Employee overqualification and manager job insecurity: Implications for employee career outcomes

In this study, we propose that manager job insecurity will moderate the nature of the relationship between perceived overqualification and employee career-related outcomes (career satisfaction, promotability ratings, and voluntary turnover). We tested our hypotheses using a sample of 124 employees and 54 managers working in a large holding company in Ankara, Turkey, collected across five time periods. The results suggested that average perceived overqualification was more strongly, and negatively, related to career satisfaction of employees when managers reported higher job insecurity. Furthermore, employee perceived overqualification was positively related to voluntary turnover when manager job insecurity was high. No direct or moderated effects were found for promotability ratings. Implications for overqualification and job insecurity literatures were discussed.     

The role of temporal focus,dispositional employability,and training on the perceived internal career prospects of talents

Abstract

In this paper, we study employability in the group of talented employees. We explore how employees’ temporal focus affects their dispositional employability and how dispositional employability influences their perceived internal career prospects. We also examine the moderating role of training perceived as developmental on the relationship between dispositional employability and perceived internal career prospects. Upon examination of these relationships within an organization that has a closed talent management approach, we find support for the hypothesized mediating and moderating relationships. Present and future focus were positively related to talents’ dispositional employability, which in turn increased their perception of career prospects in the current company. The latter relationship was stronger among talents who perceived that they had received training for more important positions than those who did not. The results advanced current knowledge of antecedents and outcomes of employability in the specific group of talents and shed light on the organizational practices that may help with talent retention.     

Multi-level impacts on perceived career opportunity from global integration: human capital development within internal institutional environments

Using human capital and institutional theories, we analyze the impacts of individual- and office-level factors on the career perceptions of employees in a globally integrated firm. More specifically, we examine factors related to both employee human capital and their institutional operating environments that might influence whether employees perceive that their careers would benefit from greater global integration of their company. The hypotheses were tested using survey data from 398 employees nested within 44 offices in 15 countries, collected from a single multinational company. We find evidence that two of our hypothesized human capital-related factors (shared clients and service years) at the individual level and three of our institutionally-based predictors at the office level (office size, office centrality and client multinationality) have significant impacts on perceived career benefits from global integration. We also find marginal significance for a fourth office-level factor (office performance). This study contributes to the relatively limited literature on local employee career perceptions, while also helping to reconcile different streams of literature by simultaneously examining multiple levels of analysis. By utilizing hierarchical linear analysis, the study is able to differentiate between individual- and office-level effects.     

Perceptions of HR practices,person–organisation fit,and affective commitment: The moderating role of career stage

In a three‐wave survey study among 487 Dutch university employees, we examined how and when employees' perceptions of high‐performance work practices (HPWP) affect employee affective commitment. We proposed that perceived person–organisation (PO) fit mediates this relationship and that the relationships among perceptions of HPWP, perceived PO fit, and affective commitment differ across career stages. Our results confirm that perceptions of HPWP enhance PO fit perceptions and, in turn, strengthen affective commitment. Moreover, the relationship between perceptions of HPWP and perceived PO fit is only significant among employees in the advancement stage of their careers; however, direct comparison across different career stages reveals no significant differences in the HPWP–PO fit relationship. Furthermore, career stage partly moderates the relationship between PO fit and affective commitment, which is only significant among employees in the maintenance career stage. These findings have important implications for the literature on strategic Human Resource Management and PO fit.     

The relationship between career plateauing,employee commitment and psychological distress: the role of organizational and supervisor support

This research examines the role played by an employee's supervisor and organization in the relationship between structural and content plateauing, affective commitment to the organization, and psychological distress. Our analyses, based on data taken from a sample of 575 hospital employees, reveal that there is a significant relationship between the two forms of plateauing and perceived supervisor support, whereas only hierarchical plateauing is related to perceived organizational support. Our results also highlight the mediating effect of perceived organizational support in the relationship between hierarchical plateauing, perceived supervisor support, and the consequences examined.     

Thriving and career outcomes: The roles of achievement orientation and resilience

This research investigated how and under what conditions thriving at work affects career attitudes and behaviors. Using an experimental design (n = 174), Study 1 found that the effects of thriving on career satisfaction, career commitment, and career engagement were mediated by career resilience. The positive effect of thriving on career resilience and the resilience‐mediated effects of thriving on career satisfaction, commitment, and engagement were stronger when achievement orientation was higher. Study 2 verified these findings with a survey of another sample of 296 employees. These studies offer important insights for human resource managers and career consultants or practitioners regarding what may enhance employees' career outcomes. Our findings imply that thriving‐enabling practices might be beneficial among highly achievement‐oriented employees.     

The interactive effects of organizational and leadership career management support on job satisfaction and turnover intention

In the organizational career management literature, scholars have focused on career management policies, with little attention given to practices that can vary within organizations. And despite its recognized importance, research on the role of leaders in the career management process is also scant. In this study, we investigate the effects of career management practices (OCPs) and leadership career support (LCS) on employee attitudes. Grounded on coping theory, we propose that career support received from line managers can be particularly consequential when OCPs are lacking. We analyze the moderating effects of LCS on the relationship between OCPs and both job satisfaction and turnover intention in a sample of employees from a large Brazilian organization, applying multiple regression analyses. Results showed that OCPs and LCS are positively related to job satisfaction and that OCPs are negatively related to turnover intention. In addition, we confirmed that LCS moderates the relationship between OCPs and both job satisfaction and turnover intention. Finally, we observed that the relationship between OCPs and turnover intention is mediated by job satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Reducing perceptions of overqualification and its impact on job satisfaction: the dual roles of interpersonal relationships at work

A sizeable portion of the working population perceives that they are overqualified for their jobs. This is problematic, given that research consistently shows that such beliefs translate into lower levels of job satisfaction. Hence, it behoves human resource management (HRM) scholars to identify factors that influence perceptions of overqualification and also moderators that may reduce the negative effect of perceived overqualification on job satisfaction. In this study, we present a moderated path model that posits that the quality of the relationships that employees hold with their leader and with their team is not only antecedents of perceived overqualification but it is also hypothesised to weaken the negative relationship between perceived overqualification and job satisfaction. Survey data that were gathered from two organisations in the Netherlands (n = 183) supported the model. Implications for theory and practice in HRM are discussed. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

浅谈供电企业职业生涯规划中存在的问题及对策

文章结合当前供电企业员工职业生涯规划现状,详细探讨职业生涯设计中存在的问题,并依据现有的研究资料和笔者对这一问题的理解提出相应的对策建议,以期能够促进供电企业员工职业生涯设计水平的不断提高。     

Cultural values and definitions of career success

This paper examines how national culture relates to the ways that individuals define career success. Data are drawn from interviews with 269 professional services employees in 15 countries. Interviews are content coded and linked with country‐level Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness measures of cultural values. We test our hypotheses using a multilevel multinomial logit model. The results demonstrate that the ways in which employees define career success vary across countries, due in part to differences in cultural values after controlling for gender, occupation, job level, and national economic development. We find that employees from countries high in future orientation, uncertainty avoidance, and performance orientation are more likely to define career success in terms of interpersonal outcomes, and those from countries high in collectivism (institutional and in‐group), humane orientation, and gender egalitarianism are more likely to prefer intrapersonal outcomes. We find that employees from countries that are high in assertiveness, uncertainty avoidance, and performance orientation are more likely to define career success in terms of achievement‐oriented outcomes. Finally, we find that employees from countries high in power distance report career success definitions in terms of safety and security outcomes. We discuss the implications of these findings for theories of cultural differences in careers across countries.     

Social capital and career outcomes: a study of Chinese employees

This study examines the impacts of social capital on employees’ career outcomes in the Chinese context. Access to information and access to resources are hypothesized as the mediators in the relationships. A new measure of individual social capital is developed and used as the key predictor of the outcome variables. Data were collected from a survey administered to 184 employees in a state-owned enterprise. The results of regression analysis showed that individual social capital enhanced both career satisfaction and career achievement among Chinese employees. Further, access to information and access to resources were found to mediate the above relationships. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Exploring fundraising executives' careers in arts and culture: The role of tenure and career switching

Fundraisers play a crucial role in helping arts and culture organizations obtain the financial resources they need to carry out their missions and support their causes. However, research on fundraisers' careers is still in its infancy. As the profession gains importance, understanding the main motivating factors of fundraisers' career paths is key. This study investigates the effects of three variables that emerged as relevant motivations for fundraiser careers, that is, education, career promotion and sector experience, on fundraising executives' tenure and career switching. In addition, this research identifies profiles of fundraising executives in the arts and culture organizations in the United States. Moreover, this study explores the role of non-profit orientation as a moderator of the relationship between career switching and tenure, and parallel titles as a moderator of the relationship between sector experience and tenure. Managerial implications are outlined.     

Lowering the Threshold for Feeling Mistreated: Perceived Overqualification Moderates the Effects of Perceived Age Discrimination on Job Withdrawal and Somatic Symptoms

This study examines whether and how perceived overqualification affects the relationships between perceived age discrimination from one's supervisor and two outcome variables: job withdrawal and somatic symptoms. Using a paired sample (of employees and a paired participant who knew them well, N = 235 pairs), results show that employees who feel overqualified, compared to those who do not feel overqualified, react more negatively to perceived age discrimination by engaging in greater withdrawal behaviors and experiencing higher somatic symptoms. Findings extend both relative deprivation theory and the age discrimination literature by indicating that perceived overqualification is not only a trigger for relative deprivation, but also a factor that seems to lower an employee's threshold for tolerating discriminatory treatment. We conclude with a discussion on practical implications that incorporate strategies for reducing perceptions of age discrimination and overqualification. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Are freelancers a breed apart? The role of protean and boundaryless career attitudes in employability and career success

Recent economic and organisational changes have fostered an increasing diversification of the workforce, among whom freelancers are an under‐represented population in the literature. This study aimed at examining the role of protean and boundaryless career, professional commitment, and employability activities in fostering freelancers' subjective career success. Data were collected via an online survey among a sample of 425 Italian freelancers and analysed through structural equation modelling. Results partially confirmed several hypotheses: higher self‐directed career management and boundaryless mindset predicted higher employability activities and professional commitment; moreover, employability and professional commitment acted as mediators between career attitudes and subjective career success. The study provides support for the importance of such variables to freelancers' career success, as well as for the significance of protean and boundaryless careers among nontraditional occupational groups. Interventions aimed at fostering such attitudes could support freelancers in improving their attainment of professional progress and perception of career success.     

职业生涯规划在青年员工职业成长中的价值及路径研究

就当前社会人才结构来看,青年员工占据的比例极大,并且已经渗透到各个企业单位中,成为企业人才组织结构的主体力量,因此,员工管理也逐渐向青年员工角度进行创新,论文便是建立在职业生涯规划的角度,分析青年员工的职业成长相关问题。首先,分析了当前青年员工职业生涯规划的相关理论;其次,阐述了青年员工在职业生活中制定规划的重要性;再次,分析当前的企业如何辅助青年员工制定职业生涯规划;最后,分析新时期企业青年员工建设的发展方向,意在通过论文的论述,能够为相关企业以及员工群体提供发展依据。     

The role of line managers in employee career management: an attachment theory perspective

Line managers increasingly play a key role in organizational career development systems, yet few studies have examined the nature of this role or its implications for employee career attitudes and behaviors. In two studies, we used attachment theory to explore this issue. In Study 1, in-depth interviews (N = 20) showed that employees viewed career management as a relational process in which line managers are expected to act as ‘caregiver’ to support individualized career development. Study 2 was a large-scale international survey (N = 891). Participants scoring higher on attachment avoidance in their line manager relationships reported more negative perceptions of career growth opportunities, lower participation in organizational career development activities and higher turnover intentions. Trust in the organization partially mediated the relationship. Theoretical and practical implications for HRM are discussed.     

Exploring career commitment and turnover intention of high-tech personnel: a socio-cognitive perspective

Abstract

Drawing upon social cognitive theory, this study presents psychosocial functioning in which personal factors and social influences jointly influence career commitment as a mediator and then turnover intention as an outcome among high-tech personnel. Based on a two-wave survey of working professionals in high-tech industry, this study’s empirical results find that passion, social support, and perceived self-centered leadership indirectly relate to turnover intention through the full mediation of career commitment. At the same time, the effects of job self-efficacy and social support on career commitment are moderated respectively by passion. Finally, managerial implications and research limitations are discussed.     

员工职业生涯管理的动态分析

大多数企业仅仅将注意力放在员工外生涯规划的管理上,通过单一职位发展通道的设置对员工职业生涯进行静态管理,却对员工内生涯规划管理重视不足。本文从需求理论出发,挖掘员工职业生涯动态管理的心理基础和理论根源,并将员工各个职业发展阶段的特点与其阶段性主导需求相适应,有针对性的提出对员工职业生涯规划进行动态管理的相关建议。     

员工职业生涯规划主动性研究

本研究在理论分析的基础上,探讨了员工的职业生涯规划主动性及其影响作用。通过问卷调查 法对企业员工的职业生涯规划相关问题进行实证研究的结果表明,员工若对其个人的职业生涯规划有良好 的了解和认识,职业生涯规划的主动性就强,进而能够减少他们从工作中感受到的压力,增加个人信心,并为 组织的柔性发展创造有利的条件。     

Predicting protean and physical boundaryless career attitudes by work importance and work alternatives: regulatory focus mediation effects

Prediction of protean and physical boundaryless career attitudes (organizational mobility preference) was investigated through two work cognitions: work importance and work alternatives. Regulatory focus theory served to explore mediation effects in these predictive relations. Respondents were 336 engineers and computer scientists employed in Israel’s hi-tech industry in a post-organizational downsizing period. Results of the direct model showed that perceptions of work importance were related to protean career attitude and not to physical boundaryless career attitude, while perceived work alternatives were related to both career attitudes, but more to the physical boundaryless. The mediated model showed that the promotion motive predicted increase and the prevention motive predicted decrease in both career attitudes, implying that both were triggered more by motives for opportunities and gains than by fears. These results contribute to knowledge on career self-management in the context of repeated organizational downsizings, and underscore the importance of designing human resource career policies that consider employees’ work values and work alternatives.