Mechanisms for Hopeful Employee Career Development in COVID-19: A Hope-Action Theory Perspective

The Problem: Under the pandemic, employees face unique career challenges depending on their contexts and situations. For example, essential workers need to find ways for themselves and their families to be safe. Remote workers need to learn about new ways of working and communicating. In addition, for displaced or soon-to-be displaced workers, a job search is a primary career concern. The Solution: All agents—the organization, supervisors, and employees—can take actions to help employees sustain hope in their careers and recover from the pandemic. This study outcome which involves 257 intervention ideas can be utilized to support the career development of four different types of workers by employing the Hope-Action Theory framework. The Stakeholders: The results of this study can guide Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners and researchers in assisting employee career development by engaging the entire organization, supervisors, and employees. Organizational leaders and employees can also benefit directly from the study results.