Exploring the Impact of Work as a Calling on Career Development: A Meta‐Analytic Review

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis meta‐analysis investigated the relationships among job, career, and calling orientations and examined the impact of calling on various career‐related outcomes. Synthesizing results from 98 studies (N = 50,009), we found that calling and job orientations were strongly negatively correlated, while calling and career orientations were not mutually exclusive. Calling was significantly linked to positive career‐related outcomes, including career decision‐making, proactive career behaviors, and career persistence. We further examined the differences between groups based on calling type (internal vs. external) and sample characteristics (students vs. employees). Our findings indicated no significant differences between internal and external callings in their influence on career‐related outcomes, but cultural context played a moderating role. Additionally, calling had a stronger effect on proactive career behaviors in employees compared to students. These results offer implications for career counseling, emphasizing the importance of fostering a sense of calling for career success.