THE PATH TO THE TOP VERSUS THE PATH WITH A HEART
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE RELATION BETWEEN OBJECTIVE CAREER
SUCCESS AND WORK ENGAGEMENT
Master Thesis, MSc Human Resource Management
University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business
February 17, 2016
Lotte de Haan
Student number: S1804669
E-mail: c.a.de.haan.1@student.rug.nl
Supervisors:
Prof.dr. J.I. Stoker
THE PATH TO THE TOP VERSUS THE PATH WITH A HEART
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE RELATION BETWEEN OBJECTIVE CAREER
SUCCESS AND WORK ENGAGEMENT
ABSTRACT
For decades, traditional careers and in line with that vertical, objective success have been the
main focus in career research and have been encouraged by many organisations, since these
extrinsic, objective career success factors were expected to enhance the satisfaction and
performance of employees. New perspectives on careers and career success, such as the
protean career, have questioned the importance of objective career success to individuals
nowadays. However empirical evidence for this allegation remains scare. This study
empirically investigates the importance of objective career success to individuals by
examining the influence of objective career success on an individual’s career satisfaction and
work engagement. Moreover, this study takes two converging career orientations - traditional
and protean – into account, since the extent to which objective career success influences
career satisfaction and work engagement might dependent upon an individual’s personal
career orientation. Data were obtained by surveying 457 alumni and trainees from a talent
developing organisation, working at diverse occupational positions and companies in the
Netherlands and Belgium. The results of the study show that objective career success
indirectly predicts work engagement. The relationship is mediated by career satisfaction and
moderated by a strong traditional career orientation. However, no significant interaction effect
of protean career orientation was found. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Keywords: objective career success, career satisfaction, work engagement, traditional career
INTRODUCTION
Career success is an intriguing topic for both individuals as well for organisations,
since employees’ personal success is considered to contribute to organisational success
(Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, & Barrick, 1999). Traditionally, career success is characterized by
promotion up the organisational hierarchy (Sullivan, Carden, & Martin, 1998) and obtaining
greater extrinsic, objective rewards (Sullivan & Baruch, 2009). For decades traditional
careers, and in line with that vertical success, have been encouraged since this type of career
was expected to enhance satisfaction, commitment and performance of employees (Dries,
Van Acker, & Verbruggen, 2012). Nowadays, however, career theorists question the
importance of extrinsic, objective rewards to individuals.
Over the last decade, new perspectives on careers and career success have emerged in
career theory and become popular as counterparts to the traditional career (Briscoe, Hall, &
DeMuth, 2006). One of these new perspectives is the protean career, a career that is driven by
the individual’s need of value-driven psychological success (Hall, 2004). In contrast to
vertical, objective success in the traditional career, the ultimate goal of the protean career is
psychological, subjective success (Hall, 2004). In career literature, it is even suggested that
the traditional, organisational career is ‘dead’. According to Hall (1996), ‘the path to the top’
has been replaced by ‘the path with a heart’. However, empirical evidence for a new type of
career that is pursued by individuals who strive for psychological success instead of
traditional objective success factors remains scarce (Briscoe, Hall, & DeMuth, 2006).
Therefore, it is very relevant to address this claim made in literature empirically by
investigating the influence of objective career success on an individual’s satisfaction about
his/her career. Career satisfaction refers to the satisfaction that individuals derive from
Career satisfaction is not only in the interest of an individual but is of importance to
organisations too, since a positive evaluation of one’s career in turn may influence an
individual’s work engagement. Work engagement is most often described as a positive,
fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigour, dedication, and
absorption (Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá, & Bakker, 2002). Nowadays, engaged
employees are considered increasingly important for organisations, since work engagement is
linked to several positive organisational outcomes (Bakker, 2011). So, empirical evidence that
the traditional career is replaced by a new type of career, a protean career, can have major
consequences for organisations.
The appraisal and reward system of many organisations are organised along the
traditional view of a successful career based upon the notion that objective career success
enhances the employee’s satisfaction about his/her career (Judge, Cable, Boudreau, & Bretz,
1995). The allegation made by career theorists could therefore imply that organisations are
not adequately addressing the needs of their employees, which could potentially have a
negative impact on their motivation, satisfaction, engagement and performance. Moreover, it
can have major implications for how we motivate employees in our hierarchic organisations,
for how we encourage successful leaders to progress in their careers and for how we coach
and prepare trainees for their future careers. This provides another important reason to address
this question empirically. Does objective career success still predicts satisfaction and
engagement for all individuals or is the traditional career indeed ‘dead’ as claimed by career
theorists?
The extent to which career satisfaction and engagement are influenced by objective
career success, may differ for individuals depending upon their personal career orientation.
Individuals have different goals and value diverse factors in their careers; objective career
literature, this traditional organisational career is declining (Briscoe, Hall, & DeMuth, 2006)
and the main success criterion for individuals in general is not objective success but
subjective, psychological success (Hall, 2004). This study will take the two converging career
orientations - traditional or protean – into account in investigating the effect of objective
career success on career satisfaction and engagement. The goals of individuals with a
traditional career orientation are vertical success (Hall, 1996) and obtaining greater extrinsic
rewards (Sullivan, & Baruch, 2009). Protean career oriented individuals on the contrary shape
their careers along their personal values and identity, such as a work-life balance (Gubler,
Arnold, & Coombs, 2013).
Since the subjective notion of career satisfaction is partly based on the evaluation of
external career achievements (Greenhaus, Parasuraman, & Wormley, 1990), it is expected
that objective career success indicators still influence an employee’s career satisfaction.
Career satisfaction in turn is expected to predict work engagement, since an individual’s
appraisal of his/her success is likely to influence their well-being (Greenhaus, & Kossek,
2014). Moreover, we expect that extrinsic, objective career rewards indirectly contribute to
the engagement of employees.
Career satisfaction measures the extent to which individuals believe their career
progress is consistent with their own goals, values and preferences (Seibert, & Kraimer, 2001;
Abele, & Spurk, 2009). Therefore, the relationship between objective career success and work
engagement mediated by career satisfaction is expected to be stronger for individuals with a
high traditional career orientation, since they value upward advancements (Dries, Van Acker,
& Verbruggen, 2012) and the attainment of greater extrinsic rewards (Sullivan, & Baruch,
2009). On the contrary, it is expected that this relationship will be weakened for individuals
individuals does not depend on the achievement of societally endorsed outcomes such as high
earnings and vertical advancement (Valcour, & Ladge, 2008).
This study will empirically address the distinction made in literature about the old,
traditional career and the new, protean career by surveying a special selected group of highly
educated individuals who follow/followed a two-year traineeship aimed at developing
leadership capabilities. The study will contribute to career research by empirically
investigating if objective career success (still) predicts work engagement when individuals’
career orientations - traditional or protean – are taken into account. The results of this study
contribute to the talent management practices of organisations, since the study will provide
relevant insights about the needs of employees with regard to career satisfaction and
engagement. Work engagement is becoming increasing important for organisations, however
little research has been conducted about the influence of career satisfaction on work
engagement.
The empirical examination of new career constructs such as the protean career
orientation, especially in combination with traditional career measures, remains scarce
(Gubler, Arnold, & Coombs, 2013). This study addresses this gap in literature by taking the
influence of an individual’s career orientation on the relationship between objective career
success and work engagement mediated by career satisfaction into account. Moreover, this
study will contribute to the career literature by using protean career orientation as a moderator
in the research model. The protean career literature has mainly focused on the protean career
orientation as a predictor of career success outcomes, whereas alternative perspectives like the
protean career orientation as a moderator have been rarely adopted (Gubler, Arnold, &
Coombs, 2013).
The paper will be structured in the following way. Drawing on previous research, the
The key concepts will be further explained and the hypothesis will be stated. Subsequently,
the methods of gathering and analysing the data will be described in detail in the method
section. Thereafter, the outcomes of the analysis will be discussed in the result section.
Finally, conclusions are drawn, implications are stated and the strengths and limitations and
suggestions for future research are discussed in the final section of this paper.
THEORY
Objective career success and career satisfaction
Career success is defined as the accumulated positive work (objective) and
psychological outcomes or achievements (subjective) resulting from one’s work experiences
(Seibert, Crant, & Kraimer, 1999; Judge et al, 1995). Despite this definition of career success
that incorporates both objective and subjective elements, career research has traditionally
focused on the objective dimension of career success (Heslin, 2005). Career success referred
to objective, extrinsic indicators and till recently, these objective criteria have dominated
much of the career research (Heslin, 2005). Objective career success refers to external
measurement indicators of career success that are directly observable, measurable and
verifiable by an impartial third party (Heslin, 2005). Therefore, objective career success is
defined in verifiable attainments such as income, promotion and occupational status (Dries,
Pepermans, & Carlier, 2008). Moreover, objective career success refers to outcomes that are
instrumental rewards from one’s job or occupation (Seibert, & Kraimer, 2001). Extrinsic,
objective career rewards are expected to contribute to the commitment and engagement of
employees, since objective career success enhances the employee’s satisfaction about his/her
Career satisfaction refers to the satisfaction that individuals derive from intrinsic and
extrinsic aspects of their careers, including overall career goals, developmental opportunities
and pay (Greenhaus, Parasuraman, &Wormley, 1990). We build upon this definition of career
satisfaction of Greenhaus et al. in this study. Career satisfaction is an often-used measurement
of subjective career success (Judge, Cable, Boudreau, & Bretz, 1995). To ensure a consistent
use of terminology throughout this paper, we will not use both terms – career satisfaction and
subjective career success - interchangeable, but only refer to career satisfaction. Since the
subjective notion of career satisfaction is partly based on the evaluation of external career
achievements (Greenhaus, Parasuraman, & Wormley, 1990), it is expected that objective
career indicators like pay, promotion and occupational status influence an individual’s career
satisfaction.
The line of reasoning that objective career achievements lead to more career
satisfaction is derived from social comparison theory. According to this theory people have
the tendency to compare themselves with others (Festinger, 1954). More specifically,
Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory states that first of all individuals are motivated to
evaluate their achievements and moreover that they attempt to do so by comparing the
outcomes they achieve to those of other people. For individuals, objective career success
indicators are easy and convenient to compare with others. Obtaining more promotions or a
higher salary relative to others, is likely to positively influence an individual’s evaluation of
his or her external career achievements which in turn will lead to greater feeling of career
satisfaction (Ng, Eby, Sorensen, & Feldman, 2005).
Moreover, Festinger’s theory states that individuals compare themselves with others
for social information (Buunk, & Gibbons, 2007). This is where Arthur et al.’s (2005) notion
of shared social understanding becomes relevant. The notion of shared social understanding
as benchmark of success (Arthur, Khapova, & Wilderom, 2005). Therefore, since pay,
promotion and occupational status are still relevant factors in our society; tangible career
achievements may lead to feelings of greater career satisfaction (Ng, Eby, Sorensen, &
Feldman, 2005). This means that individuals interpret their career satisfaction on the basis of
their objective accomplishments (Judge et al, 1995).
In this way objective career success will form a basis for career satisfaction (Abele, &
Spurk, 2009). This implies that a high level of objective career success, expressed in high
income, status and upward promotions, will positively relate to the career satisfaction
experienced by the individual. Previous research has supported that these indicators of
objective career success indeed predict career satisfaction (Judge et al., 1995; Ng, Eby,
Sorensen, & Feldman, 2005). Some career theorists even state that the subjective evaluation
of career success, like career satisfaction, is only a by-product of objective career success
(Nicholson, & De Waal-Andrews, 2005).
This leads us to the first hypothesis of this study:
Hypothesis 1. Objective career success will be positively related to career satisfaction.
Career satisfaction and work engagement
Career satisfaction in turn is expected to influence an employee’s work engagement, a
feature of employees that is becoming increasingly important for organisations nowadays. In
literature is suggested that organisations should more than ever focus on talent management
as a strategic tool to attract and retain valuable employees (Dries, Van Acker, & Verbruggen,
2012). Moreover, to compete effectively nowadays, organisations not only must succeed in
recruiting and retaining valuable employees, but must also inspire employees to apply their
psychologically connected to their work; who are proactive and committed to perform in line
with high quality standards (Bakker, Albrecht, & Leiter, 2010). According to Bakker et al
(2010), organisations need energetic and dedicated employees; they need employees who are
engaged with their work.
Work engagement is most often described as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state
of mind that is characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli, Salanova,
González-Romá, & Bakker, 2002). The first sub-element of work engagement, vigour, refers
to high levels of energy and mental resilience during work. Moreover, vigour denotes the
willingness to invest effort in one’s work, also in the face of difficulties. Dedication is
according to Schaufeli and Bakker (2004) characterized by a sense of significance,
meaningfulness, enthusiasm, inspiration and pride. The last sub-element of work engagement,
absorption, is described as being fully concentrated and happily engrossed in one’s work.
Being fully absorbed in one’s work comes close to what has been called ‘flow’ (Schaufeli, &
Bakker, 2004). It is in the very interest of organisations nowadays to have engaged workers,
since work engagement is linked to multiple positive organisational outcomes. Several studies
have shown that work engagement is positively related to job performance, creativity,
extra-role behaviour, costumer loyalty and financial returns (Bakker, 2011).
An individual’s satisfaction about his/her career in turn is expected to lead to more
engagement. A positive subjective evaluation of one’s career may influence an individual’s
work engagement. The individual’s appraisal of his or her success is likely to influence their
well-being (Greenhaus, & Kossek, 2014).Work engagement forms a dimension of well-being
on its own (Schaufeli, & Bakker, 2004), so an individual’s personal appraisal of career
satisfaction is likely to influence their work engagement.
Previous research has found that employees who are more satisfied with their careers
organisation’s success (Peluchette-Van Eck, 1993; Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002).
Additionally, multiple studies have found linkages between career satisfaction and
productivity and engagement, which in turn are linked to higher organisational commitment
and increased creativity and innovation (Peluchette, 1993; Yap, Cukier, Holmes, & Hannan
2010). Hence, we also propose:
Hypothesis 2. Career satisfaction will be positively related to work engagement.
As posited earlier, employees are expected to interpret their career satisfaction based upon
their objective accomplishments (Judge et al, 1995). This means that obtaining objective
career success like upward promotions or a higher salary will positively influence an
individual’s career satisfaction. The individual’s appraisal of his or her career success is likely
to influence their well-being and engagement in turn (Greenhaus, & Kossek, 2014).
Following this line of reasoning, objective career success is expected to indirectly influence
employee’s engagement. Therefore, we propose that:
Hypothesis 3. The relationship between objective career success and work engagement is mediated by career satisfaction.
Traditional and protean career orientation
The weight individuals attach to extrinsic success may differ depending upon their
personal career orientation. In this study we address two converging career orientations:
traditional and protean (Hall, 2004). According to Rodrigues, Guest and Budjanovcanin
(2013), the term ‘orientation’ implies that the preference for a traditional or protean career is
these career orientations are potentially influenced by experiences outside and inside an
organisation (Rodrigues, Guest, & Budjanovcanin, 2013), like societal norms, individual
identity, work-family relations and labour market conditions.
Individuals with a traditional career orientation shape their careers along the
organisational norms of upward mobility. The career goals of individuals with a traditional
career orientation are vertical success, climbing the corporate ladder and making a lot of
money (Hall, 1996). Promotions, income differentials, ranks and job retention guide their
careers within hierarchical, position-oriented organisations (Hall, & Chandler, 2005).
Achievement is an important value - a transsituational goal that serves as a guiding principle
(Schwartz, 1994) - for individuals with a traditional career orientation. Individuals with this
career orientation are seeking to obtain greater extrinsic rewards (Sullivan, & Baruch, 2009).
They highly value personal success trough demonstrating competence according to social
standards such as power and position (Schwartz, 1994). Therefore, these individuals are
motivated to obtain favourable competence judgements from the organisation’s appraisal and
reward system.
The protean career orientation, in contrast tot the traditional career orientation, is one
in which the individual is self-directed and driven internally by one’s own values (Hall,
2002). Protean career oriented individuals shape their careers along their personal values and
identity rather then by traditional organisational norms of upward mobility. Harrington and
Hall (2007) characterize identity as a “meta-competency,” claiming that having a clear sense
of who one is and what one values is essential to make effective career decisions, pursue
career goals and experience career success. Moreover, identities are referred to as
self-conceptions based upon the different social roles a person occupies. This means that being a
mother, a professional in the health care sector or a volunteer for a project for homeless
Hence, individuals who are protean career oriented develop their own definition of
what constitutes a successful career and take action to achieve success according to these
criteria (Direnzo, & Greenhaus, 2011). However, various authors have pointed out that it is
far from being clear what having a protean career orientation exactly means and which values
are precisely important (Gubler, Arnold, & Coombs, 2013). Some references about these
values are made in literature. A ‘work–life balance’ and ‘work that contributes to the good of
society’ are considered core values of individuals with a high protean career orientation
(Gubler, Arnold, & Coombs, 2013). Moreover, protean career oriented individuals are driven
to fulfil values that serve the whole person, family and life purpose according to Hall (2004).
Therefore, individuals with a protean career orientation are likely to develop a personal
definition of success that includes commitments and accomplishments that extend beyond the
work domain (Hall, 2004). Moreover, protean career oriented individuals are seen as
continuous learners who are always open to new possibilities, viewing the career as a series of
learning cycles (Hall, & Mirvis, 1996). Accordingly, individuals with a protean career
orientation are motivated to follow their own distinctive ‘path with a heart’ (Hall, & Chandler,
2005).
Thus, the extent to which career satisfaction is influenced by objective career success
may differ for individuals depending on their career orientation. Career satisfaction is only
experienced directly by the person engaged in his or her career (Heslin, 2005) and captures an
individual’s subjective judgement about his or her career attainments (Ng, Eby, Sorensen, &
Feldman, 2005). Moreover, career satisfaction is dependent on the individual’s subjective
evaluation of his or her career achievements relative to personal goals, standards, aspirations
and expectations (Seibert, & Kraimer, 2001). The goals of individuals with a traditional career
orientation are obtaining greater extrinsic rewards (Sullivan, & Baruch, 2009), climbing the
Individuals with a traditional career orientation value personal career success by comparing it
to socially accepted benchmarks of success, such as position and income. Consequently, these
individuals attach great weight to extrinsic success for assessing their career satisfaction. The
influence of objective career success factors on an individual’s career satisfaction will become
stronger when these factors are also highly valued by that individual. We thus propose that:
Hypothesis 4a. The positive relationship between objective career success and career satisfaction is moderated by an individual’s personal career orientation. The relationship will be stronger when traditional career orientation is high rather than low.
However, people who are extrinsically successful may not feel satisfied with their
achievements (Korman, Wittig-Berman, & Lang, 1981). Objective criteria can be inadequate
insofar as pay and promotions are not all that people desire from their career. Individuals with
a protean career orientation desire a sense of meaning and purpose from their work (Hall,
2002). Moreover, objective career success needs not to be a relevant criterion if career
satisfaction is experienced as self-referent subjective satisfaction. After all, objective career
success outcomes like pay, promotions and occupational status are only some of the criteria
for assessing self-referent career success such as career satisfaction (Abele, & Spurk, 2009).
Work that contributes to the good of society (Gubler, Arnold, & Coombs, 2013), learning new
things and seizing new opportunities (Hall, & Mirvis, 1996), having a work-life balance and
meeting family demands (Hall, 2004) are some of those criteria for individuals with a protean
career orientation.
Hence, the career satisfaction of individuals who are protean career oriented does not
depend on the achievement of societally endorsed outcomes such as high earnings and
can even result in psychological failure instead of success. Long hours spend on work and
career may lead to hierarchical advancement and increased salary, however this high
involvement in work goals may cause an individual to lose involvement with his family (Hall,
& Chandler, 2005). In such a situation, the satisfaction derived from obtaining greater
extrinsic rewards will be weakened for those individuals, since this objective success is
received at the expense of meeting family demands. Thus, the extent to which objective career
success factors contribute to an individual’s career satisfaction will be weakened for
individuals with a protean career orientation, since this objective success is likely to be
received at the expense of other criteria that are valued by the individual. Hence, receiving
high pay and promotions does not necessarily make people feel proud, satisfied or successful
(Hall, 2002). Therefore, we expect that:
Hypothesis 4b. The positive relationship between objective career success and career satisfaction is moderated by an individual’s personal career orientation. The relationship will be weaker when protean career orientation is high rather than low.
Moderated-mediation
As we hypothesized earlier, the relationship between objective career success and
work engagement is mediated by career satisfaction. In line with the social comparison theory
it is expected that individuals will compare their objective career outcomes relative to others
(Festinger, 1954) and consequently will form their career satisfaction on the basis of their
objective accomplishments (Judge et al, 1995). A positive subjective evaluation of one’s
career in turn may influence an individual’s work engagement. Employees who are more
satisfied with their careers are likely to be more engaged (Peluchette-Van Eck, 1993; Harter,
satisfaction is influenced by objective career success might differ for individuals depending
upon their personal career orientation. We stated that the relationship might become stronger
for individuals with a traditional career orientation who value societally endorsed objective
success factors, such as salary, promotion and status. Besides, we proposed that the
relationship between objective career success and career satisfaction might become weaker
for protean oriented individuals, since they do not rely upon objective career outcomes in
assessing their career satisfaction and obtaining objective success is likely to be received at
the expense of other criteria that are valued by these individuals. Altogether, we expect that
the relationship between objective career success and work engagement is mediated by career
satisfaction and at the same time that this relationship is moderated by an individual’s
personal career orientation. Hence, we also propose a moderated-mediation:
Hypothesis 5a. The moderating effect of an individual’s personal career orientation on the relationship between objective career success and work engagement is mediated by career satisfaction, in such a way that the indirect relationship is stronger when traditional career orientation is high rather than low.
Hypothesis 5b. The moderating effect of an individual’s personal career orientation on the relationship between objective career success and work engagement is mediated by career satisfaction, in such a way that the indirect relationship is weaker when protean career orientation is high rather than low.
The conceptual model is graphically depicted in Figure 1; it’s components and relations are
FIGURE 1: Conceptual model.
METHODS
Sample
Data for this study was gathered by surveying alumni and current trainees from an
organisation that is specialised in traineeships and leadership development. At this moment,
the organisation has 1330 alumni and trainees, spread out over the Netherlands (1008) and
Belgium (322). The alumni and trainees are all highly educated and were selected and (are)
employed by the talent developing organisation to follow a two-year trainee programme.
During this two-year programme, several projects are carried out at one or multiple
participating organisations. Currently, the alumni work at diverse organisations and hold
diverse occupational positions.
An online survey was administered to the 1330 alumni and trainees. Participation was
voluntary. The participants were asked to fill in an online questionnaire within the time frame
of three weeks. A total of 457 completed responses were returned (a response rate of 34.36%).
187 of these respondents were female (47.60%), while 206 were male (52.40%). The mean
the sample was employed in the private sector (65.40%), while 20.10% was employed in the
public sector. 11.70% of the respondents were self-employed/entrepreneur and a small
minority of the participants (2.80%) was not employed. The last two groups were left out of
consideration.
The average years of working experience of the respondents was 9.86 years (SD =
6.61), ranging from 0 to 30 years. Moreover, their average organisational tenure was 4.22
years (SD = 3.94) and the average number of organisations they worked for was 3.82 (SD =
2.30). The average number of promotions during their careers was 2.37 (SD = 2.12), ranging
from 0 to 10.
Factor analysis
The indefinite notions underlying the concept of protean career orientation and it’s
lack of conceptual clarity have caused the few operationalizations of protean career
orientation to vary substantially in their complexity and content (Gubler, Arnold, & Coombs,
2013). To address the call made in literature to develop new items to measure protean career
orientation (Gubler, Arnold, & Coombs, 2013), a self-developed measurement of protean
career orientation was used in this study. Since, to the author’s best knowledge, no existing
scale of traditional career orientation exists, a self-developed measure was used to assess
traditional career orientation as well.
Factor analysis was used as a technique for measurement development of the
constructs of protean and traditional career orientation. There is little agreement in literature
concerning how large the size of the sample should be to be considered suitable for factor
analysis (Henson, & Roberts, 2006). However, we determined our data set suitable for factor
analysis by following Tabachnick and Fidell’s (2007) rule of thumb ‘that it is comforting to
exploratory factor analysis with twelve items, including both traditional and protean values,
developed for this study was run. The six items representing protean values were ‘learning
things’, ‘personal development’, ‘combining my work with my private life’, ‘doing work that fits my norms and values’, ‘contributing to society’ and ‘meaningful work’. The six items representing traditional values were ‘earning money’, ‘getting ahead’, ‘prestige’, ‘power’,
‘influence’ and ‘putting my career before my private life’.
The six items in the exploratory factor analysis address the value-driven dimension of
protean career orientation and capture values that serve the whole person, family and life
purpose (Hall, 2004). Moreover, the items address the idea of a protean career oriented
individual as a continuous learner who is always open for new possibilities for development
(Hall, & Mirvis, 1996). Furthermore, the items capture core values of protean career
orientation such as work–life balance and work making a social contribution (Gubler, Arnold,
& Coombs, 2013). The six items representing traditional values capture the career goals and
values of individuals with a traditional career orientation which are characterized by vertical
success, climbing the corporate ladder, making a lot of money (Hall, 1996) and obtaining
greater extrinsic rewards (Sullivan, & Baruch, 2009).
An exploratory principal components factor analysis with oblimin rotation was
performed with the initial twelve items. First of all, the suitability of the data for factor
analysis was also assessed by interpreting the Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity and the
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value, two statistical measures generated by SPSS. The Kaiser-Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin was
0.70, exceeding the recommended value of 0.60 (Kaiser, 1974; Tabachnick, & Fidell’s, 2007)
and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (Bartlett, 1954) was significant, supporting the suitability of
the data for factor analysis.
The exploratory factor-analysis revealed the presence of four factors with eigenvalues
second factor (see Figure 2). Using Catell’s (1966) scree test, it was decided to retain and
continue with two factors (see appendix, Table A). Thereafter, the four items with the lowest
factor loading were removed, leaving each factor with four strongly loading items (see
appendix, Table B). The total explained variance was 50.19%. Moreover, the factor analysis
showed that the items were substantially loading on only one factor. The four traditional
career orientation items loaded strongly on factor one and the four protean career orientation
items loaded strongly on factor two. Moreover, there was a weak negative correlation
between the two factors (r = -0.05) supporting the use of traditional career orientation and
protean career orientation as separate scales (see appendix, Table C).
Measures
The survey was administrated in both Dutch and English. A Dutch questionnaire was
sent to the alumni and trainees in the Netherlands. The participants from the Belgian part of
the organisation received the questionnaire in English. Where necessary, items were
translated from Dutch into English or vice versa. Each of the variables, with the exception of
objective career success, was measured on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 =
strongly agree).
Objective career success. Objective career success was assessed by asking the
participants to indicate the number of promotions they had received during their entire career.
This method is in line with previous work (Ng, Eby, Sorensen, & Feldman, 2005; Boudreau,
Boswell, & Judge, 2001).
Protean career orientation. The four items ultimately used for assessing protean
career orientation after the exploratory factor-analysis are: ‘My ideal career is characterized
by personal development’, ‘My ideal career is characterized by doing work that fits my norms and values’, ‘My ideal career is characterized by contributing to society’ and ‘My ideal
career is characterized by meaningful work’. Internal consistency was α = 0.63.
Traditional career orientation. The four items ultimately used for assessing
traditional career orientation after the exploratory factor-analysis are: ‘My ideal career is
characterized by earning money’, ‘My ideal career is characterized by getting ahead’, ‘My ideal career is characterized by prestige’, and ‘My ideal career is characterized by power’. Internal consistency was α = 0.69.
Career satisfaction. To assess career satisfaction a self-developed 4-item measure,
build upon the career satisfaction questionnaire of Greenhaus et al (1990), was used. The
measurement captures an individual’s satisfaction with different aspect of his or her career.
moment I am satisfied with how much I got ahead’, ‘At this moment I am satisfied with the
amount of prestige I have ’ and ‘At this moment I am satisfied with the amount of power I
have’. Internal consistency was α = 0.77.
Work engagement. Schaufeli and Bakker’s (2006) 9-item measure was included to
assess work engagement. Each of the three sub-dimensions of work engagement (vigour,
dedication and absorption) was assed with three items. Example items are: ‘At my work, I feel
bursting with energy’, ‘My job inspires my’ and ‘I feel happy when I am working intensely’. Internal consistency of the nine items was α = 0.93.
Control variables. Previous research has shown that gender and age are related to
protean career orientation (Segers, Inceoglu, Vloeberghs, Bartram, & Henderickx, 2008) and
promotion (Ng, Eby, Sorensen, & Feldman, 2005). Moreover, gender (being a female) has
been related to higher work engagement (Hyvönena, Feldta, Salmela-Aroa, Kinnunenb, &
Mäkikangasa, 2009). Therefore, gender (male = 1, female = 2) and age were assessed as
demographic control variables. Furthermore, cultural differences might influence an
individual’s career attitude (Sullivan, & Arthur, 2006). Hence, the data was controlled for
whether the participants were employed at the Dutch (score = 0) or the Belgian (score = 1)
part of the talent developing organisation.
Data analysis
First, the relation between the variables will be explored by means of correlations. To
test the first two hypotheses presented in this study, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS)
regressions models were used (conform Aiken & West, 1991). Subsequently, the SPSS macro
PROCESS developed by Hayes (2013) was used to test hypotheses 3, 4 and 5. By means of
these models, we aimed to assess whether the relationship between objective career success
aimed to test whether the relation between objective career success and career satisfaction
was moderated by an individual’s career orientation (Hypothesis 4a and 4b) and whether the
indirect relationship between objective career success and work engagement through career
satisfaction was moderated by an individual’s career orientation (Hypothesis 5a and 5b). The
advantage of testing these relations by means of the SPSS macro PROCESS was that the
mediation and moderation model as well as the moderated-mediation model could be assessed
within one single model in contrary to Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression, where
multiple models have to be used (Edwards, & Lamberts, 2007). PROCESS provides a method
for probing the significance of conditional indirect effects at different pre-specified values of
an individual’s career orientation.
RESULTS
Correlations
An overview of the means and standard deviations of each of the variables measured,
as well as the Cronbach’s Alpha for traditional career orientation, protean career orientation,
career satisfaction and work engagement, are presented in Table 1. Moreover, Table 1 shows
the correlation coefficients of the studied variables, which measure the strength and direction
of the relationship between two variables (Field, 2013). The correlations in the table show that
the number of promotions was positively and significantly related to career satisfaction (r =
0.30, p < 0.01). Next to that, career satisfaction (r = 0.39, p < 0.01) was significantly and
positively related to work engagement.
With regard to the control variables, gender was significantly and positively related to
protean career orientation (r = 0.24, p < 0.01) and work engagement (r = 0.22, p < 0.01),
Moreover, age was significantly and positively related to career satisfaction (r = 0.21, p <
0.01). The sample, on the other hand, was negatively related to age (r = -0.48, p < 0.01),
signalling a significant difference in the average age between the respondents from the
Netherlands and Belgium, with a higher average age for the first-mentioned group.
Additionally, the sample was negatively related to career satisfaction (r = -0.16, p <
0.01), which means that the respondents from the Netherlands experienced more career
satisfaction than the respondents from Belgium. Furthermore, the sample was negatively
related to the number of promotions (r = -0.32 p < 0.01), meaning that the respondents from
the Netherlands received a higher number of promotions. Moreover, the sample was
significantly and positively related to traditional career orientation (r = 0.19, p < 0.01), which
means that respondents from Belgium scored higher on traditional career orientation than
25
TABLE 1: Correlation, Means and Standard Deviations.
M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Gender1 1.46 0.50 (-)
2. Age 34.35 6.78 -0.08 (-)
3. Sample2 0.26 0.44 0.02 -0.48** (-)
4. Number of promotions 2.38 2.09 -0.10† 0.61** -0.32** (-)
5. Traditional Career Orientation 4.54 0.98 -0.12* -0.09 0.19** -0.04 (0.69)
6. Protean Career Orientation 6.14 0.57 0.24** -0.09 0.04 -0.09† -0.10† (0.63)
7. Career Satisfaction 4.95 0.93 0.01 0.21** -0.16** 0.30** 0.06 -0.02 (0.77)
8. Work engagement 5.03 0.99 0.22** 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.08 0.08 0.39** (0.93)
Note: Cronbach’s alpha is in parentheses along the diagonal † p < .10 (2-tailed), * p < .05 (2-tailed), ** p < .01 (2-tailed),
1 Dummy coded, 1 = male, 2 = female.
Hypothesis testing 1-3: regressions and mediation
Hypothesis 1 stated that objective career success would be positively related to career
satisfaction. Regression analyses (see Table 2, H1) confirmed that objective career success
played an important role in predicting career satisfaction, controlling for gender, age and the
sample (country) of the respondents. The results showed that the number of promotions was
positively and highly significantly related to career satisfaction (B = 0.26, p < 0.01). This
means that Hypothesis 1 is supported.
Hypothesis 2 stated that career satisfaction would be positively related to work
engagement. Regression analyses (see Table 2, H2) confirmed that career satisfaction played
an important role in predicting work engagement, controlling for gender, age and the sample
(country) of the respondents. The results showed that a higher level of career satisfaction was
positively and highly significantly associated with work engagement (B = 0.42, p < 0.01),
thereby largely confirming Hypothesis 2. Moreover, the results showed that gender (being a
female) was positively and significantly associated with work engagement (B = 0.21, p <
0.01).
Hypothesis 3 assumed that the relationship between objective career success and work
engagement would be mediated by career satisfaction. The results in Table 2 support this
hypothesis. It can be stated that there is full mediation, since the direct relation between the
number of promotions and work engagement is not significant (B = 0.05, p = 0.36).
Moreover, the results derived from the mediation analysis using the SPSS macro developed
by Hayes (2013), showed that the indirect effect of the number of promotions on work
27
TABLE 2: Regression and mediation.
Predictors CS CS (H1) WE WE (H2) WE WE (H3) Intercept 4.96** (0.05) 4.95** (0.05) 5.04** (0.05) 5.03** (0.05) 5.03** (0.05) 5.02** (0.05) Gender1 0.02 (0.05) 0.03 (0.05) 0.22** (0.05) 0.21** (0.05) 0.22**(0.05) 0.21** (0.05) Age2 0.17** (0.06) 0.01 (0.07) 0.04 (0.06) -0.04 (0.06) -0.01 (0,08) -0.01 (0.07) Sample -0.07 (0.06) -0.06 (0.06) 0.02 (0.06) 0.05 (0.06) 0.01 (0.06) 0.04 (0.06) Number of promotions 0.26** (0.06) 0.06 (0.07) -0.05 (0.07) Career Satisfaction 0.42** (0.05) 0.42** (0.05) R2 0.05 0.09 0.05 0.20 0.05 0.20
Note: †p < .10 (2-tailed), *p < .05 (2-tailed), ** p < .01 (2-tailed). CS= Career Satisfaction. WE= Work Engagement.
1 Dummy coded, 1 = male, 2 = female,
Hypothesis testing 4: moderation
Hypothesis 4a proposed that the positive relationship between objective career success
and career satisfaction would be moderated by traditional career orientation in such a way that
the relationship would be stronger when traditional career orientation is high rather than low.
We found a significant interaction effect of the number of promotions and traditional career
orientation on career satisfaction (B = 0.15, p < 0.01), confirming Hypothesis 4a (see Table 3,
H4a). In order to analyse the interaction effect in more detail, the procedure proposed by
Aiken and West (1991) was followed. The graphical representation of the significant
interaction effects is depicted in Figure 3.
As expected in Hypothesis 4a, the number of promotions was positively related to
career satisfaction when individuals have a strong traditional career orientation (b = 0.42, t =
5.15, p < 0.01), whereas the relationship was not significant for individuals with a low
traditional career orientation (b = 0.13, t = 1.76, p = 0.08). The simple slope analysis showed
that the relationship between the number of promotions and career satisfaction was moderated
by traditional career orientation, in such a way that a high number of promotions was related
to more career satisfaction when traditional career orientation was also high.
Hypothesis 4b proposed that the relationship between objective career success and
career satisfaction would be moderated by protean career orientation, in such a way that the
relationship would be weaker when protean career orientation is high rather than low.
However, we did not find a significant interaction effect of the number of promotions and
protean career orientation on career satisfaction (B = 0.06, p = 0.27). Hypothesis 4b was thus
29
TABLE 3: Regression and moderation.
Predictors CS CS CS CS (H4a) CS CS (H4b) Intercept 4.96** (0.05) 4.95** (0.05) 4.95** (0.05) 4.95***(0.05) 4.95 ** (0.05) 4.95 ** (0.05) Gender1 0.02 (0.05) 0.03 (0.05) 0.04(0.05) 0.04** (0.05) 0.03 (0.05) 0.02 (0.05) Age2 0.17** (0.06) 0.01 (0.07) 0.01 (0.07) -0.00 (0.07) 0.01 (0.07) 0.00 (0.07) Sample -0.07 (0.06) -0.06 (0.06) -0.07 (0.06) -0.06 (0.06) -0.06 (0.06) -0.06 (0.06) Number of promotions 0.26** (0.06) 0.26** (0.06) 0.27 (0.06) 0.26 ** (0.06) 0.26** (0.06)
Traditional Career Orientation 0.08 (0.05) 0.07 (0.05)
Protean Career Orientation 0.00 (0.05) 0.01 (0.05)
Interaction 0.15** (0.05) 0.06 (0.05)
R2 0.05 0.09 0.10 0.13 0.09 0.10
Note: † p < .10 (2-tailed), * p < .05 (2-tailed), ** p < .01 (2-tailed). CS = Career Satisfaction
1 Dummy coded, 1 = male, 2 = female,
FIGURE 3. Interaction effect of the number of promotions and traditional career orientation on career satisfaction.
Hypothesis testing 5: moderated mediation
Hypothesis 5a assumed that the indirect relationship between objective career success
and work engagement as mediated by career satisfaction would be stronger when traditional
career orientation is high rather than low. The results in Table 4 show that this hypothesis can
partly be supported. The moderating effect of a traditional career orientation on the
relationship between the number of promotions and work engagement as mediated by career
satisfaction is significant when the traditional career orientation is average (95% CI LL =
0.06, 95% CI UL = 0.20) and high (95% CI LL = 0.10, 95% CI UL = 0.28). However, the
conditional indirect relation between the number of promotions and work engagement is not
significant for low traditional career orientation (95% CI LL = -0.02, 95% CI UL = 0.15).
Hypothesis 5b assumed that the indirect relationship between objective career success
and work engagement as mediated by career satisfaction would be weaker when protean
career orientation is high rather than low. Given the fact that the relationship between the 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7
Low Number of promotions High Number of promotions
number of promotions and career satisfaction was not significantly moderated by protean
career orientation, Hypothesis 5b can be rejected.
TABLE 4: Bootstrapped conditional indirect effects.
Hypothesis 5a
Effect 95% CI LL 95% CI UL
Low Traditional Career Orientation (-1 SD) 0.06 -0.02 0.15
Average Traditional Career Orientation 0.12 0.06 0.20
High Traditional Career Orientation (+1 SD) 0.18 0.10 0.28
DISCUSSION
For decades, hierarchical advancement has been viewed as a hallmark of a successful
career (Greenhaus, & Kossek, 2014). This traditional view of a successful career,
characterized by obtaining greater objective, extrinsic rewards (Sullivan, & Baruch, 2009),
has been incorporated in the appraisal and reward system of many organisations, since these
extrinsic rewards were expected to enhance the satisfaction, commitment and performance of
employees (Dries, Van Acker, & Verbruggen, 2012). However, new perspectives on careers
and career success have emerged in career theory and career theorists have questioned the
importance of extrinsic, objective rewards to individuals nowadays. The goal of the current
research was to empirically address the influence of objective career success on the career
satisfaction and engagement of employees nowadays, taken the individual’s personal career
orientation – traditional or protean – into account.
We assumed that objective career success would indirectly lead to work engagement.
Derived from Judge et al (1995), we expected that individuals would appraise their career
theory (Festinger, 1954), we supposed that obtaining more/higher extrinsic rewards compared
to others was likely to positively influence an individual’s career satisfaction, since objective
success factors are still recognised by society as benchmarks of career success (Arthur,
Khapova, & Wilderom, 2005). Moreover, based upon previous research we proposed that
employees who are more satisfied with their careers are more engaged (Peluchette-Van Eck,
1993; Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). Hence, we assumed that objective career success
would indirectly predict work engagement. Thus, we proposed that this relationship would be
mediated by career satisfaction. The results confirmed our expectations and revealed that
objective career success enhanced career satisfaction and that career satisfaction in turn
increased work engagement. Moreover, we found empirical support for the hypothesis that
objective career success indirectly predicts work engagement.
We furthermore assumed that the weight individuals attach to extrinsic success might
differ depending upon their personal career orientation. Therefore, we expected the extent to
which career satisfaction would be influenced by objective career success to differ for
individuals with a traditional or protean career orientation. Hence, since career satisfaction
measures the extent to which individuals believe their career progress is consistent with their
own goals, values and preferences (Seibert, & Kraimer, 2001; Abele, & Spurk, 2009), we
assumed that the relationship between objective career success and career satisfaction would
be stronger for individuals with a traditional career orientation. We expected the relationship
to become stronger, since these individuals value upward advancements (Dries, Van Acker, &
Verbruggen, 2012). Results confirmed our expectations and exposed that a high number of
promotions was related to more career satisfaction when traditional career orientation was
also high. This means that individuals with a high traditional career orientation derive more
satisfaction from a high level of objective career success then individuals with a low
In addition, we assumed that the relationship between objective career success and
career satisfaction would be weaker for individuals with a protean career orientation, since the
subjective career success of individuals who are protean career oriented does not depend on
the achievement of societally endorsed outcomes such as vertical advancement (Valcour, &
Ladge, 2008). Hence, we expected that the satisfaction derived from obtaining greater
extrinsic rewards would be weakened for protean career oriented individuals, since this
objective success is often received at the expense of meeting other demands meaningful to the
individual. However, the results did not support our assumption; there was no significant
interaction effect between objective career success and protean career orientation on career
satisfaction. This implies that the relationship between objective career success and career
satisfaction is not influenced by protean career orientation.
Lastly, we assumed that the indirect relationship between objective career success and
work engagement as mediated by career satisfaction would be moderated by an individual’s
career orientation in such a way that the relationship would be stronger when traditional
career orientation is high rather than low and that the relationship would be weaker when
protean career orientation is high rather than low. The results partly supported our
assumption. Since we found no moderation effect of protean career orientation on the
relationship between objective career success and career satisfaction, this implied that our
expectation that the indirect relationship between objective career success and work
engagement would be moderated by protean career orientation was also not empirically
confirmed.
However, we found empirical evidence that traditional career orientation is
moderating the indirect relationship between objective career success and work engagement.
The moderating effect of traditional career orientation on the relationship between objective
traditional career orientation was high, whereas this relationship was not significant in case of
a low traditional career orientation. In other words, objective career success can indirectly
enhance an individual’s work engagement, via an increased career satisfaction, and this
direction of influence will become even stronger when individuals hold a strong traditional
career orientation.
Theoretical implications
Together with the changing perspectives on careers and career success in career
literature over the last decade, career theorist have began to focus on the subjective dimension
of career success instead of on the objective dimension. According to the protean career
literature, the ultimate goal of individuals is psychological, subjective success instead of
vertical success as in the traditional career (Hall, 2004). Hence, the importance of objective
career success to individuals has been questioned. However, the empirical results of this study
clearly show that objective, extrinsic success factors still predict employees’ career
satisfaction and work engagement. Moreover, the results show that this indirect relationship is
even stronger for individuals with a high traditional career orientation. Having a strong
protean career orientation on the contrary does not affect this relationship.
Thus, at the very least, we can conclude that the traditional career not has disappeared,
since objective career success factors still positively predict an individual’s satisfaction about
his or her career and also indirectly enhance work engagement, albeit to a different extent
depending on the individual’s personal career orientation. New perspectives on the career and
career success, such as the protean career, might rather have supplemented the traditional
career instead of replaced it.
This implies that it is still important to focus on objective career success in career
(2013) have underlined the importance to empirically examine the relationships between
protean career orientation and career outcomes such as career satisfaction, well-being, and
performance especially in competition with other career constructs that are demonstrably
different from the protean career, such as traditional career measures. In that light a major
contribution of this study to career literature is made by the empirical examination of a new
career concept, the protean career orientation, in relation to career satisfaction and work
engagement together with the traditional measure of career success; objective career success.
To compete effectively nowadays, it is increasingly important for organisations to
have employees who are engaged with their work (Bakker, Albrecht, & Leiter, 2010).
Employing engaged employees is in the very interest of organisations, since work
engagement is linked to several positive organisational outcomes, such as extra-role
behaviour, costumer loyalty and financial returns (Bakker, 2011). Although work engagement
has become increasingly important, very little research has been conducted about the
relationship between career satisfaction and work engagement and only a few studies have
investigated career satisfaction as an antecedent of work engagement (Peluchette-Van Eck,
1993; Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). This study has contributed to career research by
examining the relationship between career satisfaction and work engagement. The results
showed that objective career success indirectly leads to the work engagement of individuals
and that this indirect relationship mediated by career satisfaction is even stronger for
individuals with a high traditional career orientation. Consequently, our results also bear a
number of practical implications.
Practical implications
First of all, our study shows that objective career success still plays an important role
organisations should more than ever focus on talent management as a strategic tool to attract
and retain valuable employees and to keep them engaged (Dries, Van Acker, & Verbruggen,
2012), it is in the organisation’s best interest to address their employees’ needs. An important
step for organisations in contributing to employees’ career satisfaction and work engagement
is discovering what employees want from their careers. This study shows that objective,
extrinsic rewards can (still) contribute to an individual’s career satisfaction and work
engagement, especially when the employee has a high traditional career orientation.
However, as new career orientations, such as the protean career orientation, continue
to emerge, it might be beneficial for organisations to discover what those employees want
from their careers and how, if possible, they can contribute to that as an organisation.
Otherwise, the firm may offer resources to their protean career oriented employees that will
be unsuccessful in strengthening their career satisfaction and work engagement since these
resources do not address their needs (Heslin, 2005). Thus, in taking more advantage of talent
management as a strategic tool, organisations may first of all want to gain more insight in the
career orientations of their employees. Moreover, according to these career orientations,
organisations may want to discover the specific needs of their employees and adapt their
reward systems in line with that.
Limitations and suggestions for further research
Our study is not without it’s limitations. First of all, various authors have pointed out
that it is far from clear what “being protean” actually means. The lack of clarity with regard to
the concept has caused its few operationalizations to vary substantially in their complexity
and content (Gubler et al., 2013), so a self-developed measurement of protean career
orientation was used in this study. In line with the protean career literature, core values of a
(Gubler et al., 2013) pointed out, it is not clear which values are referred to in the concept
exactly. Next to our selected values, other values might be important as well in addressing the
protean career orientation. Additional relevant values capturing the concept of protean career
orientation are therefore definitely worth further exploration in future studies.
Moreover, no significant effect of protean career orientation was found on the
relationship between objective career success and career satisfaction. A reason for this might
be the way in which the concept of career satisfaction is measured. Measures of career
satisfaction may be deficient (Heslin, 2005) because the items comprising the scale
(satisfaction with regard to amount of money and prestige amongst others) may not fully
incorporate an individual’s personal criteria regarding what constitutes success in his or her
eyes (Arthur et al., 2005). The measurement of career satisfaction used in this study builds
upon the career satisfaction questionnaire of Greenhaus et al (1990), a questionnaire that is
widely used in career research as a measurement of career satisfaction (Ng, Eby, Sorensen, &
Feldman, 2005), but which items mainly address traditional, objective career factors. Since
career satisfaction may be defined as the individuals internal apprehension and evaluation of
his or her career across any dimensions that are important to the individual (Arthur et al.,
2005), future studies may develop a measure of career satisfaction that captures a much
broader range of items addressing additional dimensions of career success that are valued by
the individual.
Lastly, empirical data was gathered by surveying a group of highly educated
employees who all follow/followed a traineeship facilitated by the same organisation. Results
regarding the personal career orientations amongst others could possibly be different for
individuals with dissimilar demographic characteristics. Therefore, we would like to
