Employees’ psychosocial career preoccupations in relation to their work-related commitment

Abstract

The shift in career conceptualisation and concomitant career mobility and flexibility characteristic of contemporary career behaviour have raised questions about working adults’ commitment to their jobs and careers and whether their commitment is influenced by their career preoccupations. The study explored the association between working adults’ psychosocial career preoccupations (measured by the psychosocial career preoccupations scale) and their work-related commitment (measured by the organisation-related commitment scale). One hundred and sixty predominantly early-career professional adults (67% black people; 59% females) who were employed in the human resource and financial fields participated in the study. The results suggested that addressing employees’ career establishment preoccupations is likely to positively influence their commitment to the present organisational job and career. Career adaptation preoccupations were negatively related to work-related commitment and predicted attachment to external interests beyond the present job and career. Limitations, directions for future research and implications for organisational career-development practices are presented.

Key words: career preoccupations, career stages, career establishment, career adaptation, vocational developmental tasks, work/life adjustment, work-related commitment