The Effects of the Boundaryless Career on Individuals, Organisations and Society - Essay Example

CAREER DEVELOPMENT A boundaryless career can be defined in its simplest term as a career that crosses multiple boundaries in a non-linear manner or can also refer to career opportunities that extend beyond the boundary of a single employer. This is the direction that most careers in the 21st century have assumed. Globalization and technological advancement have been implicated in transforming the traditional career which assumed the organizational approach to boundaryless approach which entails movement across many employers and defiance of the traditional organizational assumptions that advocated for career advancement and hierarchy. This paper seeks to critically examine the concept of boundaryless career and its effects on individuals, organizations, and the society at large. Boundaryless career tend to focus mostly on individuals. In this case individuals are responsible for their career development contrary to the traditional career, where the organization was responsible for career development. Individuals in this case are in constant pursuit of developing skills, training, and gaining skills. The effects of boundaryless career to the individual have been so enormous and this is evident from the way individuals are slowly becoming agents of their own careers. This has been achieved through career development in order to increase ones marketability in the job market. Another effect is that individuals have become more productive than ever. Through intense training and skill development individuals have been able to increase their productivity through job specialization that is doing what you know best while trying to diversify in order to remain relevant in the job market. It has also increased the social capital of individuals in the work place. This refers to personal networks one has. Individuals have been working hard to increase these networks so as to increase their job security and stability. Boundaryless career also has its share of demerits on individuals. Some of the negative effects it has had on individuals are increased susceptibility to job insecurity or diminished sense of job security. This type of career lacks elements of job security and stability and this is evident because of its unstable nature and the ever present mobile status. It also lacks steady increase in the level of income like the traditional organizational career. This is mostly contractual and so most of the time income stays constant. It also lack status derived from positions. Most organizations nowadays are so mobile in terms of their structure trying to conform to the changing business environment. This therefore, leaves them with no permanent positions that can be enjoyed as the positions keep changing. Currently in the corporate world, the measure of occupational success is so limited due to the nature of the workplace. This has led into a situation where some employees feel less successful because the nature of the work environment does not support measure of success but focusses on service delivery and its customer base. Organizations have also not been left out with the changes that have been brought by boundaryless career. One of the major and evident effects in organizations is the change in the organizational structure. Organizations have also introduced d measures to address the changing career paths. Boundaryless career has led to increased competition at the work place prompting organizations to adjust their structure by only retaining employees who are relevant. According to Sullivan & Baruch (2009), they have maintained that increased job insecurity because the work place keeps on changing and the organizations also need to keep up with the changes in order to match their competitors. Another aspect that has also changed is the organization’s change in human resources practices and employment forms. Changes in the work place have seen the organization adopt new forms of employment such as part time from full time in the traditional organizational perspective. It has also adopted the temporary form of employment instead of the traditional permanent one. This is to enable them reduce their cost in order to exist in an environment that is so competitive and profit oriented. All these strategies are for reducing cost and maximizing their profits. Self-employment is also taking center stage as individuals are trying to employ the numerous skills they possess to initiate projects that will see them become financially independent. Finally all these factors interact and later manifest at the societal level. Boundaryless career has also had some both negative and positive effects in the society. According to Sullivan & Baruch (2009), one of the major effects that boundaryless career has in the society is increased innovation, now that it focusses on career development by individuals people have grown to be more innovative hence leading to the creation of amazing products and quality service delivery as the more innovative minds fight for the limited market. The increased competition has seen the delivery of quality products and services. Now that everyone is in a competition to stand out most firms are trying to ensure that they keep up with the competition in order to exist in the market. Unemployment has also increased in the society despite the increased training and acquisition of skills. This has been attributed to the increased job loss that has resulted from mergers between companies in order to remain relevant in the market. there is also downsizing and restructuring which has seen many people getting laid off because there are skills are no longer needed in the job market or need refresher courses to be up to date with the current needs in the market. Boundaryless career has also promoted diversification in terms of skills, products, and services offered by these firms. Many people have gone ahead to develop skills in other fields in order to equip themselves in the case of restructuring and also to pursue other opportunities. In conclusion boundaryless career has seen the development of a new economy which has been facilitated by the increased global competition and technological advances. It has also seen changes in the organizational structures, human resources practices, and processes that aim at conforming to the current trends in the market. Another scenario that has emerged is the diminished sense of job security coupled by decreased job stability and increased job mobility among individuals. The result has been the emergence of boundaryless careers with disorderly, discontinuous, and unpredictable career paths among individuals. Reference Sullivan, S. E., & Baruch, Y. (2009). Advances in career theory and research: A critical review and agenda for future exploration. Journal of management, 35(6), 1542-1571. Read More