Career & Life Development and Lifelong Learning

Career development for working-class workers

This project, led by a team of scholars with expertise in occupational health, public health, social inequality, and organizational psychology, seeks to understand the current situation and needs of the working class. It aims to identify strategies for promoting inclusive, sustainable, and productive employment for this group of disadvantaged workers.

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Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. The research team contributes towards the following SDG(s):

Our Researcher(s)

Dr HO, Chun Yip Henry

Department of Psychology

hcyho@eduhk.hk

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Workers in elementary occupations, unskilled trades, and manual labour serve as the foundational pillars of economic growth. They are often neglected members of society, receiving minimal salaries, resources, and support, and facing limited opportunities for career development and advancement. This project investigates the supply-side factors that determine successful and unsuccessful career development outcomes. It is a multi-phase, multi-sample, mixed-methods study that aims to advance theory by proposing an integrated model to test career development predictors, examine career progression, and evaluate vocational training impact.

The target participants include individuals who are unemployed or out of school and are receiving employment-linked courses, as well as those employed in elementary occupations, unskilled trades, and manual labour. By understanding their situations and needs, this project will provide practical implications for employee-oriented policies for the working class, generate viable solutions to align worker skills with employment needs, and develop effective training programs to enhance the competitiveness and employability of this disadvantaged workforce.

Selected Research Grants

Project	Awarded Amount
Research Grants Council, General Research Fund (2024-2026) Ho, H. C. Y., Chiu M. M., Leung, N. M. A., Li, J-B, Poon, K. T., & Yeung, D. Y. Workplace mistreatment of Hong Kong secondary school teachers: A longitudinal study of depletion, commitment, and preoccupation mechanisms.	HK$719,781
Equal Opportunities Commission, Funding Programme of Research Projects on Equal Opportunities (2020-2022) Ho, H. C. Y. A mixed-methods investigation of family-friendly employment practices: From work-family conflict to enrichment.	HK$50,000
Equal Opportunities Commission, Commissioned Research Project (2019-2022) Ho, H. C. Y., Chan, K. K. S., & Chiu, M. M. Study on perceptions of stigmatization and discrimination of persons with mental illness in the workplace.	HK$599,830

Selected Publications

Ho, H. C. Y. (2024). A one-year prospective study of organizational justice and work attitudes: An extended job demands-resources model. Journal of Managerial Psychology.
Ho, H. C. Y., & Chan, Y. C. (2022). Flourishing in the workplace: A one-year prospective study on the effects of perceived organizational support and psychological capital. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(2), 922.
Ho, H. C. Y., & Chan, Y. C. (2022). Longitudinal associations between psychological capital and problem-solving among social workers: A two-wave cross-lagged study. Health & Social Care in the Community, 30(5), e2702-e2711.
Ho, H. C. Y., & Chan, Y. C. (2022). The impact of psychological capital on well-being of social workers: A mixed-methods investigation. Social Work, 67(3), 228–238.
Ho, H. C. Y., Chui, O. S., & Chan, Y. C. (2022). When pandemic interferes with work: Psychological capital and mental health of social workers during COVID-19. Social Work, 67(4), 311-320.
Ho, H. C. Y., Hou, W. K., Poon, K. T., Leung, A. N. M., & Kwan, J. L. Y. (2023). Being virtuous together: A one-year prospective study on organizational virtuousness, well-being, and organizational commitment. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 18, 521-542.
Ho, H. C. Y., Chan, C. H., & Chan, Y. C., & Chan, K. K. S. (2025). Perceived workplace discrimination and recovery of people with mental illness: The mediating roles of self-stigma, organizational justice, and psychological capital. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
Leung, A. N. M., Ho, H. C. Y., Hou, W. K., Poon, K. T., Kwan, J. L. Y., & Chan, Y. C. (2024). A one-year longitudinal study on workplace cyberbullying victimization, affective well-being, and work engagement of teachers: The mediating effect of cognitive reappraisal. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 16, 1606-1625.

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