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Career competencies and job crafting: How proactive employees influence their well-being

Judith Plomp (Department of Management and Organization, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Maria Tims (Department of Management and Organization, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Jos Akkermans (Department of Management and Organization, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Svetlana N. Khapova (Department of Management and Organization, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Paul G.W. Jansen (Department of Management and Organization, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Arnold B. Bakker (Center of Excellence for Positive Organizational Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

Career Development International

ISSN: 1362-0436

Publication date: 10 October 2016

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to bring together job design and career theory in the examination of how proactive employees optimize their well-being (i.e. job satisfaction and perceived health) through job crafting and career competencies. This study offers an integrated account of the pathway from proactive personality to well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected by a cross-sectional self-report survey study among 574 employees working in various organizations.

Findings

The results of structural equation modeling analyses supported the proposed double mediation model: job crafting and career competencies both mediated the positive relationship between proactive personality and well-being. The findings suggest that proactive employees can enhance their well-being both through proactive job redesign and the development of career-related skills and abilities.

Research limitations/implications

This study precludes causal explanations. Future research should further investigate the role of employee proactivity related to contemporary work topics, including temporary contracts and self-employment.

Practical implications

Managers and HR practitioners can optimize employee well-being by focusing on HR policies related to job redesign, as well as investing in training and development of career competencies.

Originality/value

This paper integrates two research domains by exploring how proactive employees take a proactive stance toward their job as well as their career, and investigates how this proactive approach contributes to their well-being. In addition, the authors demonstrated a link between the development of career competencies and employee health.

Keywords

Citation

Plomp, J., Tims, M., Akkermans, J., Khapova, S.N., Jansen, P.G.W. and Bakker, A.B. (2016), "Career competencies and job crafting: How proactive employees influence their well-being", Career Development International, Vol. 21 No. 6, pp. 587-602. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-08-2016-0145

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Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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