Career uncertainty, transition resources and well-being

Abstract

This study aimed to explore whether perceived control, perceived social support, self efficacy and style of coping serve to moderate the relationship between career uncertainty and well-being. Schlossberg’s Transition Theory was used as a framework to explore how people with different resources experience the consequences of being uncertain about their careers. The sample consisted of 265 employees working for a minimum of 6 months, from a wide variety of South African organisations, working in a variety of different jobs. Seven instruments were combined to form one questionnaire which was used to collect the data for the current study. The questionnaire was set up using Survey Monkey and was distributed via a number of social media platforms to gain participants. Multiple Moderated Regressions as well as two-way ANOVA’s were used to conduct the analysis. The only transition resource which resulted in moderation was self-efficacy. The results also showed that higher scores of career uncertainty are associated with higher scores of anxiety and/or depression. This is an important result as it shows that career uncertainty and well-being are related. Additionally, there were a number of main effects found in the regressions, which suggested that lower levels of perceived control, social support, self-efficacy and certain coping styles, along with high levels of career uncertainty, are associated with higher levels of psychological distress, namely anxiety and depression. This research adds to the existing literature regarding transitions affecting well-being and is useful as it can be used to guide the development and evaluation of interventions designed to improve well-being and uncertainty in individuals.