The New Career Mindset: A Study of the Motivations behind Lateral Career Movements among Professionals in the Corporate Setting

Abstract

In recent decades, several developments and trends in career trajectories have occurred as a result of major social, economic, technological, and organizational changes. Organizations today are no longer expected to offer careers that follow a well-defined and fairly predictable linear upward trajectory. Instead, boundaryless careers—a relatively unpredictable combination of vertical and non-vertical movements across organizational boundaries—are gaining significance as valid alternatives. The present study attempted to explain this phenomenon brought by the new organizational era and how it is perceived by the actors in the situation. More specifically, it investigated the motivations professionals have in making lateral career movements. Based on the data obtained from conducting semi-structured interviews among six key informants, it was found that the determinants of purpose and fulfillment had a higher influence on vocational choices and organizational mobility as compared with the determinants of career advancement. Results identified Job Satisfaction as the key consideration when shifting jobs, positions, or careers, regardless of the nature of the move. This is then followed by Personal Development, Human Capital, Financial Incentive, and Upward Mobility, respectively. It is concluded, therefore, that subjective measures of career success are beginning to gain significance in the Philippine career landscape.