The National Career Development Association (NCDA), in their 8 page PDF document "Career Development: A Policy Statement of the National Development Association Board of (Adopted March 16, 1993; revised 2003)", has the following definitions. (NCDA gave me permission to create this html version.)
With these definitions, NCDA's conceptual view is that any given individual has only one "career" even though she/he changes occupations, vocations, positions, or jobs several times.
- "Career development" is the total constellation of psychological, sociological, educational, physical, economic, and chance factors that combine to influence the nature and significance of work in the total lifespan of any given individual.
- "Career" is the totality of work -- paid and unpaid -- one does in his/her lifetime.
- "Work" is sustained, conscious paid and/or unpaid effort, other than that having as its primary purpose either coping or relaxation, aimed at producing societally acceptable benefits for oneself and/or for oneself and others.
- "Drudgery" is involuntary effort to produce benefits for oneself and/or for oneself and others undertaken out of perceived necessity rather than personal choice.
- "Vocation" is one's primary work task at any given period of life.
- "Occupation" is one's primary work task in the world of paid employment.
- "Job" is an identified set of duties and responsibilities -- paid or unpaid -- assigned to be performed usually on a sustaining, ongoing basis by one person. "Position" is a set of competencies (skills and knowledge) required as a component of the overall mission of the agency, organization, or setting in which the position exists.
"Work" is the foundation in career development, and "... represents the need to do – to achieve - to know that one is needed by others and is important. Work is a major way for individuals to recognize and understand both who they are and why they exist in terms of making contributions to society that bring personal meaning and satisfaction to them. It is when persons regard what they are doing as work that productivity is maximized. Without work, the best a job can provide is economic security benefits -- which may not be enough to motivate the employee to perform in a maximally productive manner. The goal of career development is ensuring that the individual finds work as well as a job."LifeWork is a special kind of "work" that rises out of your dreams. LifeWork elevates "work" to a higher emotional and spiritual plane where you fulfill your dreams or your destiny or what you were meant to be/do, or you find your "voice" or your calling or your soul's code.
Only a small per-centage of the world's population experience their LifeWork. The rest don't because they have not acquired the tools or taken the time to know themselves.
Self-assessment, self-awareness, self-knowledge, self-reflection, etc. is important, and essential/critical to learning what makes us tick. This takes time and discipline. LWPS (will) offer the tools and the place for you to do your self-assessment over your lifetime.
Return to About LWPS, or click on the "About LWPS" link in the upper right corner.
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