Victoria Choi Yue Woo, Richard J. Boland Jr. and David L. Cooperrider
INTRODUCTION
The nature of work is constantly changing. Technological advances, changing preferences, and globalization propel transformations in how we live and work (Mayo, 2005; Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001). A globalized world of work offers many different career opportunities. Unbounded by geography or company affiliation, individuals seek new opportunities wherever and, however, they can. Changes in market forces have generated new career trajectories that are protean and boundaryless (D. T. Hall, 1996, 2004; D. T. Hall & Moss, 1999; Hui, Lee, & Rousseau, 2004; Miles, Snow, Arthur, & Rousseau, 1996; Robinson, Kraatz, & Rousseau, 1994; Rousseau, 1990; Sullivan & Arthur, 2006). People must invest in their own human capital in the form of knowledge, experience, and their well-being in order to stay relevant in the workplace (Luthans & Youssef, 2004). Movement and change dynamics are growing in magnitude and sophistication in a progressively globalized world of work (Reiche & Harzing, 2011). Some of these changes are unavoidably stressful, and that stress contributes to both physical and psychological ill health (Ărtqvist & Wincent, 2006; Spiegel, 1997). We are concerned with the modern worldâs constant disruption of continuity and the resulting impact on our well-being. This chapter investigates the potential for harnessing the transitions we encounter to promote growth in a way that fosters positive, Thriving Transitional Experiences (TTE).
Because society places a high value on stability as well as change, this study joins the conversation of managing the paradoxes of constant flux and stability over time (Srivastva & Fry, 1992). We focus on the growth aspects of change and propose thriving as a positive consequence from engaging and responding to the experience of transitions. Rather than returning to a prior psychosocial-functioning baseline, individuals experience changes in self-perception, interpersonal relationships, and philosophy of life (Saakvitne, Tennen, & Affleck, 1998). Research associates growth and development with transitional experiences can result in deepened relationships, a new-found sense of meaning, appreciation for life, enhanced self-efficacy, improved compassion for others, and a sense of transcendence (Joseph, Linley, & Harris, 2004; Park & Helgeson, 2006). The idea of anti-fragile is similar in this regard, âsome benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk and uncertaintyâ (Taleb, 2012, p. 3). This research proposes that experiencing multiple transitions, as modernity necessitates, may actually contribute to our well-being, subjectively, psychologically, and eudaimonically.
Thriving within the context of constant change is relevant and important in todayâs society (Ren, Yunlu, Shaffer, & Fodchuk, 2015). Much of the existing research on encountering change has focused on negative consequence. These focus on stress, anxiety, reduced productivity, and performance, as well as burnout, decreased organizational commitment and absenteeism leading to erosion of organizational effectiveness (Greve, 1996; McHugh, 1997, 2001; Vakola & Nikolaou, 2005). In a survey of literature on internationally mobile professionals, we found that many are centered on failure rates, problems adapting, and other dilemmas faced by expatriates (Birkinshaw, Brannen, & Tung, 2011; R. J. Brown, 2008; Stahl & Caligiuri, 2005; Suutari & Brewster, 2001), while others focused on coping strategies, adjustment, adaptation, and acculturation (Bikos et al., 2009; Black & Gregersen, 1991; Meriläinen, 2008; Stahl & Caligiuri, 2005). Job transfers are cited to have a negative effect on family and relationships (Munton, 1990). Stress levels increase in couples relationships during international assignments (Harvey, Buckley, Novicevic, & Wiese, 1999).
Literature is scant on how individuals actually benefit from engaging with change and report Thriving Transitional Experiences (TTE). By unpacking the cognitive, psychological, emotional, and behavioral resources that contribute to a modern life of transitions, this chapter hopes to transform the lexicon and expectations of engaging in transitions and to enable more professionals to succeed and thrive in a highly dynamic and complex world.
At any given point in oneâs life, a transition can be interpreted in terms of the magnitude of change (how big or how little the change) and the individualâs ontological experience of change (whether it disrupts an equilibrium or continues to be part and parcel of an evolving, cyclical and emergent way of life). Contingent upon these two dimensions, one can use the proposed four-quadrant model to mobilize resources to design a response and hypothesize a desired outcome. The four quadrants represent different ways we live today. Individuals may find themselves at various junctions of these quadrants over a lifespan. These four quadrants provide ârequisite varietyâ to navigate changes we encounter into and out of fluid spaces we often call instability during a time of transition.
Our research agenda is to uncover enabling and constraining factors that differentiate response to change and understand the mechanisms that predict thriving, addressing:
- What factors enhances the experience of transition?
- What are the underlying mechanisms that help us thrive when encountering transitions?
- How to help individuals harness the movement and mobility that accompany modern existence.
Researchers conducted two studies on the ontological experience of transitions (Woo & Boland Jr., 2013; Woo, Boland Jr., & Lyytinen, 2014). Using an exploratory, sequential and embedded mixed methods approach, we identified social, cognitive, psychological, and behavioral factors that contribute to thriving in transition. Our data consisted of 390 samplesâ record of various transitional experiences to quantitatively analyze and test for relationships between factors and completed the study with 20 interviews by comparing narrative of surviving transitional experiences to Thriving Transitional Experiences (TTE). As a result of the current study, we elucidate a conceptual system that contains four representative ontologies of change forming a skeletal framework for a descriptive model on thriving and surviving in uncertain times. The four-quadrant model (see in Figure 1) is divided by the degree of change together with an individualâs ontological organizing principles relating to the phenomenon of change; stability is the norm where changes only happen episodically or change is the norm where one continually engages in change. This abstract model has predictive value in the identification and mobilization of cognitive, social, and behavioral resources at a time of change.
Figure 1. Four-Quadrant Model: Resources at a Time of Change.
We introduce a new scale that emerged from this study to measure the receptivity toward change as a positive, learning, and growing experience â Transformation Quotient (TQ). In developing our analysis, we first define key terms such Thriving Transitional Experiences (TTE) and Transformation Quotient (TQ). We then offer an overview of constructs we tested in this study. Next, we present the research methodology employed, followed by a thorough discussion of our findings. Finally, we conclude by offering practical implications of this research and future research opportunities.
THRIVE, THRIVING
This chapter is a move away from the vulnerability or deficit model of coping with change and toward an appreciative, generative model of living and working in uncertain times. In this chapter, we seek to uncover how individuals stand to leverage discontinuity as a platform for growth and development. Reviewing existing literature on factors that influence well-being is essential to our understanding of thriving as an outcome of engaging transition. Our response to change is complex. Reviews of explanatory mechanisms that result in positive consequences aid our inquiry of how individuals survive or rather thrive in transition(s).
Thriving is a psychological state where individuals experience development, growth, and progression with an upward trajectory â not merely surviving or maintaining the status quo (J. M. Hall et al., 2009; Thomas & Hall, 2008). In positive psychology, well-being includes both optimal psychological functioning and positive affective experiences (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2011; Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003; Ryan & Deci, 2001). The two major schools of thought on well-being are hedonic (subjective well-being, SWB) and eudaimonic (psychological well-being, PWB). Hedonic well-being focuses on pleasure attainment and pain avoidance, while eudaimonic well-being focuses on psychological aspects of development such as fulfillment and having meaning and purpose (Deci & Ryan, 2008a; Diener, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2001). Studies have proposed that PWB is a dynamic system that serves affective, adaptive, evaluative functions, by providing favorable psychological conditions, especially at a time of ambiguity and uncertainty (Keyes, Shmotkin, & Ryff, 2002; Shmotkin, 2005). PWB, almost synonymous with eudaimonic well-being is also related to an active cognitive engagement with the new environment.
The six core characteristics of PWB are (1) self-acc...
