“You’re not from where you’re born, but from where you make your life” is one of several examples of how Spanish popular wisdom deals with the ‘nature vs nurture’ debate, i.e., the comparison between nature and upbringing. A person’s professional vocation also comes under this dichotomy. Are we born with it or do we cultivate it? Let’s begin with the etymology and a few definitions.
A vocation, often described as a ‘calling’ in English, is the belief that one is destined to work in a particular field to put one’s unique talent, passion and capabilities at the service of others. The word calling has a religious origin: the idea that one is called on by God to carry out a specific mission or responsibility. With the passage of time, the concept has become secular, and a vocation is now understood as a profession that has a strong connection with one’s personal identity, interior fulfilment and a sense of purpose.
A vocation does not only seem to depend on what happens inside us, but also on what happens around us.
Nevertheless, a vocation does not only seem to depend on what happens inside us, but also on what happens around us.
When we think about a vocation, we usually imagine a highly individual process, a kind of interior calling that some people listen to while others do not. However, is that really the case? Can a vocation/calling emerge in any context? Can one become a great composer without having grown up surrounded by music? Would the Impressionists have existed without a circle of artists around them who shared ideas, criticisms and mutual recognition?
What am I going to read in this article?
Research into vocations has studied the influence of life events, significant experiences, or processes of personal reflection. However, it has paid much less attention to the role of context. Indeed, it is possible that context is much more important than we tend to think. A vocation can grow inside a person, but it needs to find an environment in which it can grow.
A recent study published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior set out to understand why vocations emerge in the creative professions, where career paths are uncertain, there is a high level of competition, and job stablility is notable for its absence. The researchers interviewed 27 Manga cartoonists in Japan, a profession marked by creativity, precariousness and a lack of clearly defined career paths.
The results showed that a vocation does not appear suddenly, rather through a slow metamorphosis, as shown by the authors in their model.
The interesting thing here is that the researchers did not directly ask the cartoonists about the weight of vocation when it comes to choosing a career. They asked them about their personal histories: when did they start to draw, what did they dream about as children, who helped them, how their career evolved, and what does their work mean for them now. They reconstructed the process through which the vocation emerged, based on these histories.
The results show that a vocation does not suddenly appear; it is rather a slow metamorphosis, as presented by the authors in their model. Everything usually begins as the result of some kind of tension. On the one hand, a dream: dedicating oneself to something one is passionate about.
On the other, a context appears that challenges this: the young cartoonists interviewed grew up hearing that it was very difficult to make a living out of Manga, that there was a lot of competition and that it was an unstable profession. Many of them dreamed of becoming cartoonists, but at the same time had strong doubts about their own abilities.
What helped them to persevere was what the authors called an existential passion. It was not just a case of enjoying drawing cartoons; drawing them was part of who they were. Many of them recalled spending hours creating stories in their childhood, or taking refuge in drawing at difficult moments in their lives. The activity gave them a sense of purpose, enjoyment and a feeling of identity.
Passion in itself is not sufficient. The most interesting contribution of this study is that a vocation needs validation. The authors identified three concentric circles of recognition.
- The first is the closest social circle: friends, colleagues or family members who recognise an emerging talent and encourage them to go ahead.
- The second is professional recognition: competitions, publishers, customers, teachers or experts who can validate the work done.
- The third is a continuous validation that comes with time through readers, users, customers or beneficiaries who find value in one’s work.
A vocation emerges precisely from the intersection between passion and recognition. Passion drives you to act, to show your work and persevere. Recognition reinforces the confidence you need to continue making progress. Both feed off each other, so perhaps this is why the widely held view that a vocation is simply ‘found’ is insufficient. A vocation is also constructed. By acting, testing, making mistakes, and receiving feedback from others.
Detecting, encouraging, cultivating and evaluating a vocation is essential for a person’s development or the growth of a company. These are some of the fundamental implications of the theoretical approach we have described in this article.
- The best way to discover a vocation is usually by starting to practise it. Many people wait to receive some absolute certainty before taking the first step. The results, however, suggest that a vocation emerges through some kind of action. We do not always know what our calling is until we try it out.
- Passion needs to be subjected to other people’s opinions for it to mature. Showing our work creates vulnerability, but it also allows us to receive recognition and feedback, so necessary to grow. Many vocations remain hidden because they never leave the private domain.
- Doubts are not incompatible with a vocation. The cartoonists interviewed shared the same paradox: they really loved what they did but doubted their ability at the same time. Insecurity does not always mean a lack of vocation; it is often part of the process.
- It is worth listening to people who validate our work. People who recognise our talent and give us opportunities, or who encourage us to go forward, can play a decisive role in our professional progress.
- Organisations do not create vocations, but they can either help develop them or prevent them from flourishing. The work setting can have a direct influence on people when it comes to identifying, developing and deploying talent.
- Early recognition has extraordinary value. A conversation, an opportunity or a sincere show of confidence can make a difference at moments when a person still does not clearly perceive their own abilities.
- Superiors are key players in the construction of vocations. Many employees discover strong points they were not aware of, thanks to line managers with an ability to identify potential, set the right kind of challenges, and support the employee’s professional development.
- A vocation needs a secure psychological environment. When people can experiment, commit errors and learn without fear of making mistakes, it is easier to explore interests and develop new capabilities.
- Cultures that are demanding and provide recognition at the same time are particularly productive for the development of talent. Challenges drive improvements, and recognition provides the necessary confidence to persevere. The combination of the two help people to transform an initial inclination into an authentic professional calling.
These results complement an idea mentioned above: a vocation is rarely discovered on a one-off basis; it is usually constructed through experience. The study now adds a fundamental nuance. Experience can help us identify what we are passionate about, and what gives meaning to our work, as a tool for professional orientation, but it is recognition by others and the quality of the contexts we operate in that allows that vocation to consolidate itself and be long-lasting.
Sources:
- Fontana, E., Lysova, E. I., Sato, K., & Araki, J. (2025). Emergence of calling in the domain of creative work, and the role of context: The stories of manga artists. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 104181.
- Sturges, J., Clinton, M., Conway, N., & Budjanovcanin, A. (2019). I know where I'm going: Sensemaking and the emergence of calling. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 114, 57-68.
- Schabram, K., & Maitlis, S. (2017). Negotiating the challenges of a calling: Emotion and enacted sensemaking in animal shelter work. Academy of Management Journal, 60(2), 584-609.
Dr Marc Grau is Professor of Social and Family Policy at the Education Sciences Faculty, UIC Barcelona, and Coordinator of the Joaquím Molins Figueras Chair for Childcare and Family Policies. He was research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School (2016-2022) and has a Master in Business Administration from ESADE Business School, as well as a Master in Social and Political Science from the University Pompeu Fabra and Doctorate in Social Policy from Edinburgh University. He has published several books, including The Work-Family Balance in Light of Globalization and Technology (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017), The New Ideal Worker (Springer, 2019), Engaged Fatherhood (Springer, 2022) and Human Flourishing (Springer, 2023). He is currently Co-Editor of the magazine Community, Work and Family.