Representations of decent work and its antecedents among vocational guidance and career counselling specialists

Inspired by Psychology of Working Theory (PWT), our aim in this study was to investigate vocational guidance and career counselling specialists' perceptions of decent work and of the resources that promote access to decent work by using qualitative methods analyses. With this objective, 17 Swiss professionals were interviewed. First, content analysis showed that, in addition to dimensions considered by PWT, positive relations at work should be considered as part of decent work. Moreover, in addition to the resources considered by PWT, soft skills development emerged as important to access decent work. Second, textual analysis highlighted that specialists' representations of decent work and the resources that facilitate access to it differ according to their professional category.

Automated summary

This study used qualitative methods to analyze the perceptions of vocational guidance and career counseling specialists in Switzerland regarding decent work and the resources that promote access to decent work. The findings revealed that positive relations at work, in addition to the dimensions considered by the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT), should be considered as part of decent work. Furthermore, the development of soft skills emerged as an important resource for accessing decent work. The textual analysis also highlighted that specialists' representations of decent work and the resources differ according to their professional category.