develop their professional networks through their participation in conferences, and the introduction of such networks to them by senior academics. Prior study by Turban et al. (2017) has revealed a link between mentorship support, the development of professional networks, and the process of enhancing career success of individuals. Beyond mentorship support and individual initiatives, when universities create a congenial atmosphere for ECAs to connect with other academics and researchers through networks, it enhances their subjective career success. This is consistent with the position of Azorín et al. (2020) who postulate that professional learning networks and leadership involvement at the institutional level are essential for the career advancement of professionals. The results also revealed the significance of establishing relationships with colleagues and former supervisors at the Masters and PhD levels. Among the findings, ECAs disclosed that they still had contacts with their previous supervisors where they studied for their Masters and PhD qualifications. Overall, the study showed that it is important for the university to support ECAs to create networks through programmes and activities that bring together industry experts and academics from different backgrounds.

Job satisfaction

The findings show that, teaching overload by way of administrative tasks that indirectly affect core work output, perceived lack of flexibility in introducing new content in modules, and the absence of clear policies on some work processes served as sources of low level of job satisfaction. A previous study by Osman and Hornsby (2016) has revealed that the challenges ECAs face in the academia include balancing the demands of teaching and research against administrative and other non-academic tasks. Beyond the administrative tasks and heavy teaching workloads, when ECAs are not allowed to contribute to the content they teach by way of its design, it creates among them, a sense of perceived inadequacy and lack of confidence in their delivery that further leads to low levels of job satisfaction. Significantly, the subjective career success of ECAs includes the evaluation of their job satisfaction and career advancement that are based on their ideas, opinions (Volmer et al., 2016) and initiatives about their professional practice. Also, the results revealed that a lack of support in the area of research, a lack of resources such as laboratory equipment and a lack of office spaces for ECAs could lead to low levels of job satisfaction. Prior study by Ng and Feldman (2014) has shown that the subjective carer success of individuals is influenced by their opinions regarding their current jobs, organisational commitment to career advancement, and the availability of resources. One of the findings of this study is that, when students develop their knowledge and skills through the learning process and attain high scores in their courses, it leads to a feeling of satisfaction among lecturers, and ultimately a high level of job satisfaction. The findings align with the previous study that shows that ECAs’ feeling of confidence as researchers and academics through students’ and peer feedback, as well as maintaining a balance in academic roles and, developing a research niche in a particular discipline (Sutherland, 2017) serve as sources of job satisfaction that enhance the subjective career success of ECAs.

Engaged scholarship

The results revealed that ECAs were not oblivious of the importance of engaged scholarship to their career progression and personal development. Although ECAs can undertake activities such as community support projects and advocacy in different areas, the support they receive from senior academics and institutions is important for their career advancement. For instance, through the creation of a conducive environment by institutions, ECAs can obtain resources from the university to undertake projects that directly benefit communities. The provision of such resources represents valuable inputs by the institution that could be used to obtain important outcomes such as career satisfaction (Haenggli & Hirschi, 2020; Hobfoll et al., 2018). This further demonstrates the relationship between institutional provision of resources to ECAs and their career satisfaction. The support of senior academics to ECAs in terms of advocacy, peer review activities and other social support undertakings enhance the subjective career success of ECAs. Importantly, institutions and departments could consider engaged scholarship as a culture that is ingrained among ECAs who are the next generation of academics. Also, when ECAs proactively learn the norms, values and goals of the university and advance their learning and career development, it could lead to enhanced career success (Turban et al., 2017) and high expectations of the institutional support ECAs receive in order to enhance their subjective career success (Dose et al., 2019).

Working relationships and socialising

Among the findings, perceived busy work schedules, hierarchical barriers that emerge from the institutional structures, institutional cultures and sub-cultures and individual commitment to creating networks enhance the relationships between ECAs and other academics. Prominently, CCT is rooted in the contextual and cultural perspectives of social adaptation to individual core and peripheral roles (Savickas, 2005) in higher education. Prior study by Haenggli and Hirschi (2020) has shown that the integration of individuals into the work environment includes psychosocial resources that consist of concerns about future expectations, and control over an individual's career with regard to self-discipline, confidence and curiosity. However, the elements of integration can only be developed through relationships that seek to provide ECAs with opportunities for sharing ideas and developing solutions to problems in the society through engagement. The results further showed that the rather low level of socialisation between ECAs and senior academics is due to reasons such as the busy work schedules of senior academics and their perceived lack of interest to create spaces for socialising with other academics. While the academic work is very involving, formal programmes such as meetings and workshops do not provide sufficient opportunities for socialising. One of the recommendations for rectifying this shortcoming is that universities must explore sporting activities and team building exercises to bring ECAs and senior academics together to socialise and share ideas.

Life satisfaction

The findings of the current study revealed that the uneven distribution of workload has a negative effect on the general well-being and personal development of ECAs. When ECAs become overloaded with teaching activities to the detriment of their research activities and social lives, it creates an imbalance that can affect their career progression. Consistent with the position of Price et al. (2015), heavy teaching workloads and other competing demands represent one of the challenges ECAs face in coping with the demands of academic work at the departmental level. Similarly, Spurk et al. (2019) have suggested that the personal life experiences of employees are an important feature of their subjective career success. There is therefore the need for academic departments to address issues regarding inordinate teaching workload and also develop systems and strategies that will create spaces for ECAs to produce research outputs that is important for their personal development and academic promotion. The findings further revealed that workplace-bullying serves as a major source of low life satisfaction among ECAs. When ECAs feel intimidated by their status as new academics, it negatively affects their sense of belonging and creates a feeling of dejection. Consistent with the findings of this study, ECAs serve as role models to their students, especially those from low economic and social backgrounds and first-generation students. When students see ECAs as role models, it goes a long way to motivate the students to work hard and aspire to attain higher educational qualifications.

Limitation and future research directions

The findings of the current study should be interpreted in the light of two major limitations. Firstly, the study gathered the views of only ECAs who constitute just a small fraction of the entire professional community of academics in the university. Future studies could therefore select different categories of academics to examine their subjective career success factors. It would also be beneficial to examine the differences between ECAs and other categories of academics and how institutional support and individual motivation factors can either enhance or impede their subjective career success and professional advancement. Secondly, this study relied on interview data from ECAs to investigate how individual and institutional features enhance their subjective career success. Future studies could adopt a quantitative research approach to examine the relationship between the subjective career variables and how they are influenced by institutional support systems.

Conclusions

In drawing conclusions on the perceptions and experiences of ECAs about how their adaptation and subjective career success could enhance their career advancement, this study addresses three important outcomes. First, at the institutional level, the existence of clear policies on work processes and a congenial environment for all categories of academics to attain high levels of job satisfaction could enhance the subjective career success of academics. Furthermore, adequate provision of teaching and learning resources, and ECAs’ personal experiences of academic freedom tend to enhance their subjective career success and professional advancement. Conversely, the absence of academic freedom, perceived heavy teaching workloads, hierarchical barriers, absence of clear policies on work processes, and a lack of resources (physical and psychosocial) rather tend to impede ECAs’ subjective career success and professional advancement. Second, at the departmental level, the support ECAs receive from senior academics, especially in relation to developing their professional networks and social interaction, serve to promote the rapid social and cultural adaptation. For instance, when senior academics support ECAs by way of involving them in community support programmes, as well as discussions on how they could become visible in those communities, it helps them to quickly adapt to the academic and social environment and contribute to their development as very useful and influential individuals. The absence of such support could lead to the slow pace of ECAs’ adaptation to the academic environment and culture, as well as their understanding of institutional values and norms. Thirdly, the findings of the current study point to the fact that students’ perception of ECAs as role models (especially those from low-income backgrounds and first-generation students), and ECAs’ easy access to professional networks serve to induce high levels of job satisfaction among ECAs. On the contrary, ECAs’ feeling of inadequacy or low self-esteem because of some distasteful personal experiences like workplace bullying, challenges in socialising with colleagues, and heavy teaching workload combined with additional administrative tasks rather leads to low levels of job satisfaction.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-acd-10.1177_10384162211069205 - Supplemental material for Subjective career success and adaptation of early career academics: A career construction theory approach

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-acd-10.1177_10384162211069205 for Subjective career success and adaptation of early career academics: A career construction theory approach by Yaw Owusu-Agyeman in Australian Journal of Career Development

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Universiteit van die Vrystaat (grant no. HSD2019/0340/0905).

ORCID iD

Yaw Owusu-Agyeman

Supplemental material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

Appendix 1

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