Twenty-fourth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations

Abstract

Uncertainty about the future, changing working conditions, and blurred boundaries between work and private life have led researchers and workers worldwide to take a keen interest in sustainable careers. However, there is still no consensus on what kind of career can be characterized as sustainable: some scholars emphasize the dialogue between companies and employees; others add sustainable career features such as continuous learning, security, and matching the job to the individual’s skills, interests, and values; and others mention the possibility for the employee to “pause” and recover. Furthermore, the understanding of sustainable careers from the perspective of the employees themselves remains ambiguous. The aim of this paper is therefore to explore to what extent the concept of sustainable careers is known to employees and what associations and expectations it raises. For this purpose, data were captured through semi-structured interviews with employees. The study uncovered a notable lack of awareness regarding the term “sustainable careers” among the respondents. Interestingly, despite this unfamiliarity, many interpretations shared by the participants aligned closely with established definitions of sustainable careers provided by researchers. This contradiction highlights the need for a more comprehensive exploration of employee perceptions to enrich our understanding of sustainable careers in practice. This research explores what employees consider essential for a sustainable career, revealing valuable perspectives on topics such as work-life balance, professional development job security, etc. These insights are also relevant for organizations, as by understanding employees’ expectations and aligning them with organizational strategies, companies can build sustainable career trajectories.