ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES OF CAREER MANAGEMENT AND THRIVING AT WORK: A MEDIATIONAL ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL

Abstract

In the 1980s, globalization and business competition led to an instability in work organizations which were no longer able to ensure stable and predictable careers. Responsibility of career management was transferred to workers. Consequently, research on the role of individuals in their career management became popular, while work investigating the role of organizations gradually declined. However, some studies have indicated that it remains beneficial for organizations to invest in practices of career management (PCM) for their employees through a supportive approach due to the link with positive outcomes for both employees and organizations. PCM refer to programs, processes, and other forms of assistance provided by organizations to support and enhance their employees’ career success (Ng, Eby, Sorensen and Feldman, 2005) such as career planning, training and skills development programs, promotion, coaching, mentoring, annual appraisal interviews, retirement preparation programs or outplacements. At an individual level, the conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 2011) and the job demand resource model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner & Schaufeli, 2001) postulate that resources of the professional environment, such as PCM, promote the preservation and development of personal resources and the employees’ psychological health. While some studies have shown a link between PCM and indicators of hedonic well-being such as job satisfaction (e.g., Kooij, Ansen, Dikkers & De Lange, 2010), work examining the links with indicators of eudemonic well-being, such as thriving at work, remains scarce. Moreover, previous studies have paid little attention to the psychological mechanism linking PCM to well-being at work. To fill this gap, our study focused on the synergy of psychological resources (i.e., self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience) defined as a core construct, known as PsyCap (Luthans, Avolio, Avey & Norman, 2007). The sample consisted of 652 French people working in nonprofit, private and public organizations. Structural equation modeling suggested indirect effects of PCM on thriving at work through PsyCap (partial mediation) and this was confirmed with a bootstrapping procedure. Limitations of the study are discussed.