If the employee find that most of the factors are satisfied in the job he has taken up than the productivity and job engagement would be high but in contrary the performance level would be low because of low level of job satisfaction.
There are both impacting and non impacting factors. Vocational and avocational interests impact career choices but do not predict performance. Perceived status also impacts career choices but not performance. Self efficacy however does effect performance. Consider organizational culture and climate as well. A good fit would lead to enhanced self efficacy and in turn performance. Engagement and discretionary effect are not factors related to career choices but will have a strong impact on performance. Not all factors can be quantitatively measured. If you could give more context of your study, may be I could help you with more insights.
getting your dream job and finding out that you do not have the requisite skills to perform due to technological advancement and no prospects for skill acquisition either through in-service training or workshops, impacts negatively on performance. Besides, when you have inadequate or wrong information about a job before entry, the chances of job satisfaction are slim because the job does not meet your expectation. This inadvertently, impacts negatively on your performance.
Daniel, virtually every senior level coaching client I have dealt with over time, at some stage of their process, will introduce career dissatisfaction. My experience has been that virtually all of these clients failed to invest the time, effort and money, into seeking help with exploring and understanding their own personality preferences. Again, in my opinion, this leads to poor choices in all areas of life, not just in career choice. However, career choice has a tumultuous effect on people's lives both from a satisfaction aspect but even more importantly, from a mental health perspective.
My experience has shown that as the person's career develops and their dissatisfaction grows, often at a deep unconscious level that they are obviously not aware of, their 'resentment' at their situation presents in the workplace in a variety of ways. In other words, it is not always the fault of the employer or the boss etc. It may very well have its roots in the issue you raise.
This issue has grown in such proportions now that the level of disengagement around the world is at an all-time high. At the last census that the Gallup organisation carried out in 2012-2013 and findings released in 2014, the average disengagement measured across more than 150 countries, was 87%. This is staggeringly high and if ti remains unaddressed, in my opinion, it will pose a serious threat to achieving organisational goals in the future.
Daniel,iIt is definitely an issue worth debating i.e. how badly does poor career choice affect the level of disengagement? In my opinion, it contributes a great degree to the topic you raise however, against the lack of formal research in this area, this opinion is anecdotal and based on personal experience.
Thanks a lot Ron for your opinion on the subject matter. Just like you said, we have not seen research in this area, but I believe that wrong choice of career would have serious implication on performance. When your motivation level is low owing to the fact that you are not performing the kind of job you had wanted, could lead to dissatisfaction, conflict performing that job and even the state of your health. I think we need research into this area. Thanks