Employability via Personal Agency via Well-being via Occupational Choice When Occupational Therapists discuss occupational choice they’re referring to life-wide choices about how people occupy their time, energy and attention, rather than narrower labour market occupational choice in the cash economy; for example whether to become a quarry manager or a management accountant. In 2013 and 2014 Glen Crust and Helen Hicks the University of Plymouth supplemented HESA’s Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey with the Office of National Statistics’ painstakingly developed subjective well-being survey items to inform life-wide occupational choice work with students.

Table abbreviations: S = Satisfaction, W = Worthwhile, H = Happy, A = Anxious. SWB (aggregate subjective well-being) = 10 + S + W + H - A

Reviewing their weekend highlights and the underlying occupational choices with sight of graduate occupational choice data (above) enables students to (1) examine their emerging occupational choice habits, (2) recognise tangible benefits associated with increasing autonomy and control in their student lifestyles (3) share strategies for connecting with their dreams and achieving their goals. A broader review process promoting subjective well-being is outlined overleaf. (4) investigate the quality and the enhancement of their lived experience using a range of inter-related concepts beyond one-dimensional “happiness”.

Student’s main reason for getting involved in weekend’s highlight Graduate’s main reason for taking the job

It fitted into my main long-term interests / it exactly what I like to do It fitted into my career plan/it was exactly the type of work I wanted

To see if I would like that kind of thing To see if I would like the type of work it involved

It was an opportunity to move up a level with something I already do It was an opportunity to progress in the organisation

I was being paid to do it The job was well-paid

To broaden my experience as a step towards another ambition I have To gain & broaden my experience in order to get the type of job I really want

I happened to be in the right place at the right time It was in the right location

It was the best offer I received It was the best job offer I received

To earn a living or pay off debts In order to earn a living/pay off debts

It was the only offer I received It was the only job offer I received

SWB as Percentile

in Survey Population

Graduate- level work

Salary

“Why did you decide to take the job…? …indicate the ONE MAIN reason…” n S W H A SWB n Mean n Mean

It fitted into my career plan/it was exactly the type of work I wanted 647 78 76 65 59 65 647 83% 517 £19,536

To see if I would like the type of work it involved 30 70 75 69 62 61 30 63% 21 £17,429

It was an opportunity to progress in the organisation 72 77 62 59 60 58 72 61% 65 £18,096

The job was well-paid 39 64 49 60 53 58 39 51% 32 £19,859

To gain & broaden my experience in order to get the type of job I really want 197 66 68 60 61 56 197 54% 119 £15,521

It was in the right location 88 57 56 60 60 52 88 53% 59 £16,181

It was the best job offer I received 102 57 55 49 59 49 102 54% 70 £17,307

In order to earn a living/pay off debts 591 46 42 52 58 45 591 18% 421 £11,915

It was the only job offer I received 68 37 38 48 56 42 68 34% 49 £13,263

CE26np11 | Glen Crust | Printed 11 January 2015