Nadia Ferreira

Young emerging adults’ graduateness and career adaptability: Exploring the moderating role of self-esteem

This study investigated the moderating role of self-esteem on young emerging adults’ in their school-to-work transition phase of graduateness skills and career adaptability. A non-probability convenience sample (n=332) of undergraduate black (98.5%) and female (62%) young emerging adults (18–29 years) at a Further Education and Training (FET) college in South Africa participated in the study. Participants completed the Culture Free Self-esteem Inventory for Adults (CFSEI 2-AD, Battle, 1992), the Graduateness Skills and Attributes Scale (GSAS, Coetzee, 2010) and the Career Adapt-abilities Scale (CAAS, Savickas & Porfeli, 2012). Hierarchical moderated regression analysis indicated significant interaction effects between self-esteem and overall graduateness, lifelong learning and global/moral citizenship skills and attributes in moderating overall career adaptability. The relationship between the participants’ graduateness skills and attributes (overall graduateness, global/moral citizenship, and lifelong learning) and their career adaptability was significantly stronger when their self-esteem was high than when their self-esteem was low. The finding suggests self-esteem to influence self-perceived graduateness skills and career adaptability in emerging adults.

Employability capacities and organisational commitment foci of human resource professionals: An exploratory study

This study explored the relationship between employees’ employability capacities and their organisational commitment foci. A convenience sample of 196 South African human resource professionals participated in the study, consisting of 73% females and 88% black African people, predominantly within their early career stages (aged > 45 years). Data on individuals’ employability capacities and organisational commitment were collected via questionnaires. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was performed to assess the association between the variables of employability capacities and organisational commitment foci. Participants’ lifelong learning capacities (goal-directed behaviour and continuous learning orientation) were positively associated with their career commitment. This finding suggests that a strong lifelong orientation is likely to increase involvement in one’s occupation within the organisation, which contributes to organisational commitment. Lifelong learning capacities appear important to human resource professionals’ career development within their employer organisation.

Career meta-capacities and retention factors of recruitment advertising agencies: An exploratory study

This study aimed to determine the extent to which employees’ career adaptability and employability capacities predicted employee retention factors in the information sector industry. A probability sample of 337 South African recruitment advertising employees participated in the study (females = 65.9%; black Africans = 53.4%, predominantly early career stage (aged > 40 years = 57.9%). The employees responded to surveys on their career adaptability, employability capacities, and job retention considerations. Step-wise hierarchical regression analysis was computed to predict employee retention factors from their career meta-capacities of career adaptability and employability attributes. Results suggest the career meta-capacities to explain 71% of the variance in employee retention factors. Moreover, overall career adaptability (concern, control, curiosity, and cooperation) predict the overall retentions factors of employees. White employees self-reported with higher work retention and career opportunities than employees of other races/ethnicities. Career adaptability and employability capabilities matter for talented employee retention in the information sector industry.

Career Meta-Competencies in the Retention of Employees

It is clear from the literature that the work context has changed dramatically during the 21st century (Baruch, Managing careers. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2004a; Career Dev Int 9:58–73, 2004b; Burke and Ng, Human Resource Management Review, 16:86–94, 2006) . As a result of these changes, careers have also changed and moved away from what was known as the traditional career to the boundaryless career (Ashkenas et al., The boundaryless organization. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1995; DeFillippi and Arthur, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 15: 307, 1994; McArdle et al., Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 71:247–264, 2007) . The more complex work environment in a rapidly expanding knowledge economy has influenced the skills and competencies of individuals wishing to enter the 21st century world of work. Higher qualifications or technical skills are no longer enough to secure a job (Cox and King, Education and Training, 48:262–274, 2006) . Career adaptability and hardiness as psychological career meta-competencies and job embeddedness and organizational commitment as retention-related dispositions influencing the retention of valuable employees in an organization will form the basis of this chapter. Investigating the psychological career meta-competencies (career adaptability and hardiness) that influence individuals’ retention-related dispositions (job embeddedness and organizational commitment) has become crucial in the light of the changing nature of careers and the global skills scarcity. Psychological career meta-competencies were found to influence the job embeddedness and organizational commitment in a changed organizational context and could make a vital contribution to the potential retention of talented staff (Ferreira, Constructing a psychological profile for staff retention. Pretoria: University of South Africa, 2012) .

Personality preference facets and self-regulatory employability of human resource professionals.

Scholars interested in investigating the career well-being of employees have reported that employability includes a number of person-centred constructs needed to deal effectively with career-related changes in today’s economy. This study explored the relationship between employees’ self-regulatory employability skills and personality preference facets. A convenience sample (N = 196) of predominantly female (73%), Black African people (88%) in the early stages of their careers (80% < 45 years) participated in the study. A cross-sectional, quantitative research design approach was followed. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product–moment correlations, and canonical correlation analysis were performed to achieve the objective of this study. The results yielded significant associations between the variables. The findings add new insights that may be useful for theoretical views on the personality preference facets underpinning employees’ self-regulatory employability skills.

Career-related dispositional factors in relation to retention within the retail sector: An exploratory study

The study aimed to explore the extent to which employees’ organisational commitment and career adaptability predicted employee retention factors in the South African retail sector; taking employee demographics into account. A sample of 224 early to mid-career permanent retail employees participated in the study (single = 51.3%; female = 53.1%; mixed-race = 50.9%). The participants responded to surveys on their organisational commitment, career adaptability, and retention factors. A stepwise regression analysis was computed to predict employee retention factors from their organisational commitment and career adaptability. Results suggested the organisational commitment and career adaptability to explain 16% of the variance in employee retention factors. Of the organisation commitment factors, affective commitment was the most predictive of employee retention; followed by normative commitment. The career adaptability factor of curiosity predicted work-life balance. Talent retention in the retail sector appears to be explained by organisational commitment factors relatively more so than by career adaptability factors.

Sources of job stress and cognitive receptivity to change: the moderating role of job embeddedness:

Scholars interested in investigating individual-level concerns relevant to organisational change programmes have reported the importance of employees’ psychological processes and characteristics in understanding their reactions and attitudes towards change. The study explored the moderating role of job embeddedness in the association between experiences of sources of job stress and cognitive receptivity to change. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample (N = 350) of employees undergoing change in the South African fast-moving consumer goods sector (Black African: 67%; males: 69%; 26–40 years: 67%). Correlations and hierarchical moderated regression analysis showed that the participants’ experiences of job-related sources of stress and their cognitive receptivity to change were stronger when their job embeddedness was low. The findings may potentially inform the planning of change initiatives within organisations. The results of the study emphasise the importance of considering job-related sources of stress and employees’ job embeddedness in order to gain employee support for organisational change initiatives.