Career
Want More Career Confidence?
For more career confidence, you must flourish outside of your work.
Posted February 4, 2025 Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer Ph.D.
Key points
- Many people suffer from a lack of career confidence.
- They may spend a lot of time, energy, and money to develop skills and gain experience.
- While these steps are useful, data suggest that focusing on life outside of work is crucial.
- Using positive psychology factors related to flourishing can improve career decisions and quality of life.
Whether you are just entering the workforce or you are already a working professional, studies suggest that a high percentage of you may be experiencing a lack of confidence on the job. A Forage study found that nearly half of college students do not feel career ready. More experienced professionals actually fare much worse, with a My Confidence Matters survey indicating that 70% of respondents lack confidence on the job. This is problematic for a number of reasons, including lower job satisfaction, poor career advancement, and on-the-job indecision.
Fortunately, there are ways to shore up your career confidence, and ironically, one major way is to flourish outside of work. A 2023 study found that concepts emphasized in positive psychology — optimism, social support, and self-esteem — are favorably correlated with improved career decisions. The researchers emphasize the concept of flourishing as a positive, mediating factor in making career decisions. Admittedly, the study is a little confusing, so I looked into the details.
What Is a Mediating Factor?
A “mediating factor” is a research term often used in psychological and behavioral sciences studies. It is essentially a component that describes how an independent variable (the one a researcher manipulates) impacts a dependent variable (the thing that depends on other variables). Said another way, the mediating factor helps to explain how one phenomenon influences another. We already know that self-esteem and self-efficacy are good for career decision making, a link that makes intuitive sense. What this study adds is that flourishing is likely an important key between the two discrete variables.
What Is Flourishing?
This is not a new term in psychology, although it has been given more attention recently, as it seems to be resonating with the general population. Flourishing goes beyond just being happy or content. According to Dr. Martin Seligman, arguably the “father” of positive psychology, flourishing is comprised of the acronym PERMA (Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments). These five factors decide to what level each person is indeed flourishing or not in their lives.
Why Does This Matter for Career Success?
Obviously, to have one’s flourishing ducks in a row is ultimately useful for living a more contented, connected, and meaningful life. It also contributes to self-esteem and self-efficacy as already noted. This may be a key to career confidence and effective decision making. So, while practicing communication skills, mentoring, and career development decidedly may play useful roles in career confidence, do not lose sight of the work you must do outside of the 9-5. Here are a few brief suggestions along with the PERMA factors they promote:
- Challenge negative self talk and promote positive, self talk based on self efficacy (positive emotions).
- Develop a sense of gratitude by keeping a gratitude journal denoting three good things at the end of each day (positive emotions).
- Nurture and devote time to beloved activities, including spending time in nature and in mindfulness (engagement).
- Develop and maintain your friendships and positive family relationships (relationships).
- Connect with your “why” behind your career decisions and stay consistent with your values (meaning).
- Develop intrinsic goals (coming from within) and maintain a growth mindset in all you do (accomplishments).
As a wellness coach for psychiatric residents, I help them to navigate a difficult four years of training that is emotionally and physically demanding. I encourage many of the above strategies. When the residents give themselves permission to flourish outside of their medical training, it is often the case that they are more likely to thrive within their professional program as well. Not surprisingly, my work with professional athletes mirrors these results. My patients are often so focused on their sport that other aspects of their life may suffer. In my experience, the athletes who spend time and energy on their PERMA factors tend to be happier, more well-rounded, and ultimately more successful in their professional career anyway.
References
Pignault A, Rastoder M, Houssemand C. The Relationship between Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Career Decision-Making Difficulties: Psychological Flourishing as a Mediator. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. 2023 Aug 23;13(9):1553-1568. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe13090113. PMID: 37754452; PMCID: PMC10529372.