Reframing Economic Constraints in Employment Counseling: Cultural–Dialectical Approaches to Enhancing Work Volition and Career Adaptability Among Vietnamese University Students

ABSTRACT This mixed‐methods investigation examines how employment counselors can leverage economic constraints as developmental catalysts among Vietnamese university students, challenging traditional assumptions of the psychology of working theory. Analysis of survey data ( N = 507) through structural equation modeling reveals that economic constraints have a positive influence on work volition, career adaptability, and decent work perception, mediated by psychological resources. Qualitative findings illuminate how Confucian values of filial piety and collective responsibility transform economic challenges into motivational catalysts within Vietnamese cultural contexts. The findings elucidate culturally specific patterns in how economic challenges shape career development in Asian contexts, suggesting the need for sophisticated counseling frameworks that recognize the dialectical tensions between traditional values and contemporary career aspirations. These insights offer critical implications for employment counseling practice in developing economies, particularly regarding the cultural reframing of economic barriers as motivational accelerants rather than insurmountable obstacles.