A new study from Hiroshima University showed that, among university students just entering the workforce, those with optimism about the future better manage 'reality shock' through formation of an career-related identity.
'Reality shock' is a widely recognized psychological phenomenon in which new graduates become distressed upon entering the workplace and finding that the reality of working life doesn't match their expectations. This can lead to disappointment, confusion, depression, and anxiety, and can lower employment retention rates.
A new study from Hiroshima University sought to clarify the relationship between pre-employment career resilience – a set of skills that include the ability to cope with challenges, social skills, interest in novelty, and optimism about the future – and the experience of reality shock. In addition, this study also considered the role of job crafting as a coping behavior against reality shock. 'Job crafting' refers to the physical and cognitive changes people make to their work tasks or relationships. The study examined whether, for workers facing reality shock, pre-employment career resilience might promote a job crafting, which could help them form a stronger sense of vocational identity.
The study was published in Sage Open on December 16, 2025.
The current study had two aims. Aim 1 was to clarify the relationship between the degree of pre-employment career resilience and the experience of reality shock after entering companies. Aim 2 was to examine a causal model in which, when new workers face reality shock, career resilience possessed before employment promotes job crafting, resulting in vocational (career-related) identity formation. Surveys were conducted three times. The first survey measured career resilience and vocational identity before employment, and the second survey measured job crafting, career resilience, vocational identity, and reality shock after employment. The third survey asked individuals who experienced reality shock about components of job crafting that were effective in vocational identity formation.
The first and second surveys obtained usable data from 133 people, among them 36 men and 97 women, with a mean age of 22. The third survey collected usable data from 27 participants, 8 men and 19 women.
The study produced surprising results. No difference in pre-employment career resilience could be seen between participants with and without reality shock (Aim 1). The results showed that optimism about the future, a component of pre-employment career resilience, played a role in forming vocational identity through cognitive crafting (Aim 2).
"The results revealed that among pre-employment career resilience traits, individuals exhibiting particularly high levels of 'optimism about the future' were more likely to adopt effective coping strategies when confronted with reality shock," explained author Makiko Kodama , a professor at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hiroshima University. "Consequently, they demonstrated greater professional growth."
The study recommends university-level programs to promote career resilience before students enter the workplace.
"Identifying the psychological traits useful for coping with reality shock—an adaptive challenge faced immediately upon joining a company—enables the cultivation of these traits prior to employment," said Kodama. "This, in turn, could prevent issues such as resignations arising from reality shock before they occur."
