Spousal Influence on Employees’ Career Paths in Dual Ladder Systems: A Dyadic Model

Publication Type

Journal contribution (peer reviewed)

Authors

Pluut, H., Büttgen, M., Ullrich, J.

Year of publication

2018

Published in

European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology

Pubisher

Routledge

DOI

10.1080/1359432X.2018.1531849

This cross-sectional field study examines the influence of employee and spousal
characteristics on employees’ career-related motivations in dual ladder systems. We go
beyond “constraints-based” explanations of spousal influence and focus on the degree to
which the spouse has aspirations for the focal employee’s career—referred to as spousal
career aspirations. Using a dyadic study design, we tested a model that specifies the
influence of both partners’ career salience and materialism on an employee’s motivation for a
particular career path: as manager or technical specialist. According to survey responses from
a matched sample of 207 employees and their spouses, the spouse’s career salience and
materialism (the latter only for women) were associated with higher levels of spousal career
aspirations. In turn, those employees whose spouses aspired for them to have a career were
less motivated to obtain a specialist position. Employees’ own career salience was positively
associated with their motivation for a managerial position and, in combination with high
levels of spousal career aspirations, pulled employees away from a career on the technical
ladder. Our results shed light on the family-relatedness of career decisions and have notable
implications for dual ladder organizations.