David L. Blustein

• Ph.D.
• Professor (Full) at Boston College

Veterans who are unemployed and living with mental health or substance use conditions are in need of integrative interventions that support their career development, mental wellness, and sobriety. However, career development interventions are often developed and implemented separate from mental health services. This paper introduces a novel interve...

This article provides a narrative review of the literature on dignity at work with a focus on social justice perspectives, which informs the development of a conceptual framework to guide future theory, research, practice, and public policies. Dignity at work encompasses earned and inherent dignity; the capacity for autonomous action; the affirmati...

This article presents the rationale and a new critical framework for precarity, which reflects a psychosocial concept that links structural inequities with experiences of alienation, anomie, and uncertainty. Emerging from multiple disciplines, including anthropology, cultural studies, sociology, political science, and psychology, the concept of pre...

This article presents the rationale and a new critical framework for precarity, which reflects a psychosocial concept that links structural inequities with experiences of alienation, anomie, and uncertainty. Emerging from multiple disciplines, including anthropology, cultural studies, sociology, political science, and psychology, the concept of pre...

This article explores the question of why work matters via a biographical, contextual, and forward-looking examination of the psychology of working. The development of the psychology of working as a perspective, theory, and movement is described via a biographical exploration of the author’s life history in conjunction with critical analyses of the...

This article explores the question of why work matters via a biographical, contextual, and forward-looking examination of psychology of working. The development of psychology of working as a perspective, theory, and movement is described via a biographical exploration of the author’s life history in conjunction with critical analyses of existing th...

The purpose of this study was to describe the development of a new intervention for jobseekers and to assess its efficacy using a naturalistic, pre-post intervention design. In contrast to existing work-based interventions, the Work Intervention Network (WIN) intervention targets multiple intersecting domains through four modules and via six group...

Background: Veterans with psychiatric disorders want additional career development services to support their recovery and pursuit of meaningful employment. However, no career counseling programs have been designed for this specific population. We developed the Purposeful Pathways intervention to fill this need. Objective: This study protocol aim...

Psychology of working theory (PWT) posits that having decent work, or work that meets the minimum necessary standards to promote adequate work lives, predicts whether one’s self-determination needs are met (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). While this proposition is well supported in the literature, examining moderators of these relations wou...

Despite efforts to increase diversity in STEM fields, marginalized populations—particularly women and Black and Latinx workers—remain underrepresented in STEM professions. The present qualitative study sought to explore the relationship between sense of purpose and STEM engagement within an after-school, experiential (i.e., involving hands-on learn...

BACKGROUND Veterans with psychiatric disorders want additional career development services to support their recovery and pursuit of meaningful employment. However, no career counseling programs have been designed for this specific population. We developed the Purposeful Pathways intervention to fill this need. OBJECTIVE This study protocol aims to...

Adolescence is a critical time for the cultivation of life purpose, also known as a meaningful long-term aim focused on contribution to others. Youth with purpose, especially marginalized youth, report a number of positive outcomes. Relationships with caring adults appear to be particularly helpful in guiding young people on their path to purpose,...

p style="text-align: justify;">Despite the desirability of working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), Black and Latinx people are underrepresented in these fields. Sustaining engagement in STEM is central to addressing the representation gap. This qualitative study examined whether and how a STEM-based after-school program (Chang...

Significant resources have been invested by multiple entities and institutions into exposing more students and adults to science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. These efforts have coalesced into a major educational and career development movement within the past few decades. In this article, we present a critic...

Emerging from distinct perspectives, decent work and meaningful work are fundamental aspects of contemporary work with profound implications for individuals, organizations, and society. Decent work reflects basic workplace conditions to which all employees are entitled, whereas meaningful work is aspirational, reflecting significance at work. Follo...

Emerging from distinct perspectives, decent work and meaningful work are fundamental aspects of contemporary work with profound implications for individuals, organizations, and society. Decent work reflects basic workplace conditions to which all employees are entitled, whereas meaningful work is aspirational, reflecting significance at work. Follo...

The aim of the current study was to examine whether the key constructs targeted in the Work Intervention Network (WIN) intervention uniquely predicted well-being outcomes and mediated relations between un/underemployment and these outcomes. Using data from a sample of 462 adults in the U.S., we positioned employment status as a predictor of life sa...

Are men and women more similar or different in their interests in careers? This question has propelled decades of research into the association between gender and vocational interests. However, our understanding of this question in an international context remains limited. In this study, we examined gender differences in vocational interests across...

Using a person-centered approach, this study explored the interrelationship between decent work and precarious work via a latent profile analysis (LPA). This investigation sought to replicate the latent profiles from Blustein and colleagues (2020) and extend the results by examining the role of individual lifetime experiences of macro-level factors...

Building upon the psychology of working theory (PWT), the goal of the present study was to examine longitudinal relations among precarious work, workplace dignity, and basic need fulfillment (survival, social contribution, and self-determination needs). To examine our hypotheses, we surveyed a group of working adults in the United States three time...

This study explores the nature of precarity via the lens of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Precarity refers to uncertainty, loss, disruption, and anxiety, which differentially impact people across contexts. We sought to (a) identify how people understand and resist precarity during the pandemic; (b) explore the potential of precarity...

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) aspire to work, though they are often excluded from the workforce. However, little is known about the perspectives and work experiences of adults with IDD viewed through a vocational psychology lens. Our study focused on the Psychology of Working theoretical (PWT) framework, which is anc...

There is an ongoing debate over the extent to which women “opt out” and/or are “pushed out” of various occupations ( Kossek et al., 2017 ). To advance this debate, we explore the correspondence of women’s interests in stereotypically masculine work activities with the work activities of their occupations/occupational-aspirations. We examine 42,631...

This conceptual contribution aims to adapt and apply Psychology of Working Theory to the specificities of the school-to-work transition (STWT) process. The STWT is thus conceptualized as a first attempt to access decent work under the influence of specific predictors, mediators, and moderators and leading to particular outcomes. Based on recent lit...

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis has resulted in unimaginable loss of life coupled with the loss of livelihoods for millions of people across the globe. In this article, we discuss the unique challenges of this crisis with a particular focus on how the pandemic has led to intersecting losses that have been exacerbated by ongoing socia...

Significant resources have been invested by multiple entities and institutions into exposing more students and adults to Science, Technology, Education, and Math (STEM) education and careers. These efforts have coalesced into a major educational and career development movement within the past few decades. In this article, we present a critical anal...

This article explores the concept of shame and integrates it into career development and career counseling. The article begins with an overview of shame from a diverse conceptual framework, describing shame as a self-conscious emotion that occurs in response to interactions or events that evoke embarrassment, humiliation, self-doubt, and psychologi...

This research utilized a person-centered approach to identify profiles of decent work and precarious work, which were explored due to their centrality in current debates about the uncertain state of work conditions in the U.S. Using the Decent Work Scale and the Precarious Work Scale, the following five profiles were identified from a sample of 492...

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in drastic changes to employment around the globe. In the present article, we identify four emerging impacts of the pandemic and how career development professionals might respond through policy and practice. Specifically, we focus on four distinct but related domains: unemployment, worker mental hea...

The aim of this chapter is twofold: (1) to provide an overview of the consequences of the decline in available, quality jobs throughout the world for the individual, community, and society; and (2) to discuss the implications of the changing world of work for career development, with a focus on the psychology of working theory. First, this chapter...

This article explores the existential loss, anxiety, and terror that is evoked by the massive unemployment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Growing inequality and marginalization in the workforce prior to the advent of this health crisis is reviewed as a major antecedent that set the stage for the unemployment crisis that now defines this era....

This essay represents the collective vision of a group of scholars in vocational psychology who have sought to develop a research agenda in response to the massive global unemployment crisis that has been evoked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The research agenda includes exploring how this unemployment crisis may differ from previous unemployment period...

Meritocratic beliefs continue to be widely accepted in the United States; nonetheless, upward mobility is out of reach for many American women due to pervasive barriers to accessing decent work. The present study aims to explore American women’s work aspirations and beliefs in the American Dream (the premise that no matter where people come from, w...

The current special issue of the Journal of Vocational Behavior focuses on an exploration of decent work in different national contexts. Specifically, the special issue consists of eight papers written by research teams from eight different countries. In each article, researchers developed a reliable instrument to assess decent work with clear evid...

This article advances the psychology of working theory by developing a parallel change‐based paradigm to guide interventions at the level of individuals (i.e., the psychology of working counseling) and systems (i.e., the psychology of working systemic intervention). The change paradigm presented in this article includes (a) a needs assessment encom...

In this contribution, we provide a critical analysis of the current status of vocational psychology and present an expansive vision for the future. We begin with an overview of the importance of vocational psychology in the history of The Counseling Psychologist, followed by a critical review of contemporary theory, research, practice, and training...

This book provides a deeply psychological view of working in America with the intention of transforming existing assumptions and policies about work. At its best, working can provide a powerful sense of aliveness and meaning in our lives; yet, working can also be the source of psychic pain, distress, and despair. The book uses psychological and soc...

Young people, particularly those without a post-secondary education and marketable skills, encounter significant obstacles in their transition to the workforce. In an unstable world of work, it is crucial to provide youth with adequate vocational skills and adaptive psychosocial attributes (such as critical consciousness) to help them obtain decent...

The fit of a person with a vocation, or person-vocation (P-V) fit, is important for workers and is a central concept in vocational psychology. Multiple theories in vocational psychology undergird an understanding of P-V fit, including the circular model of vocational interests and social cognitive career theory (SCCT). However, it is unclear whethe...

Globalization, technological advancements, and macroeconomic forces have created significant challenges for working in the United States and other countries. Recent crises about working include long-term unemployment/underemployment and the rise of precarious work, which negatively impact individuals’ mental health and well-being. To fully understa...

People from lower social classes experience significant difficulties in many life domains including work, yet their work lives continue to be understudied in psychology. This study examined the applicability of the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT), which emphasizes the role of socioeconomic constraints in shaping work and well-being outcomes, in...

Person-vocation fit across the world of work: Evaluating the generalizability of the circular model of vocational interests and social cognitive career theory across 74 countries Abstract The fit of a person with a vocation, or person-vocation (P-V) fit, is important for workers and is a central concept in vocational psychology. Multiple theories i...

New models of career education are needed to prepare young people for changes and challenges in the world of work. We propose that the psychology of working framework/theory (PWF/PWT) has the potential to shape career education in transformative ways that are attentive to shifting dimensions of the local context and the marginalization of large seg...

The psychology of working theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016) provides a framework to understand predictors and outcomes of decent work. Given that basic need satisfaction is hypothesized to be a primary mediator in the link between decent work and well-being, it is essential to have valid and reliable scales that are consistent wi...

Several recent studies have examined the predictor portion of the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016), finding support for numerous propositions while also identifying limitations in the assessment of key variables: economic constraints, marginalization, and career adaptability. In the current manuscript we se...

As a result of global economic and technological changes, populations across the globe are losing access to decent work that is critical for meeting essential economic, social, and psychological needs. This chapter is designed to address the challenges for marginalized groups in accessing decent work during a time of growing work scarcity. In so do...

Sweeping changes in the world of work are transforming the very fabric of career counseling practice as clients cope increasingly with work uncertainty, including unemployment, underemployment, and precarious work. The authors describe how relational perspectives (Blustein, 2011; Flum 2015; Richardson, 2012; Schultheiss, 2003) can be infused in car...

Building on new developments in the psychology of working framework (PWF) and psychology of working theory (PWT), this article proposes a rationale and research agenda for applied psychologists and career development professionals to contribute to the many challenges related to human rights and decent work. Recent and ongoing changes in the world a...

The present study tested key tenets of the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) in a sample of 526 racially and ethnically diverse employed adults. The authors investigated how economic resources and marginalization predicted decent work through experiences of work volition and career adaptability. Support for the hypotheses was mixed. There was a di...

In recent years, many counseling psychology training programs in the United States have adopted social justice principles into training. Although previous studies have provided thought-provoking discussions on social justice advocacy, they mostly reflected the voices of psychologists in academia; therefore, the advocacy work of practitioners has be...

This chapter describes the development of a microcosmic research culture, embodied as ACCELL – the Australian Collaboratory for Career Employment & Learning for Living. The conceptual foundations of ACCELL are overviewed. The social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent and Brown, J Counsel Psychol 60(4): 557–568, 2013) is used as a pedagogical frame...

This epilogue explores the major themes of this book by embedding these important contributions on adaptability, employability, and resilience into an explicitly contextual framework. Beginning with a discussion of the major political shifts in recent years, the epilogue then discusses how both distal and proximal contexts can be more supportive of...

This article describes an innovative application of a social justice-infused pedagogy to an out-of-school program for urban high school students. Using an interdisciplinary framework, the program featured a coherent synthesis of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, highlighting environmental and food justice perspectives; so...

Decent work is positioned as the centerpiece of the recently developed Psychology of Working Theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016). However, to date, no instrument exists which assesses all 5 components of decent work from a psychological perspective. In the current study, we developed the Decent Work Scale (DWS) and demonstrated sev...

p>The ILO has a century-long tradition of working on the psychology of work and is now faced with new and growing challenges as the world work is undergoing far-reaching changes. This short note discusses how ILO can benefit from recent psychosocial studies.</p

For over a decade, the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program has funded researchers and educators to build an understanding of best practices, contexts, and processes contributing to K-12 students’ motivation and participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S...

Despite the many studies examining the impact of unemployment, underemployment has often been neglected in psychology. Moreover, problems exist with the measurement of underemployment, including categorization of continuous variables and neglect of overemployment. In the current study, we used a new method of measuring underemployment, polynomial r...

This contribution, which serves as the lead article for the Research Topic entitled “From Meaning of Working to Meaningful Lives: The Challenges of Expanding Decent Work,” explores current challenges in the development and operationalization of decent work. Based on an initiative from the International Labor Organization [ILO] (1999) decent work re...

In the current article, we build on research from vocational psychology, multicultural psychology, intersectionality, and the sociology of work to construct an empirically testable Psychology of Working Theory (PWT). Our central aim is to explain the work experiences of all individuals, but particularly people near or in poverty, people who face di...

The challenges confronted by low-income high school students throughout school and across the transition to higher education and employment are well-documented in the US and many other nations. Adopting a positive youth development perspective (Lerner et al., 2005), this study reports findings from interviews with 18 low-income, racially and ethnic...

The contributions by Jean Guichard have been foundational in creating the knowledge base needed to help a wide array of people develop meaningful and dignified working lives. The broad and inclusive intellectual perspective that Guichard has emphasized has provided a bridge to the critical perspectives of work and career that have been a growing pa...

This chapter presents findings of a three-year longitudinal study of academic motivation and school engagement among low-income high school students enrolled in a corporate work-study program. Our findings demonstrate ways in which the workplace functioned for students as a conduit of emotional resources, offering instrumental support from caring a...

Although meaningful work experience and the support of caring adults are recognized as factors that promote positive youth development, research has given minimal attention to the role of the work-based learning (WBL) supervisor. Interviews with 12 supervisors, from work sites that were identified as successful by leaders from a Catholic high schoo...

This study examined the contribution of perceptions of discrimination, career planning, and vocational identity to the school engagement experiences of first- and second-generation immigrants among a sample of 125 Cape Verdean high school students. Perceived ethnic discrimination was found to moderate the association between both vocational factors...

This article explores the role of selected work-based constructs and social support in the prediction of school engagement in a sample of Italian high school students. A total of 137 high school students from Central Italy completed measures of social support (including teacher, peer, and parental support), career decision-making satisfaction, care...

Using consensual qualitative research, the study examines urban high school students’ reactions to a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) enrichment/career development program, their resources and barriers, their perspectives on the impact of race and gender on their career development, and their overall views of work and their futures...

Reviews the literature related to the transition from school-to-work (STW) for work-bound youth. This review bridges the broad-based STW literature, emerging from education, public policy, sociology. labor economics, developmental psychology, and career development/vocational psychology. The chapter targets the large majority of youth who face incr...

This article explores the challenges of unemployment via the lens of critical psychology. The conventional discourse on unemployment is critiqued, revealing ways in which conventional policies and practices serve to further marginalize the lives of the unemployed and impede the development of ethical, effective, and empathic individual intervention...

The authors provide a reaction to the Major Contribution by Richardson in this issue of The Counseling Psychologist on the counseling for work and relationships perspective. The authors examine the trajectory of Richardson’s work, beginning with her seminal article in 1993, which set the stage for a new paradigm for vocational psychology. Richardso...

Building on diverse influences from critical perspectives in vocational psychology and the relational movement in contemporary psychological discourse, this article introduces the relational theory of working. Attending to the full array of people who work and who want to work, the relational theory conceptualizes working as an inherently relationa...

In response to the question posed in this special issue of the Journal of Career Assessment regarding the next big question in vocational psychology, this article poses that the field is at a critical fork in the road. The choice point for vocational psychology is to continue to create knowledge and services for middle-class populations with some d...

Definitional and Historical PerspectivesTrends and Key Developments in Vocational PsychologyMajor Research Initiatives in Vocational Psychology: An Illustrative ReviewChallenges and Opportunities for Vocational PsychologyFuture Developments in the FieldConclusion References