For people in their late 20s, hearing “Your job doesn’t define you” often sounds unconvincing. A new study from Osaka Metropolitan University reveals the critical connection between job status, identity development, and life satisfaction for Japanese individuals in their late 20s, showing how important stable employment is at this stage of life.

Identity is a key part of who we are and is closely linked to how satisfied we are with life. While identity development is often thought to occur mainly during adolescence, between ages 12 and 24, it remains important for psychological health throughout adulthood.

Formative years

“Late emerging adulthood is a crucial time when many people secure jobs, and having a full-time job greatly affects their identity development and its link to life satisfaction,” the researchers say.

There has been little research on identity development between ages 24 and 29. To address this gap, the researchers conducted a two-wave longitudinal survey, collecting data from the same 875 Japanese adults in 2015 and 2019. The average age of participants was 24.74 in 2015.

Participants were divided into five employment status groups: full-time, part-time, unemployed, improved employment, and worsened employment. The researchers analyzed how identity develops in late emerging adulthood and how employment status influences identity development and life satisfaction.

Forming our identity

The results showed that identity synthesis—the clarity and coherence of one’s sense of self—decreased significantly for those who lost their jobs or moved from full-time to part-time work. Those with stable jobs had better identity synthesis and experienced less identity confusion than those with unstable employment. Higher identity synthesis was linked to greater life satisfaction, regardless of job status.

These findings show that job stability is crucial for shaping identity in late emerging adulthood, and that a well-developed identity is consistently linked to higher life satisfaction. This has important implications for clinical and industrial psychology, highlighting the need for supportive employment policies and mental health interventions to promote healthy identity development.

“While identity has traditionally been seen as a major issue during adolescence, our study is the first to show its crucial role in supporting well-being in adulthood,” the authors conclude. “We hope this knowledge will enhance the understanding of psychological and social development in adults.”