“Crafting your own success”: a time-lagged study on the mediating role of job crafting dimensions in the relationship between protean career and career success

Abstract

PurposeAs the notions of protean career and job crafting share a common emphasis on self-management, proactivity and customization, this study aimed to examine if the associations between protean career, subjective and objective career success were mediated by job crafting, assessed via its three main dimensions (i.e. increasing structural job resources, increasing social job resources and increasing challenging job demands).Design/methodology/approachThe authors sampled 594 Italian employees using a time-lagged research design: protean career was assessed at T1 and job crafting and career success at T2. Responses were analyzed through structural equation modeling.FindingsThis study’s results showed that increasing structural job resources mediated the association of protean career with subjective career success, while increasing challenging job demands mediated its association with objective career success.Originality/valueIn contrast to previous studies, in this contribution, the mediating role of job crafting is disentangled by taking into account its three respective dimensions. Additionally, the authors included both forms of career success as outcomes of protean career. Implications for future research and practical recommendations are presented and discussed.

Determinants and consequences of job crafting under the boundary conditions of work uncertainty

“…It, directly and indirectly, enriches an individual's "willingness to continue working" during their work life (Vanbelle et al, 2017, p. 25). Prior studies show that job crafting positively affects perceived employability (Akkermans and Tims, 2017), objective and subjective career success (Lo Presti et al, 2023), optimize well-being and developing career-related abilities and skills (Plomp et al, 2016). Thus, we may expect that job crafting boosts sustainable employability because job crafting enables individuals to accumulate the desired knowledge, competencies and skills to maintain their employability.…”

Expanding career adaptability: connections as a critical component of career success

“…Education is the foundation for the individual's profession and perceived self-worth in the labor market (Duta et al, 2021;Hildenbrand, 2015;S€ onmez et al, 2021). Education makes job crafting possible, which lately has been introduced as an antecedent of subjective career success (Kundi et al, 2022;Lo Presti et al, 2023).…”

Determinants of Principal Job Satisfaction in West Java Province

“…The protean career allows greater flexibility in achieving a balance between career and personal life. Individuals have more control over time and priorities (Lo Presti et al, 2023).…”

“…The problem of job satisfaction and low school performance has become an increasingly complex issue of education quality. Empirically and factually, several key factors that contribute to job satisfaction and principal performance can be identified, namely the factor of transformational leadership (Feng-Cheng, 2016;Jha, 2014;Sismiati et al, 2022), education and training (Brown, 2022), and protean careers (Lo Presti et al, 2023). A detailed explanation of the selection of these key factors is explained as follows.…”