Mid-career is a time when work orientation (i.e., viewing ones’ work as a job, a career, or a calling) comes into sharper focus. Using Wrzeniewski et al.’s tripartite model, we conducted a discriminant function analysis to determine the combination of variables that best discriminates among people who are aligned with a job, a career, or a calling orientation in a sample of 251 full-time, North American mid-career employees. Compared to those who approach work as a job, those with a calling orientation were more engaged in work. The career-oriented stood apart from the others as a function of shorter job tenure, greater turnover intentions, work engagement, career satisfaction, and a tendency to engage in career self-comparisons. Work-orientation groups did not differ significantly in terms of family centrality, work–life balance, life satisfaction, or well-being. The results suggest that the work orientations represent distinct and equally valid ways to approach work.

职业中期是工作导向（即，将一个人的工作视为工作、职业或召唤）成为更加关注焦点的时期。使用 Wrzeniewski 等人的三方模型，我们进行了判别函数分析，以确定在 251 个全职样本中最能区分与工作、职业或呼叫方向一致的人的变量组合，北美职业中期员工。与那些将工作视为工作的人相比，有呼召倾向的人更投入工作。以职业为导向的人之所以与众不同，是因为其工作任期更短、离职倾向更大、工作投入、职业满意度以及从事职业自我比较的倾向。以工作为导向的群体在家庭中心、工作与生活的平衡、生活满意度或幸福感。结果表明，工作取向代表了处理工作的不同且同样有效的方法。