Working career

Career management refers to the good management of people of all ages. This way, attention is focussed on the career stage and life situation of the employee instead of their age. It is more a question of managing a person at the specific career stage rather than management according to age. 

The goal of career management is to support employees’ own career management, overall self-management and work-related motivation. All of these factors help people cope with changes related to work life and career. 

Supervisory work takes into account employees’ strengths, goals and needs. Workplaces also offer various practical solutions and forms of support to promote employees’ engagement with work. The aim is to use the strengths of all employees and to align the goals of the employee with those of the workplace. 

In the best case, each member of the work community can work according to their resources and in a role that is as appropriate as possible. This benefits both the employee and the employer.

Management practices for different career stages

Which operating models and management practices support employees’ coping and work motivation at each stage of their career should be taken into account at the workplace. 

Paying attention to career management enables equitable treatment of all employees regardless of age. Examples of good practices:

• In recruitment, the focus is on the skills required for the job rather than age. For example, some workplaces have experimented with removing the year of birth from the applicants’ CVs.
• High-quality orientation. Orientation is a continuous process and must be provided whenever work tasks or the related methods and tools change. High-quality orientation is important at all stages of the career.
• Supporting career development does not only refer to advancing within the organization's hierarchy but also horizontal development that enables the expansion of expertise and diversification of the content of work tasks.
• Training is available regardless of age, and the skills of all employees are kept up to date. When training is organized at the workplace, different ways of learning are taken into account in the related planning.
• In the organization of work, co-operation and the sharing of expertise among employees at different stages of their careers is promoted.
• Flexible working hours enable work-life balance. Employees have the opportunity to influence their working hours. It should be noted that the need for flexibility varies depending on the life situation.
• Threats to work ability are prevented and addressed early as much as possible. The employee’s opportunities to participate in work according to their work ability is promoted. 

It is a good idea to monitor the impact of career management on employee commitment and the sense of fairness of management in connection with well-being at work surveys.

Specialized Researcher Mervi Ruokolainen can provide information on group-based training methods related to various career stages.