Career exploration and goal setting among managerial employees

This study examined career exploration and goal setting among 257 managers in a large communications company. High work role salience and the perceived availability of mobility opportunities were associated with extensive participation in career exploration. Moreover, managers who aspired to different positions in the organization engaged in more career exploration than managers who intended to remain in their current positions. Highly anxious managers were less likely to select a career goal and were less certain about the appropriateness of their goal than managers low in anxiety. Few gender differences were observed in the managers' exploration and goal-setting tendencies.