Research shows that careers are becoming increasingly complex and flexible, and the evolving world of work presents new challenges for career sustainability. Project managers' careers are marked by complexity, flexibility, and continuous transitions across projects and companies. Their career progression and long-term career sustainability depend on multiple personal and organizational factors. With evolving project management methodologies and a rising demand for specialized skills, understanding project managers' experiences and career development strategies is crucial.
Responding to recent calls by Hartung & Di Fabio (2024) to integrate sustainable development as a fourth paradigm in career research and to highlight the need for careers that foster both individual well-being and societal sustainability, this qualitative study explores how project managers perceive the influence of career shocks on their career sustainability—defined in terms of productivity, health, and happiness—and on their career progression. It also examines career dynamics by exploring the trajectories and strategies used to maintain and advance their career over time. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured career history interviews to capture both retrospective and real-time accounts of project managers navigating sustainable careers with 50 Italian project managers, with an average duration of 60-90 minutes.
Using a narrative and interpretative approach, we identified three distinct career narrative profiles—shapers, connectors, and plateauers—that reflect diverse expressions of career agency. Our results revealed how individuals balance happiness, health, and productivity over time through context-sensitive career management strategies. We also reveal how career shocks act as catalysts for self-reflection and adaptive sensemaking, shaping career trajectories in different ways.
This study provides fresh insights into how project managers make sense and navigate career shocks and highlights the importance of balancing happiness, health, and productivity to achieve a long-term career sustainability.