הבדלים מגדריים בתפיסות דיספונקציונליות הקשורות לבחירת מקצוע ותעסוקה ובאוריינטציה לעבודה

Dysfunctional career decision-making beliefs have detrimental consequences for individuals facing career choices. This research focused on gender-related differences in these beliefs and their association with young adults’ work orientations. The goal of Study 1 was to map the gender-related differences in the career decision-making beliefs of 1,194 young adults (half of them women) prior to being discharged from their mandatory military service and during their participation in a workshop aimed at facilitating their transition back to civilian life. What to study, which occupation to choose, or where to work are among the most important decisions individuals face upon discharge from the military. Young adults’ dysfunctional career decision-making beliefs were investigated in terms of five dimensions: chance or fate, significant others, criticality of the decision, professional help, and gender. The data were collected at the beginning and at the end of a five-day workshop for soldiers, with about an equal number of men and women participating in each group. The results showed that higher dysfunctional beliefs were reported by men than by women before the workshop commenced. Furthermore, the workshop was more effective for women than for men in reducing dysfunctional beliefs. Interestingly, the reduction of gender-related dysfunctional beliefs was larger when the group facilitator’s gender differed from that of the participant. Study 2 aimed to map the dysfunctional beliefs of young adults at a different career development stage – the transition between higher education and the job market, as well as to investigate the association between these beliefs and their work-orientation. The participants were 374 students attending the last semester in their undergraduate studies. The gender differences for dysfunctional beliefs in this group were smaller than those observed in Study 1. In addition, men and women reported similar work orientations related to job, career, calling, and busyness; the only difference that emerged was women’s higher orientation to the social aspects of work. The results of this research may contribute to the development of gender-based interventions for reducing dysfunctional beliefs in men and women facing career decision making, while focusing on their unique challenges in career transitions.