Psychological career resources in relation to organisational commitment : an exploratory study

Abstract

ORIENTATION: The impact of the current skills shortage and demands for retaining talented and skilled staff in a rapidly changing careers context and the consequences for employee loyalty, morale and commitment have led to a renewed interest in the motives, values and career metacompetencies that determine individuals’ psychological attachment to their organisations and occupations. RESEARCH PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the psychological career resources (as measured by the Psychological Career Resources Inventory) and organisational commitment (as measured by the Organisational Commitment Scale). MOTIVATION FOR STUDY: There appears to be a need for research on the psychological career resources that enhance individuals’ career agency in proactively managing their career and the way in which these attributes influence their psychological attachment to the organisation in order to guide human resource and career-development support practices in retaining valuable staff. RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD: A quantitative survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 358 employed adults at managerial and staff levels in the field of economic and management services. MAIN FINDINGS/RESULTS: Correlational and stepwise regression analyses revealed a number of significant relationships between the two variables. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Managers and human resource practitioners need to recognise how people’s career preferences and career meta-competencies influence their sense of psychological attachment to the organisation. CONTRIBUTION: The findings add to existing career literature on the psychological factors that affect the retention of staff and provide valuable information that can be used to inform career development support practices in the contemporary world of work.