Abstract
Orientation: As a resiliency resource, career adaptability relates to an individual’s ability to adapt to new work demands and is seen to impact various occupational outcomes such as engagement.Research purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the relationship dynamics between career adaptability (measured by Career Adapt-Abilities Scale) and employee engagement (measured by Utrecht Work Engagement Scale).Motivation for the study: As a personal resource, career adaptability enables employees to deal with job demands, facilitating employee engagement. Limited research exists on the impact of career adaptability variables on employee engagement, bearing significant relevance in the current workforce.Research design, approach and method: A quantitative survey was conducted with a convenience sample (N = 131) of employees in an insurance company within South Africa.Main findings/results: Significant positive relationships were found between career adaptability and employee engagement. The results suggest that participants who have experienced higher employee engagement have better developed career adaptability skills.Practical implications: Managers and human resource practitioners need to recognise how people’s career adaptability influences their level of engagement in the organisation.Contribution: This research is the first to investigate the construct of career adaptability in an insurance company and the findings add to the existing career literature and provide valuable information that can be used to inform career development and engagement strategies.Keywords: career adaptability; career development; employee engagement; vocational guidance.
Highlights
Key focus of the studyIn the current era of more diverse, global and boundary-less careers (Biemann, Zacher & Feldman, 2012; Briscoe, Hall & Frautschy DeMuth, 2006; Sullivan & Arthur, 2006), employee’s ability to adapt to new work demands, diverse groups and different environments is becoming increasingly important
Hypothesis 1 (H1) proposed that career adaptability (CAAS variables) would be significantly related to employee engagement (UWES variables)
The findings of this study have implications for managers and human resource practitioners who are responsible for providing career development and engagement interventions
Summary
In the current era of more diverse, global and boundary-less careers (Biemann, Zacher & Feldman, 2012; Briscoe, Hall & Frautschy DeMuth, 2006; Sullivan & Arthur, 2006), employee’s ability to adapt to new work demands, diverse groups and different environments is becoming increasingly important. This means that every effort should be made to remain relevant in this environment (Klehe, Zikic, Van Vianen & De Pater, 2011). Lower levels of career adaptability are associated with employees who have lower engagement (Rossier et al, 2012)
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