Increasing the Personal Development of White-Collar Employees for Sustainable Employability

• Published in: Sustainability 2023-10, Vol.15 (19), p.14554
• Main Authors: Özcan, Burcu Mucan, Ozcan, Suleyman Emre, Geyikci, Umut Burak, Gülova, Asena, Sancak, Fatih Mehmet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Classrooms; Competitive advantage; Economic development; Education; Employability; Employees; Employment; Energy consumption; Personal development; Professional development; Sustainability; Training; Work environment; Workers; Workforce
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su151914554

This qualitative study evaluated a training intervention aimed at increasing the personal development curves of the ABC company’s white-collar employees and developing presentation preparation techniques. The participants prepared presentations using the 10/20/70 learning rule for the competencies they identified. After academicians and business managers evaluated the presentations, semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted to identify the intervention’s benefits and limitations. The eight participants, who were white-collar professionals from the ABC company, were identified using non-probabilistic purposive sampling and interviewed online for about 30 min using Microsoft Teams. The interviews were audio recorded. The Maxqda-2022 program was used to examine the interview data. The analysis showed that the participants had negative feelings about the performance process based on their personal development competencies, particularly regarding process management. They also mentioned having the opportunity to learn through experience and conducting interviews. The participants agreed that their organizations should increase their development awareness and conduct 360-degree evaluations. They also said that intensive practical training at universities was needed because they felt their undergraduate education had not changed their perspectives or prepared them for a career.