People who are better able to make career decisions without complete certainty may be more likely to find meaning in their work, according to new research published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology.
The study examined what researchers call “career wisdom,” a psychological resource for navigating career decisions when there is no obvious right answer. Rather than waiting for complete certainty, career wisdom involves gathering available information, accepting that some uncertainty will remain, trusting intuition, and moving forward despite discomfort or vulnerability.
Researchers followed 995 employed adults in the US over six months, collecting survey data at three points approximately three months apart. Participants initially completed a 20-item measure of career wisdom, followed by assessments of meaningful work and, later, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and work engagement.
Participants who scored higher in career wisdom at the beginning of the study were more likely to report greater work meaningfulness three months later. Greater meaningfulness, in turn, was associated with higher job satisfaction and stronger work engagement at the final assessment. The relationship with life satisfaction was weaker, suggesting the pattern was more pronounced for work-related outcomes than for broader well-being.
“Many people feel pressure to find the perfect job or make the perfect career choice,” said lead author Hui Xu, PhD, of the University of Macau. The findings instead point toward learning to navigate uncertainty rather than expecting an ideal or entirely predictable career path.
The researchers also reported that the relationships among career wisdom, meaningful work, and well-being were consistent across gender, race, and socioeconomic status. They described career wisdom as a resource that can be developed through education and counseling rather than a fixed personality characteristic.
Career uncertainty in the laboratory
For laboratory leaders, the findings add another dimension to career development and employee engagement discussions. Scientific and technical careers can involve changing technologies, evolving responsibilities, uncertain funding, and career paths that branch into management, quality, operations, technical specialization, or other areas.
Managers cannot remove every uncertainty employees face, but they can provide better information and opportunities to explore possible directions. Career conversations can address employees’ interests, strengths, and goals while being transparent about what remains uncertain. This approach aligns with broader strategies for leading teams through uncertainty.
Mentoring, cross-training, stretch assignments, and exposure to different laboratory functions can also help employees gain experience before making larger career decisions. These opportunities can give staff a clearer sense of where their skills and interests fit while supporting broader employee engagement efforts.
Managers can also reinforce employees’ understanding of how their work contributes to laboratory goals. Specific feedback and recognition of employee contributions can help make those connections more visible, particularly for staff whose work takes place behind the scenes.
The authors cautioned that the study was observational and relied on participants’ self-reported survey responses, meaning it cannot establish that career wisdom causes greater meaningfulness or engagement. Further research could examine the relationships across different occupations and cultures and test whether interventions designed to develop career wisdom produce similar outcomes.
This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.
