Authentic Leadership, Future Prospects and Affective Commitment in Early Career Employees—A Mediation Model

Abstract

Even as the great resignation unfolds, turnover among early-career employees is well documented in research. Compared to their mid- and late-career counterparts, early-career professionals are more likely to need support from supervisors and opportunities for intra-organisational growth. Similarly, early career professionals are more likely to prefer mobility and exploration of career opportunities. Therefore, mechanisms to enhance affective commitment of early-career professionals become salient. Accordingly, using a sample of 206 early-career construction professionals from India, this research examined the relationship between authentic leadership and affective commitment. Further, future prospects were tested as a mediating mechanism between these two variables. PLS-SEM was employed for analysis. Our hypotheses were supported. Specifically, it was found that authentic leadership has a positive influence on future prospects and affective commitment. Further, future prospects are positively associated with affective commitment. Finally, future prospects fully mediate the relationship between authentic leadership and affective commitment. Implications for research and practice are discussed, and limitations are acknowledged.