Explore the Research Behind Future Work Selves
Future work selves capture how we imagine who we might become in our professional lives—and how those images shape the choices we make today. Below you’ll find a selection of publications that explain what future work selves are, why they matter, and how they shape our experience in a changing world of work.
A Quick Guide to Future Work Selves
This entry offers a concise overview of the future work self concept—what it is, how it developed, why it’s relevant in today’s work environments, and how it fits into the broader field. It’s a great starting point for anyone curious about future work selves.
How Future Work Selves Motivate Career Action
This foundational paper introduces the concept of future work selves and demonstrates how their salience (or clarity & accesibility) can drive proactive career behaviors. It laid the groundwork for a growing research stream in career and organizational psychology.
Future Work Selves as Networks of Aspirations
In this paper we challenge the idea that it's all about having a single clear vision of the future. We show that having many different ideas and aspirations can energise and guide career behavior - when they complement each other. We find that when people perceive synergy among their aspirations, it boosts energy, which leads to more networking, skill development, and sometimes even adaptability. This challenges the assumption that having many aspirations is confusing or draining, and offers a fresh lens for how we support career growth and resilience in changing work contexts.
Future Work Self Salience: All We Know so Far
This paper reviews and synthesizes over a decade of research on future work self salience—how clear and easy to imagine a person's future work self is. Having carefully reviewed and compared findings across dozens of studies from around the world, we summarise what we know, where the field is headed, and what questions remain unanswered.
AI at Work: How Our Future Work Selves Shape the Way We Adapt
This paper explores how future work selves influence how people respond to artificial intelligence in the workplace. It shows that when individuals have a clear sense of who they want to become, they’re more likely to feel in control of their future and report being more proactive in shaping their career.