Dead-End Jobs or Career Opportunities? Advancement opportunities in call centers

Employment in call centers has grown significantly throughout the world over the past 15 years. In debates about the quality of these new jobs, there are few studies that specifically address promotion opportunities. Using a survey of over 2400 call centers in 16 countries, this paper documents levels and analyzes factors shaping promotions in call centers, and discusses implications for promotions in the service sector generally. On average, less than 10% of call center agents are promoted in any year--5.7% promoted internally to the call center, and 4% promoted elsewhere in the business. Firms that have more complex labor processes and require agents to have higher levels of firm-specific knowledge tend to also have greater promotion opportunities, which might be expected. There are also unexpected findings, including that increased autonomy in the workplace often provides a ‘substitute' to advancement opportunities, and that unionization is associated with fewer advancement opportunities within call centers, though more advancement opportunities to other parts of the business. Key words: promotions, service industries, call centers.

Longer-term impacts of mentoring, educational services, and incentives to learn: evidence from a randomized trial in the United States

This paper is the first to use a randomized trial in the US to analyze the short- and long-term educational and employment impacts of an afterschool program that offered disadvantaged high-school youth: mentoring, educational services, and financial rewards with the objective to improve high-school graduation and postsecondary schooling enrollment. The short-term hefty beneficial average impacts quickly faded away. Heterogeneity matters. While encouraging results are found for younger youth, and when the program is implemented in relatively small communities of 9th graders; detrimental longlived outcomes are found for males, and when case managers are partially compensated by incentive payments and students receive more regular reminders of incentives.

Mentoring, educational services, and economic incentives longer-term evidence on risky behaviors from a randomized trial

This paper is the first to use a randomized trial in the US to analyze the short- and long- term impacts of an afterschool program that offered disadvantaged high-school youth: mentoring, educational services, and financial rewards to attend program activities, complete high-school and enroll in post-secondary education on youths' engagement in risky behaviors, such as substance abuse, criminal activity, and teenage childbearing. Outcomes were measured at three different points in time, when youths were in their late-teens, and when they were in their early- and their latetwenties. Overall the program was unsuccessful at reducing risky behaviors. Heterogeneity matters in that perverse effects are concentrated among certain subgroups, such as males, older youths, and youths from sites where youths received higher amount of stipends. We claim that this evidence is consistent with different models of youths' behavioral response to economic incentives. In addition, beneficial effects found in those sites in which QOP youths represented a large fraction of the entering class of 9th graders provides hope for these type of programs when operated in small communities and supports the hypothesis of peer effects.

Can organizational commitment be experienced by indivuals pursuing contemporary career paths?

In a context in which organizations can no longer promise life-time employment and individuals increasingly experience inter-organizational mobility, this study tackles the question of whether organizational commitment is no longer related to new career orientations. To this end, it analyzes the relation between the underlying dimensions of protean (self direction and values driven) and boundaryless (boundaryless mindset and organizational mobility preference) career attitudes (Briscoe et al., 2006) and organizational commitment, within today's unstable and uncertain business scenario. Research results suggest that protean career attitudes contribute significantly to individuals emotional attachment to their employing organization. Furthermore, organizational mobility preference was found to be significant in predicting both affective and continuance commitment. Finally, future research suggestions and practical implications associated with the current study are provided.

Unstable equilibrium: young adult women in family and career formation in Southern Europe

The paper examines the relationship between family formation (i.e., living with a partner and having children) and women’s occupational career in southern Europe (i.e., Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). The relationship is explored by analysing the impact that different family structures and male [nvolvement in caring activities have on women’s early occupational trajectories (i.e., remaining in the same occupational status, experiencing downward or upward mobility, or withdrawing from paid work). This research shows that male involvement in caring activities does not really push women ahead in their career, but the absolute lack of male support seems to negatively affect women’s permanence in paid work. These results apply to all southern European countries except Portugal, where the absolute absence of the partners’ support in caring activities does not seem to alter women’s determination to remain in paid work. The methodology applied consists of the estimation of multinomial logit regression models and the analysis is based on eight waves (1994-2001) of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP).

Afrontamiento proactivo y bienestar psicológico en estudiantes de maestro en la Universidad de Barcelona

Las estrategias de afrontamiento utilizadas por los estudiantes desempeñan un papel relevanteen su bienestar psicológico. Este trabajo estudia la relación entre las estrategias deafrontamiento y el bienestar psicológico. La muestra está formada por 98 estudiantes de maestroentre 19 y 42 años. Se aplicaron el CRI-A (Moos, 1993) y el BSI (Derogatis y Spencer,1982). Los resultados señalan que cuanto mayor es el uso de estrategias de afrontamientomenor es la presencia de síntomas psicopatológicos, especialmente la solución de problemasy la aceptación. Y cuanto menor es el uso de estrategias de afrontamiento, como la evitacióncognitiva y la descarga emocional, mayores niveles de malestar psicológico. Las estrategias deafrontamiento funcionarían como conductas preventivas frente el estrés psicológico. Se proponea lo largo de los estudios de grado, la inclusión de estrategias de afrontamiento proactivas, como la búsqueda de soporte (mentoring, tutorías entre iguales), la resolución de problemas o la reevaluación positiva.

Afrontamiento proactivo y bienestar psicológico en estudiantes de maestro en la Universidad de Barcelona

Las estrategias de afrontamiento utilizadas por los estudiantes desempeñan un papel relevanteen su bienestar psicológico. Este trabajo estudia la relación entre las estrategias deafrontamiento y el bienestar psicológico. La muestra está formada por 98 estudiantes de maestroentre 19 y 42 años. Se aplicaron el CRI-A (Moos, 1993) y el BSI (Derogatis y Spencer,1982). Los resultados señalan que cuanto mayor es el uso de estrategias de afrontamientomenor es la presencia de síntomas psicopatológicos, especialmente la solución de problemasy la aceptación. Y cuanto menor es el uso de estrategias de afrontamiento, como la evitacióncognitiva y la descarga emocional, mayores niveles de malestar psicológico. Las estrategias deafrontamiento funcionarían como conductas preventivas frente el estrés psicológico. Se proponea lo largo de los estudios de grado, la inclusión de estrategias de afrontamiento proactivas, como la búsqueda de soporte (mentoring, tutorías entre iguales), la resolución de problemas o la reevaluación positiva.

Afrontamiento proactivo y bienestar psicológico en estudiantes de maestro en la Universidad de Barcelona

Las estrategias de afrontamiento utilizadas por los estudiantes desempeñan un papel relevanteen su bienestar psicológico. Este trabajo estudia la relación entre las estrategias deafrontamiento y el bienestar psicológico. La muestra está formada por 98 estudiantes de maestroentre 19 y 42 años. Se aplicaron el CRI-A (Moos, 1993) y el BSI (Derogatis y Spencer,1982). Los resultados señalan que cuanto mayor es el uso de estrategias de afrontamientomenor es la presencia de síntomas psicopatológicos, especialmente la solución de problemasy la aceptación. Y cuanto menor es el uso de estrategias de afrontamiento, como la evitacióncognitiva y la descarga emocional, mayores niveles de malestar psicológico. Las estrategias deafrontamiento funcionarían como conductas preventivas frente el estrés psicológico. Se proponea lo largo de los estudios de grado, la inclusión de estrategias de afrontamiento proactivas, como la búsqueda de soporte (mentoring, tutorías entre iguales), la resolución de problemas o la reevaluación positiva.

Mentoring in the acquisition of professional skills through practices in companies by degree students

Abstract This work has had as objective to analyze the skills acquired through internships in business companies by students of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University Pompeu Fabra. The internship is a basic item in order to obtain a hard connection between the University and social-economic world where University and Enterprises develop their activity. In this study we want to know about two aspects. The first one, we want to know the profit that is obtained from the Student as a consequence of internship and mentoring. Also, we want to study about the importance of mentoring as a principal element that establishes the relationship between the Student and the Company. Moreover, it has sought to analyze if certain factors such as the size of the company where the practices has been performed, the study rank level that was achieved or the fact of being a man or a woman, were among the determining factors at the time of acquiring the skills. The results presented here indicate that the size of the company that have been making the practices and the gender of the student are related to the acquisition of certain skills. There was not a statistically significant relationship related to the rank level have by the students in the practice. In the future we are going to study if the labor market Integration is easier if the Student has performed work placement. Keywords Skills; employability; internship; meatoring.

The role of mentoring in facilitating the process of repurposing OER

This paper presents the initial data analysis of a research that is work in progress. It discusses the role of mentoring and peer support in facilitating the process of repurposing open educational resources (OER). It also reports on the lessons so far learned from the analysis of two distinct but related case studies on working with learners to use and disseminate OER.

Nuevas perspectivas de la orientación profesional para responder a los cambios y necesidades de la sociedad de hoy = New Perspectives in Career Counseling which Respond to the Changes and Needs of Society Today

In this paper a brief outline of the origin and development of vocational guidance and career development during the 20thcentury is presented We elaborate a summary of the changes society has suffered during the last decades, and which affect career counselling either directly or indirectly, and which imply a need for modifications in the current approach to career counselling. Subsequently, we propose new perspectives that will be needed to face these changes, and which have been suggested by different authors. Also some competencies needed by career counselors while acting at different levels of intervention are suggested