Ethics, Mentoring, and Career Success: Shaping Sustainable Career Crafting and Wellbeing

Dr Jonathan Crawshaw

Dr Hongmin Yan

Successful and satisfying careers are central to individuals’ life satisfaction and wellbeing (Hagmaier et al., 2018), yet today’s careers are more complex, competitive, and uncertain than ever before (De Vos & Van der Heijden, 2015). As traditional organisational structures - once defined by stability, clear progression, and mutual loyalty - give way to fluid and self-directed paths, individuals are increasingly responsible for shaping their own advancement (Lo Presti et al., 2023). This shift creates a compelling tension: in high-pressure, ambiguous environments, do people succeed by staying true to their values, or by engaging in short-term careerist behaviours?

This PhD project tackles this timely and important question by placing ethics at the heart of career development. While mentoring is widely recognised as a powerful developmental resource (Deng et al., 2024), we know surprisingly little about how mentoring that explicitly foregrounds ethics, integrity, and values influences career self-management (Busch et al., 2024). Addressing this gap offers an exciting opportunity to advance theory on values-based developmental relationships while generating practical insights for organisations seeking to promote both performance and ethical conduct.

Specifically, the project investigates how ethics-focused mentoring shapes career crafting - the proactive ways individuals design and navigate their career paths (Tims et al., 2022). It explores whether mentoring that emphasises moral reasoning and values-based decision-making encourages ethical career crafting, while reducing behaviours such as political manoeuvring, deception, and impression management (Chiaburu et al., 2013; Crawshaw & Brodbeck, 2011). Crucially, it examines how these different strategies unfold over time to influence career success, life satisfaction, and wellbeing.

Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989), the project conceptualises ethics-related mentoring as a vital social and moral resource that provides clarity, confidence, and legitimacy in navigating career decisions under uncertainty. This framing opens up novel insights into how individuals invest their time and energy, and whether value-driven approaches can support more sustainable and fulfilling careers.

Methodologically, the project offers rigorous and highly transferable training through a two-stage quantitative design. A scenario-based experiment will establish causal effects of ethics-focused mentoring, followed by a longitudinal field study tracking how mentoring experiences shape (un)ethical career crafting and subsequent career, job, and wellbeing outcomes over time. This combination provides a rare opportunity to develop expertise in experimental methods, longitudinal research, and advanced statistical analysis, positioning the successful candidate at the forefront of contemporary careers research.

International applicants are welcome to apply for this position.

This project covers all tuition fees (fees only bursary).

Please note that the successful candidate will be responsible for living expenses, and any costs relating to moving to Birmingham and/or visiting the Aston campus. International students must meet the financial requirements for the visa, flights, and NHS Surcharge. Applicants should be confident that they can meet these costs before applying.

Further information can be found by viewing our Financial Requirements page.

The successful applicant should hold, or expect to achieve:

A master’s degree in business, management, social sciences, or a related discipline, with an overall distinction, including a dissertation/research element; and
A First or Upper Second-Class Honours degree (or equivalent qualification from an overseas institution).

Desirable / Essential Skills or Experience

Distinction in the MSc or BSc dissertation.
Evidence of research experience (e.g. publications, research assistantships, etc.).
Professional experience relevant to the proposed research.

Required characteristics

A passion for research on behavioural ethics, careers and/or individual career management.
An academic background in HRM, organisational behaviour, work psychology, occupational health, or related disciplines.
Experience of, and confidence with, quantitative research methods and analysis techniques, including some experience of the SPSS data software package.

Desirable characteristics

Previous experience of using advanced statistical packages e.g., MPlus, R, or AMOS.
Previous experience of quantitative longitudinal and/or experimental research designs/methods.
Previous project management experience.

We can only consider applications that are complete and have all supporting documents. Applications that do not provide all the relevant documents will be automatically rejected. Your application must include:

1. English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.
2. A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.
3. A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience.
4. A Curriculum Vitae (Resume) which details your education and work history.
5. Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.
6. Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.
7. A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.

Please contact Dr Jonathan Crawshaw, for more information or for an informal discussion

This position will be based on the Aston Campus in Birmingham, UK. The successful candidate will need to be located within a reasonable distance of the campus, and will be expected to visit in person regularly.

Interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted directly with details of the interview.

Apply for this position

Alternatively, apply here

If you require further information about the application process, please contact the Postgraduate Admissions team.