In this qualitative study, we explore how emerging adulthood characteristics manifest in individuals’ career situations during their initial 6-8 months of post-graduation. The study delves into key factors influencing participants' career choices. It compares attitudes toward work, including phenomena like "lying flat" and "involution," among those who persist at work and those who do not. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants aged 21 to 28. Of the participants, 10 individuals resigned (quit group) from their initial jobs and 10 persevered (no-quit group). Narrative analysis of interview transcripts reveal a desire for stability among those who persevered and a significant parental influence on emerging adults' job decisions. Despite various perceptions of "lying flat," most participants reported a desire to maintain a balance between involution and “lying flat”. The findings suggest that within the context of post-COVID-19 and economic downturn, Arnett’s emerging adulthood theory, especially, the prediction of EAs’ features needs to be re-examined. A closer look at the participants’ narratives uncovers the EAs’ struggles and answers concerns emerging adults’ perceptions, attitude, and performance in their career.
在这项定性研究中，我们探究了在研究参与者毕业之后6-8个月内个体职业状况中成年初显期特征是如何展现的。该研究深入探讨了影响参与者职业选择的关键因素，对坚持工作和不坚持工作的人对工作的态度进行比较，包括“躺平”和“内卷”等现象。我们对20名年龄在21岁至28岁之间的参与者进行了半结构化访谈。其中，10人辞职离开了他们的第一份工作（退出组），10人坚持了下来（未退出组）。访谈转录的叙事分析揭示了那些坚持不懈的人对稳定的渴望以及父母对初显期成年人职业決策的显著影响。尽管对“躺平”的看法各不相同，但大多数参与者报告了希望在内卷和“躺平”之间保持平衡的愿望。研究结果表明，在疫情后经济衰退的背景下，对于Arnett的成年初显期理论，特别是成年初显期特征的预测需要重新审视。对参与者叙事的进一步探究揭示了初显期成年人面临职业的挣扎，回答了初显期成年人在职业方面的感知、态度和表现。
邓一恒
Yiheng Deng is Professor at Intercultural Institute of Shanghai International Studies University. She received her PhD in Communication from the University of Arizona in December, 2018, and did research and audited classes as Visiting Scholar at Seidman Business School of Grand Valley State University from 2015 to 2016. She taught classes such as, intercultural communication, intercultural business communication, IC research design and analysis, writing English research paper, argumentation, and critical thinking. Her research focuses on intercultural communication, conflict management, and discourse analysis. She has published in a number of SSCI journals, such as Journal of Asian Business and Management, Management Communication Quarterly, International Journal of Conflict Management, Chinese Journal of Communication, a book chapter published by Routledge, and a book published by Nankai University Press. She has received national grants from National Social Science Foundation of China and Chinese Education Ministry. She has been invited to be on the “People in the Know Program” of China Radio International twice and has been a reviewer for a number of international journals.
邓一恒，上海外国语大学跨文化研究中心教授，2008年12月从亚利桑那大学传播学系获得博士学位，曾于2015-2016年在大谷州立大学（Grand Valley State University）的希德曼商学院（Seidman Business School）访学一年。她主要教授跨文化交际、跨文化商务沟通、跨文化研究设计及分析、学术论文写作、论辩学及批判性思维等课程。研究方向有跨文化交际、商务沟通、冲突管理以及话语分析。她在一些知名国际期刊上发表数篇文章，比如《亚洲商务与管理期刊》、《管理传播季刊》、《国际冲突管理期刊》、《中国传播期刊》等，以及由Routledge出版社出版的论文集论文，及两本专著。她主持完成了国家社科基金项目一项，教育部社科基金项目一项。她曾两次接受中国国际广播电台People in the Know节目的采访。
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