Gifted Adults in the Workplace: A Systematic Literature Review

Gifted Adults in the Workplace: A Systematic Literature Review

It is widely acknowledged amongst educators that gifted children have different needs requiring special consideration at school. However, little attention has been given to how these might manifest throughout a lifetime and in different contexts, such as the workplace. A systematic literature review was used to identify, collect, and summarise the current literature on this topic to provide direction for future research efforts. The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement for methodological rigour. Studies were included if they were discrete and presented findings that were specifically about gifted adults’ experiences in a work setting. The review did not consider studies that presented interpretations of others’ experiences such as those presented by clinicians or those relating to careers or career decisions. Literature was collected from the following databases: EBSCOhost megafile ultimate, Google Scholar, ProQuest, SAGE Journals, Scopus, Taylor & Francis, and Web of Science. JBI’s Critical Appraisal Tools were used to assess the quality and trustworthiness of the included studies. The PRISMA flow chart was used in conjunction with EndNote to document and manage the review. From the initial search, 754 records were screened and ultimately 19 studies were included in the review. The data in the included studies was subsequently analysed and coded in NVivo which identified twelve themes that could be categorised into three main groupings: the individual, the work, and others. For the individual category, the themes were skills and abilities, boredom, mental health and emotional wellbeing, self and identity, attitudes about work, past experiences and achievement. The themes relating to the work were the job and the workplace. For others, the themes were perception of the worker by others, interactions with others and social skills and abilities. The findings have implications for future research, gifted individuals, and their workplaces.

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