Brisk Attitude and Optimism: Top Workers’ Childhood Experiences Forming the Basis of Success at Work

Yıl 2013, , 69 - 82, 15.04.2013

Satu Uusiautti Kaarina Maatta

https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.2.2.69

Öz

This study focused on the phenomenon of success at work asking whether it would be possible to find factors from top workers’ children and school experiences that would explain their later success. This study was a part of a larger research in which Finnish top workers, employees of the year, who have been selected as successful professionals of their field in Finland were researched. This article focuses on the narrative data collected through qualitative interviews. In this article, their childhood and adolescence experiences were analyzed in order to find out whether successful development could be enhanced already in early phases of life. This study employed the narrative interview method through which top workers were asked to reminisce their childhood and adolescence experiences. What factors have supported their success and how have they coped with adversities in life? According to the results, the most important key to success at work adopted from home was caring upbringing as parents did not set any ambitious goals for success for their children but made the children think about their future and have an optimistic attitude to life. The role of careers counseling at school was also discussed. Analyzing these factors is important if aiming at helping people’s chances of finding an occupation they fit and in which they can use their talents. Experiences and events taking place in childhood and adolescence can be crucial, or at least, direct people in a right direction.

Anahtar Kelimeler

success at work, positive development, career, careers counseling

Kaynakça

• Allen, J. P., Hauser, S. T., Bell, K. L., & O’Connor, T. G. (1994). Longitudinal assessment of autonomy and relatedness in adolescent-family interactions as predictors of adolescent ego-development and self-esteem. Child Development, 65, 179-194.
• Arnold, J., Robertson, I. T., & Cooper, C. L. (1993). Work psychology. Understanding human behaviour in the workplace. London: Pitman Publishing.
• Aronson Fontes, L. (2002). Child discipline and physical abuse in immigrant Latino families: reducing violence and misunderstandings. Journal of Counselling and Development, 80, 31-40.
• Aspinwall, L. G., & Staudinger, U. M. (2003). A psychology of human strength. Washington, DC: American Psychology Association.
• Berscheid, E. (2006). Ihmisen suurin vahvuus: toiset ihmiset [Human beings’ greatest stregnth: the other people]. In L. G. Aspinwall & U. M. Staudinger (Eds.), Ihmisen vahvuuksien psykologia [A psychology of human strengths] (pp. 47-56). Helsinki: Edita.
• Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 371–399.
• Buss, D. M. (2000). The evolution of happiness. American Psychologist, 55(1), 15 - 23.
• Caprara, G. V., & Cervone, D. (2006). Persoonallisuus toimivana, itsesäätelevänä järjestelmänä [Personality as functional, self-regulative system]. In L. G. Aspinwall & U. M. Staudinger (Eds.), Ihmisen vahvuuksien psykologia [A psychology of human strength] (pp. 69-82). Helsinki: Edita.
• Catalano, R. F., Berglund, M. L., Ryan, J. A. M., Lonczak, H. S., & Hawkins, J. D. (2005). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 98-124. DOI: 10.1177/0002716203260102
• Côté, J. (1999). The influence of the family in the development of talent in sport. The Sport Psychologist, 13, 395-417.
• Creswell, J. W. (2002). Research design. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Davis-Kean, P. E. (2005). The influence of parent education and family income on child achievement: the indirect role of parental expectations and the home environment. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(2), 294–304. DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.19.2.294
• Decovic, M., & Janssens, J. M. A. M. (1992). Parents’ child-rearing style and child’s sociometric status. Developmental Psychology, 28(5), 925-932.
• Desjardins, J., Zelenti J. M., & Coplan, R. J. (2008). An investigation of maternal personality, parenting styles, and subjective well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 587-597. DOI: 10.1016/paid.2007.09.020
• Driver, M. J. (1982). Career concepts - A new approach to career research. In R. Katz (Ed.), Career issues in human resource management (pp. 23-32). New Jersey, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Duckworth, A. L., Steen, T. A., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Positive psychology in clinical practice. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 629-651.
• Eccles, J. S. (1999). The development of children ages 6 to 14. The Future of Children, 9(2), 30-44.
• Elder, Jr. G. H., van Nguyen, T., & Caspi, A. (1985). Linking family hardship to children's lives. Child Development, 56(2), 361-375.
• Fingerroos, O., & Haanpää, R., (2006). Muistietotutkimuksen ydinkysymyksiä [Core questions of memory research]. In O. Fingerroos, R. Haanpää, A. Heimo, & U.-M. Peltonen (Eds.), Muistitietotutkimus. Metodologisia kysymyksiä [Memoirs research. Methodogical questions] (pp. 25-48). Helsinki: Finnish Literature Association.
• Gardner, H., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Damon, W. (2001). Good work. When excellence and ethics meet. New York, NY: Basic Books.
• Gilligan, R. (2000). Adversity, resilience and young people: the protective value of positive school and spare time experiences. Children & Society, 14, 37-47.
• Gilpin, J. M. (2008). Teaching happiness. The role of positive psychology in the classroom. Pell Scholars and Senior Theses, 12, 1-23.
• Hawkins, J. D., Kosterman, R., Catalano, R. F., Hill, K. G., & Abbott, R. D. (2005). Promoting positive adult functioning through social development intervention in childhood. Long-term effects from the Seattle Social Development Project. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 159, 25-31.
• Isen, A. M. (2001). Some perspectives on positive affect and self-regulation. Psychological Inquiry, 11(3), 184-187.
• Larson, R. W. (2000). Toward a psychology of positive youth development. American Psychologist, 55(1), 170-183. DOI: 10.1037//0003-066X,55.1.170
• Lerner, R. M., Brentano, C., Dowling, E. M., & Anderson, P. M. (2002). Positive youth development: Thriving as the basis of personhood and civil society. New Directions for Youth Development, 95, 11-33.
• Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T. (1998). Narrative research. Reading, analysis, and interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Magnusson, D., & Mahoney, J. L. (2006). Holistinen lähestymistapa myönteisen kehityksen tutkimuksessa [Holistic approach in research of positive development]. In L. G. Aspinwall & U. M. Staudinger (Eds.), Ihmisen vahvuuksien psykologia [A psychology of human strengths] (pp. 232-250). Helsinki: Edita.
• Maijala, E.-L., Uusiautti, S., & Määttä, K. (2012). Grandparental love: a challenge or richness? Early Child Development and Care, iFirst, doi: 10.1080/03004430.2012.678491
• Maljojoki, P. (1989). Ammatinvalinnanohjauksen taustoja ja kehityspiirteitä Suomessa. Kasvatustieteiden tiedekunnan selosteita 32. Joensuu: Joensuun yliopisto.
• McRee, A.-L., & Halpern, C. (2010). Parenting style and foregone health care as adolescents transition to early adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46, 10-11. doi: 10.1016/j.adohealth.2009.11.025
• Middleton, E. B., & Loughead, T. A. (1993). Parental influence on career development: An integrative framework for adolescent career counseling. Journal of Career Development, 19(3), 161-173.
• Mäkikangas, A. (2007). Personality, well-being and job-resources. From Negative Paradigm towards Positive Psychology. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä.
• Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2012a). Parental love –Irreplaceable for children’s well-being. Global Journal of Human Social Sciences, 12(10), 1-8
• Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2012b). Pedagogical authority and pedagogical love – connected or incompatible? International Journal of Whole Schooling, 8(1), 21-39.
• Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2012). Mission impossible? A scientific comparison between the overlapping and diverging phenomena of friendship and love. International Journal of Asian Social Sciences, 2(4), 530-543.
• Numminen, U., Jankko, T., Lyra-Katz, A., Nyholm, N., Siniharju, M., & Svedlin, R. (2002). Opinto-ohjauksen tila 2002. Opinto-ohjauksen arviointi perusopetuksessa, lukiossa ja ammatillisessa koulutuksessa sekä koulutuksen siirtymävaiheissa [State of student counseling 2002. Evaluation of counseling in basic education, general and vocational upper secondary education]. Helsinki: National Board of Education.
• Petersen, A. C. (1988). Adolescent development. Annual Review of Psychology, 39, 583-607.
• Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(1), 5-23.
• Portelli, A. (2006). Mikä tekee muistitietotutkimuksesta erityisen? [What makes memoirs research special?] In O. Fingeroos, R. Haanpää, A. Heimo, & U.-M. Peltonen (Eds.), Muistitietotutkimus. Metodologisia kysymyksiä [Memoirs research. Methodologival questions] (pp. 49-64). Helsinki: Finnish Literature Association.
• Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (1995). Qualitative interviewing. The art of hearing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Rowe, D. C. (1990). As the twig is bent? The myth of child-rearing influences on personality development. Journal of Counseling & Development, 68(6), 606.
• Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York, NY: Free press.
• Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish. A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York, NY: Free Press.
• Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress. Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410 - 421.
• Snyder, C. R., & Lopez, S. J. (2002). The future of positive psychology. A declaration of independence. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 751-767). Oxford: University Pres.
• Sroufe, L. A. (2005). Attachment and development: A prospective, longitudinal study from birth to adulthood. Attachment & Human Development, 7(4), 349 – 367.
• Sundvall-Huhtinen, A. (2007). Tulevaisuusorientaation huomioiminen nuoren ohjauksessa [Recognizing the future orientation in guidance of the youth]. In J. Helander (Ed.), Reunamerkintöjä ohjaukseen II - avauksia ja aavistuksia opinto-ohjauksen nykyisyydestä ja tulevaisuudesta [Remarks on guidance II. Thoughts about the present day and future of guidance] (pp. 13-22). Hämeenlinna: Häme University of Applied Sciences.
• Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2003). Major issues and controversies in the use of mixed methods in the social and behavioral sciences. In A. Tashakkori & C. Teddlie (Eds.), Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research (pp. 3-50). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Uusiautti, S. (2008). “Tänään teen elämäni parhaan työn” Työmenestys Vuoden Työntekijöiden kertomana [Today I’ll work better than ever. Success at work described by employees of the year.] (PhD Diss., University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland.)
• Uusiautti, S., & Määttä, K. (2011). The process of becoming a top worker. International Education Studies, 4(4), 69-79. doi: 10.5539/ies.v4n4p69
• Uusiautti, S., & Määttä, K. (2011). Top workers virtues and strengths. GJES: Education Sciences and Psychology, 2(19), 46-56.
• Uusiautti, S., & Määttä, K. (2011). What kind of employees become awarded of the Year in Finland? Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies, 6, 53-73.
• Uusiautti, S., & Määttä, K. (2012). How to employ love-based leadership at school? Journal of Social Sciences, in press.
• Young, R. A., Valach, L., Ball, J., Paseluikho, M. A., Wong, Y. S., DeVries, R. J., ... Turkel, H. (2001). Career development in adolescence as a family project. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48(2), 190-202.