Navigating sustainable careers: a conceptual framework on subjective person-career fit dynamics

Sustainable careers have become a central focus in careers research. However, the mechanisms linking influential factors enacted by key stakeholders and sustainable career outcomes remain insufficiently theorized. Building on the process model of sustainable careers, person-environment-fit theory, and sustainable career ecosystem theory, our conceptual framework positions subjective person-career (P−C) fit as the central link explaining how individuals navigate and adapt their careers over time and across social contexts. Specifically, we emphasize how dynamic compatibility between personal factors and career environment elements shapes subjective P−C fit, further impacting sustainable career outcomes (i.e., happiness, health, and productivity). Additionally, we elaborate on the role of dynamic feedback loops, coping and defense mechanisms, self-directed career orientations, and a balance of proximal and distal outcome perspectives in the relationship between subjective P−C fit and sustainable career outcomes. In doing so, we introduce a key mechanism to connect career actors and outcomes in the sustainable career ecosystem model, highlighting the importance of integrating individual agency, contextual influences, and evolving career meaning for the individual into a single framework. Our conceptual framework is accompanied by a set of propositions to guide future empirical investigations in sustainable careers and person-career fit research.