A Study Of Career As A Calling In China: Structure, Assessment, And Its Relation To Well-being

Calling is viewed as a lofty concept. Traditionally, it was a deeply sacred word, with an uplifting meaning. In its early exploration in psychology, calling was emphasized in the psychology of religion because calling in Western culture stemmed from religion, initially being defined by Martin Luther in the Protestant Reformation. Modernized or secularized view of calling was redefined by vocational psychology, emphasizing that calling is an advanced career orientation which is highly meaningful to individuals. Calling corresponds the modernized career and organizational context and is beneficial for individuals to perceiving meaningfulness and happiness, thereby being paid more attention to by researchers of vocational psychology, management, and positive psychology.Research of calling in Chinese culture was sparse. Because calling was deeply rooted in traditional culture, explorations on calling in China is necessary but should be carefully considered. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to build an initial understanding of calling in Chinese culture, to answer what is calling, why calling matters, and how to find a calling. Notably, because calling is positively related to personal meaningfulness and well-being, our study also significantly contribute to inspire people to attain the feeling of happiness.Based on our systematic literature review, we proposed several hypotheses. These hypotheses were proposed using several guidelines. First, we considered the influence of both traditional and modernized Chinese culture on understanding calling to minimize the potential cultural bias. Second, we included existential theory and protean career theory to understand calling with a more modernized perspective. This provides a strong theoretical background. Third, we included two types of participant. One is the college students who have not engaged in a formal career yet but are in the phase of career preparation. Another is the employees who have owned a formal career. Because they positioned in different career stages, there may be considerable differences existed on their experience of calling. Fourth, as to research design, we emphasized both qualitative and quantitative studies, as well as cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Based on these guidelines, we conducted a series of eight relevant studies of calling.Study 1 to Study 5 were all conducted among college student samples. Study 1 explored how the perception of work as a calling is experienced within Chinese culture. A qualitative study was conducted with 210 Chinese college students. Using emergent qualitative document analysis, results revealed four dimensions of general calling and career-related calling:Guiding Force, Meaning and Purpose, Altruism, and Active Tendency. These results largely converge with those found using samples within Western cultures, although the label "sense of duty" was found to be a unique and salient aspect of calling among Chinese college students. Results also revealed that effect of calling was not always positive. This study provides the first evidence that many aspects of the multidimensional construct of calling may be shared within Chinese culture, at least with college student participants.Drawing from the findings of Study 1, Study 2 develops the Chinese Calling Scale (CCS), an 11-item scale, based on a sample of 788 Chinese college students, and identifies three dimensions of a calling:Altruism, Guiding Force, and Meaning and Purpose. The dimension of Active tendency, which was found in Study 1, was not identified as a salient factor. Rather than being one dimension of calling, this active engagement in career decision-making should more likely be considered an outcome of calling in Chinese college students. Measurement invariance across gender is supported by the CCS. In Study 3, the convergent and criterion validity of the CSS is examined based on a sample of 387 university students. The CCS is strongly related to an existing calling measure and moderately related to life meaning and life satisfaction. Study 4 examines the relation between calling, hope, life meaning, life satisfaction, and career decidedness among 518 college students. The findings reveal that hope significantly mediated the relation of calling with career decidedness, life meaning, and life satisfaction.In Study 5, using 473 Chinese College students, we tested a full longitudinal mediation model of discerning a calling with a three-wave panel design in a one-year period. We tested whether future work self clarity was related to calling via the mediational role of life meaning over time. Using time-lagged analysis, results showed that T1 future work self significantly predicted increased T2 life meaning, and in turn significantly predicted increased T3 calling. This indirect effect was significant, supporting the hypothesized longitudinal mediation model. The reverse effects of treating calling as an antecedent for future work self clarity or life meaning were not confirmed. Our findings suggest that self-clarity of future work life and perceiving life meaning are two important steps to discern a calling.Study 6 is a case study and analyzes the experience of calling in three typical cases. We proposed a Career Calling Model, including four main stage:Guiding Force, Meaningful Goal, Effort and Persistence, and Well-being. This model showed an ongoing process of developing a calling in Chinese culture. Based on this model, Study 7 further develops the 10-item Chinese Calling Scale-Employee Version (CCS-E) using a sample of 233 Chinese employees, and identifies three dimensions of a calling:Altruism, Guiding Force, and Active Tendency. The hypothesized dimension of Meaning and Purpose was combined to Guiding Force, emphasizing the driving force of finding a meaningfulness as a guiding force. The CCS-E is strongly related to an existing calling measure and moderately related to career commitment, organizational commitment, and life meaning, thus supporting its convergent and criterion validity. In study 8, we examined the hypotheses of the Career Calling Model:Guiding Force (indicating by self-directed career attitude), Meaningful Goal (indicating by calling), Effort and Persistence (indicating by job crafting), and Well-being (indicating by career satisfaction and life satisfaction). Applying moderated mediation analysis with bootstrapping using 263 Chinese employees, we found support for all proposed indirect effects. Job insecurity moderated the effect of job crafting on life satisfaction but not on career satisfaction. The effects on life satisfaction were stronger under higher levels of job insecurity. These results suggest that a self-directed career attitude may help people develop a calling, which in turn motivates job crafting behaviors, and which in turn relates to increased subjective career success and well-being. In addition, the notion of a calling may be especially important for well-being in unstable job circumstances.In conclusion, the present studies provides an initial understanding of calling in Chinese culture. It seems that calling becomes increasingly important as a way to find meaning and happiness. That may be because calling corresponds to the modernized career background, for instance protean career and meaningful career. Individuals need to do something to make them feel their lives meaningful. People wants to pursue meaningfulness and happiness, and that’s why we believe that everyone is capable of taking charge of their lives and careers. Therefore, knowing self may be the first step of developing a calling. Both future work self and self-directed career attitude emphasize the effect of self on discerning a calling. A clear self-knowledge guides people to find their calling, to experience hope, to proactively make changes, and then to achieve the eternal meaning and happiness. This is what this study about:to know calling and to find meaning and happiness.