Role of Perceived Career Development Opportunities in Predicting Employee Commitment and Subjective Career Satisfaction of Middle Managers in Commercial Banks in Sri Lanka

Abstract

In today’s dynamic and uncertain employment climate, both employers and employees must play an active role in the development of employee careers. This research fills a gap in the existing literature by evaluating the role of organizational career development opportunities in predicting subjective career satisfaction and commitment of employees in a developing country context. Understanding the impact of career development opportunities provided by the employer and their effects on subjective career satisfaction and commitment is important to both the organization and the individual in the current uncertain and unpredictable employment climate. Data were collected, via an online survey, from 224 middle managers of commercial banks in Sri Lanka, and evaluated using multiple hierarchical regression analysis. The findings, which have important implications for policymakers, indicate that the employee's perception of the provision of career development opportunities by the organization promotes them to develop their subjective career satisfaction and commitment. These outcomes provide implications to the extended model of social cognitive career theory and Meyer and Allen's model of commitment. In terms of policy implications, the organizations should create a supportive career development culture to build a belief in employees that the organization they work for cares about their career needs. This belief can be built by considering individual employees’ personal career goals in the implementation of career development programs and informing employees about available career development opportunities within the organization. The limitations of the study and the directions for future research are also discussed.