IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i15p11969-d1210108.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Workplace-Related Negative Career Shocks on Perceived Employability: The Role of Networking Behaviors and Perceived Career Opportunities

Author

Listed:
  • Wenxia Zhou

    (School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Zhongguancun Street 59, Beijing 100872, China)

  • Xinling Jiang

    (School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Zhongguancun Street 59, Beijing 100872, China)

  • Svetlana N. Khapova

    (School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Jinzhao Qu

    (School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Zhongguancun Street 59, Beijing 100872, China
    School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Abstract

While there is a growing interest in career shocks in the careers literature, little is known about how and when they trigger employees’ proactive behavioral responses leading to sustainable career outcomes. The research aims to extend previous knowledge about the effects of such career shocks and uncover their potential benefits. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, the study proposes that workplace-related negative career shocks indirectly impact employees’ perceived employability by mobilizing their networking behaviors, especially when perceived career opportunities are present. To investigate this, a three-wave survey was conducted among 269 employees over four months in three companies in China. The results show that workplace-related negative career shocks indirectly contribute to employees’ perceived employability by motivating them to engage in networking behaviors. Furthermore, this positive indirect relationship is stronger for employees with high perceived career opportunities. This study is the first to provide a positive perspective on the outcomes of workplace-related negative career shocks and sheds light on employees’ proactive behavioral responses as a mechanism to explain the impact of such shocks on career sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenxia Zhou & Xinling Jiang & Svetlana N. Khapova & Jinzhao Qu, 2023. "Workplace-Related Negative Career Shocks on Perceived Employability: The Role of Networking Behaviors and Perceived Career Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:11969-:d:1210108
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/11969/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/11969/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jin Feng & Wenxia Zhou & Shuoyu Li & Mengyi Li, 2019. "Obstacles open the door — Negative shocks can motivate individuals to focus on opportunities," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Katlego Kola & Tumellano Sebehela, 2021. "Market The (De)merits of using Integral Transforms in Predicting Structural Break Points," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 24(3), pages 405-467.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:11969-:d:1210108. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.