PROTEAN CAREER MODEL

(Proteus was a Greek God who could change shape at will)

Protean career – Is a career that is frequently changing based on both changes in the person’s
interests, abilities and values and changes in the work environment. Here the employee takes
more responsibility for managing their careers.

For example, a social scientist working with a medical facility takes a sabbatical from her social
work to work in management at public institution addressing poverty issues. The purpose of the
assignment could be to develop her managerial skills as well as help her personally evaluate if
she likes managerial work more than social work.

 Protean-orientated individuals are seen to have personal goals of “learning,

psychological success, and expansion of identity as compared to the traditional
organizational goals of promotion, status and power.
1. The psychological contract for the protean career is typically short-term, transactional
(rather than relational), and includes, in part, exchanging work in return for opportunities
to gain new skills, networking and enhanced marketability.
2. Human and social capital, which are the skills, abilities, effort, time, and networks
possessed by the individual and invested when employed, become much more important
with the protean career.
3. Individuals who follow this path need to continually upgrade their skills and contacts, as
employability, rather than job security within an organization, is paramount. Security
comes with the individual’s knowledge that she or he has the personal and social capital
to locate, obtain and execute the next employment experience (Jones & DeFillippi, 1996

The development of the Protean Career has been influenced by changes in psychological
contract between employees and companies.

Traditionally, the psychological contract emphasized that the company would provide continued
employment and advancement opportunities if the employee remained with the company and
maintained a high job performance, pay increases and status were linked to vertical movement in
the company.