The Psychology of Work Theory recognises that for a large portion of our population, there are a variety of limitations in their career options and seeking their ‘dream job’ is not a realistic option when these limitations can mean the difference between having a roof over their head or feeding their family.

In fact, Dr Duffy stated that for many people around the world, the concept of a ‘match’ in career decision making is not actually taken into consideration, and instead, the focus is on achieving safe working conditions, good hours, organisational values that complement family and social values, adequate compensation and access to adequate health care. These elements together create a threshold – the minimum acceptable attributes for work to be considered ‘decent.’

For many of us, this concept of ‘decent work’ is our goal. We don’t even think about what our ‘dream job’ may be, and even if we did, we see too many obstacles. Going back to study full-time for a significant amount of time, moving to a new geographical area, seeking new contacts, changing your kids’ schools, are all obstacles that can seem insurmountable.

Perceptions of choice in the career that you can pursue are highly contributory to the shaping of your professional path – do you feel that you have a choice in the career that you are actively pursuing? Did you fall into the job that you are in? Are you content? Do you want more? Do you take the time to think about these things or is work a means to an end?

This concept of ‘decent work’ is perhaps newly framed and underpinned by theory here, but it is by no means a concept that is new to our social narrative. However, it is a concept that is often confused with the idea of taking ‘any job.’

The belief that a person who is unemployed should take ‘any job’ is a common one that is shared across social media whenever the topic of unemployment comes up. This belief is based on the idea that people should feel grateful and satisfied with the attainment of work that meets a generalised concept of the ‘decent work’ threshold and to be perceived as holding out for a good ‘match’ is to be entitled and a ‘job snob.’

However, the construct of our own careers is as individual as we are – our own personal experiences shape our career driving force and they are informed by predictors of securing decent work including economic constraints and marginalisation, and variables including our perceptions of choice despite constraints, career adaptability, proactive personality, critical consciousness i.e. our understanding of where we stand in society, social support and economic conditions. We cannot suppose to judge others and their decisions based on our own experienced career driving force.

Attaining ‘decent work’ may be enough for one person, but not for another – the desire to find meaning in our careers beyond putting food on the table is surely not a pursuit worth condemning? When we spend up to 75 per cent of our time in work related activity, it is so important that we get it right: we need to be careful in the choices that we make regarding our careers – we don’t need to be a manager straight out of the gate, but creating a path of conscious decision making built from the concept of ‘decent work’ is critical to balancing satisfaction with survival.