Abstract
The empirical results of this study derive from qualitative interviews conducted with middle-aged managers and employees in the Austrian banking industry.
Firstly, the overall results relating to careers in the Austrian banking industry are presented. Four categories of careerists were identified inductively from the data: (1) coincidental careerists, (2) genuine interest careerists, (3) inherited careerists and (4) professional group careerists.
Secondly, the findings regarding age concepts and age stereotypes in the Austrian Banking industry are presented and summarised. Overall, it can be concluded that positive ascriptions outweigh the negative ones up to the age of 50 years. The chapter, however, goes on to focus on perceived difficulties in finding a new job, a theme that was particularly salient in the findings. A more fine grained analysis reveals that middle-agers, particularly employees realised that although they are not yet subject to that challenge, but that it might be occurring very soon. This is interrelated with the existing implicit career timetables.
Thirdly, the findings on prevailing career concepts in the Austrian Banking industry are discussed. While protean values (“knowing why competencies”) are very evident, traditional, hierarchical career concepts with bounded career attitudes prevail. In addition, emphasis is placed on the important role of the career network (“knowing whom competencies”).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Note about the use of quotations in this chapter. As mentioned before, the abbreviations for each interview partner are to be understood as follows:
P1FE-44: P1 is a Female Employee of the age of 44 years old; paragraph 44
P2FM-38: P2 is a Female Manager of the age of 38 years old; paragraph 38
References
Akkermans, J., Brenninkmeijer, V., Huibers, M., & Blonk, R. W. B. (2012). Competencies for the contemporary career: Development and preliminary validation of the career competencies questionnaire. Journal of Career Development, 40(3), 245–267. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845312467501
Baierl, A., & Kaindl, M. (2011). Kinderbetreuung in Österreich. Rechtliche Bestimmungen und die reale Betreuungssituation. OIF Working Paper No. 77. Vienna.
Baruch, Y. (2004). Transforming careers: From linear to multidirectional career paths: Organizational and individual perspectives. Career Development International, 9(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430410518147
Borzumato-Gainey, C., Kennedy, A., Mccabe, B., & Degges-White, S. (2009). Life satisfaction, self-esteem, and subjective age in women across the life span. ADULTSPAN Journal, 8(1), 29–42.
Bozionelos, N. (2015). Social capital and careers: Indisputable evidence and note for caution. In Handbook of research on sustainable careers (pp. 67–82). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Defilippi, R., & Arthur, M. B. (1994). The boundaryless career: A competency-based perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 307–324. https://doi.org/papers://BA75DBD3-74D3-4A2D-AAAC-910414082C6C/Paper/p11629
Duncan, C., & Loretto, W. (2004). Never the right age? Gender and age-based discrimination in employment. Gender, Work and Organization, 11(1), 95–115.
Froehlich, D. (2015). Old and out? Age, employability and the role of learning. Maastricht: Universitaire Pers Maastricht.
Gratton, L., & Ghoshal, S. (2003). Managing personal human capital: New ethos for the “volunteer” employee. European Management Journal, 21(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-2373(02)00149-4
Hales, S., & Riach, K. (2017). From age diversity to embedded ageing: Exploring and addressing aged assumptions in organisational practices. In E. Parry & J. McCarthy (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of age diversity and work (pp. 111–131). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-46781-2_6
Hall, D. T. (2004). The protean career: A quarter-century journey. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2003.10.006
Hall, D. T., & Mirvis, P. H. (1995). The new career contract: Developing the whole person at midlife and beyond. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 47(3), 269–289. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1995.0004
Huffman, A., Culbertson, S. S., Henning, J. B., & Goh, A. (2013). Work-family conflict across the lifespan. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 28(7/8), 761–780. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-07-2013-0220
Inkson, K. (2004). Images of career: Nine key metaphors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65(1), 96–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00053-8
Kaiser, S., Hochfeld, K., Gertje, E., & Schraudner, M. (2012). Unternehmenskulturen verändern – Karrierebrüche vermeiden. Stuttgart: Fraunhofer Verlag.
Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L. (2010). Aging, adult development, and work motivation. The Academy of Management Review, 29(3), 440–458.
Langer, K. (2011). Neue Karrieren, neue Karrierekompetenzen. Library. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0925-7
Lawrence, B. S. (1984). Age grading: The implicit organizational timetable. Journal of Occupational Behavioiur, 5, 23–35.
Lawrence, B. S., & Zyphur, M. J. (2011). Identifying organizational faultlines with latent class cluster analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 14(1), 32–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428110376838
Mainiero, L. A., & Sullivan, S. E. (2005). Kaleidoscope careers: An alternate explanation for the “opt-out” revolution. The Academy of Management Executive, 19(1), 106–123. https://doi.org/10.5465/AME.2005.15841962
McCarthy, J., Heraty, N., Cross, C., & Cleveland, J. N. (2014). Who is considered an “older worker”? Extending our conceptualisation of “older” from an organisational decision maker perspective. Human Resource Management Journal, 24(4), 374–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12041
Merriam Webster. (2017). Merriam Webster: Definition Oracle. Retrieved January 21, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oracle
OeNB. (2015). Entwicklung der Beschäftigten (nach Köpfen) im österreichischen Bankwesen – sektorale Darstellung. Retrieved February 20, 2016, from https://www.oenb.at/isaweb/report.do?lang=DE&report=3.26
Posthuma, R. A., & Campion, M. (2009). Age stereotypes in the workplace: Common stereotypes, moderators, and future research directions. Journal of Management, 35(1), 158–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308318617
Rauschenbach, C., Göritz, A. S., & Hertel, G. (2012). Age stereotypes about emotional resilience at work. Educational Gerontology, 38(8), 511–519. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2011.567187
Statistics Austria. (2016). Births and marriages reflecting changes in Austrian society. Retrieved February 16, 2016, from http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Marriages_and_births_in_Austria
Strate, M. L., & Torraco, R. J. (2005). Career development and older workers: Study evaluating adaptability in older workers using Hall’s model. In Annual Conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (pp. 205–212). Estes Park, CO: Academy of Human Resource Development.
Sullivan, S. E., & Arthur, M. B. (2006). The evolution of the boundaryless career concept: Examining physical and psychological mobility. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2005.09.001
Thomas, A., & Lackner, S. (2013). Beruflich in Österreich. Trainings programm für Manager, Fach- und Führungskräft. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Covarrubias Venegas, B.M. (2019). Results of the Qualitative Research: Changing Age and Career Concepts in the Austrian Banking Industry. In: Changing Age and Career Concepts in the Austrian Banking Industry. Contributions to Management Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22609-1_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22609-1_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-22608-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-22609-1
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)