Thriving and career outcomes: The roles of achievement orientation and resilience

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12287
• Author: Zhou Jiang,Ingrid Nielsen,Yiqi Jiang
• Published date: 01 January 2021
• Date: 01 January 2021

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Thriving and career outcomes: The roles of

achievement orientation and resilience

Zhou Jiang

1

| Yiqi Jiang

2,3

| Ingrid Nielsen

4

1

College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

2

Danshan Education Management Group, Yanjiang Education System, Sichuan, China

3

School of Literature and Communication & Alumni Unit, Yibin University, Yibin, China

4

Department of Management, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Correspondence

Zhou Jiang, College of Business, Government

and Law, Flinders University, Sturt Road,

Bedford Park, South Australia 5042, Australia.

Email: dr.zhou.jiang@gmail.com, zhou.jiang@

flinders.edu.au

Abstract

This research investigated how and under what conditions

thriving at work affects career attitudes and behaviors. Using

an experimental design (n= 174), Study 1 found that the

effects of thriving on career satisfaction, career commitment,

and career engagement were mediated by career resilience.

The positive effect of thriving on career resilience and the

resilience-mediated effects of thriving on career satisfaction,

commitment, and engagement were stronger when achieve-

ment orientation was higher. Study 2 verified these findings

with a survey of another sample of 296 employees. These

studies offerimportant insights for human resource managers

and career consultants or practitioners regarding what may

enhance employees' career outcomes. Our findingsimply that

thriving-enabling practices might be beneficial among highly

achievement-oriented employees.

KEYWORDS

achievement orientation, career commitment, career engagement,

career resilience, career satisfaction, thriving

1|INTRODUCTION

A career is “an evolving sequence of a person's work experience over time”(Arthur, Hall, & Lawrence, 1989,

p. 9). The sustainable development of one's career is an ongoing process that spans the course of a lifetime

(Super, 1980). Human resource management (HRM) research suggests that sustainable career growth requires

Received: 7 November 2018 Revised: 28 November 2019 Accepted: 20 February 2020

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12287

Hum Resour Manag J. 2021;31:143–164. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 143

employees to continuously achieve positive vocational outcomes (McDonald & Hite, 2018). Vocational atti-

tudes such as career commitment (one's attitude toward a chosen profession or vocation; Blau, 1985) and

career satisfaction (personal satisfaction with various career aspects; Parasuraman, Purohit, Godshalk, &

Beutell, 1996) serve as internal psychological forces that drive one's career progress (Joo & Park, 2010). From

the behavioral perspective, behaviors such as career engagement(one's proactive participa tion in career activi-

ties; Hirschi, Freund, & Herrmann, 2014) provide opportunities to build essential skills for career development

(Kim et al., 2014). Embedded in social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), these

career attitudes and behaviors, treated as critical indicators of healthy vocational status, have been explored as

to their antecedents. For example, research (e.g., Hirschi, Niles, & Akos, 2011; Martins, Eddleston, & Veiga,

2002; Zacher, 2014) shows that commitment, satisfaction, and engagement in vocational development are

influenced by similar antecedents ranging from individual (e.g., personality, career identity, and capability or

capability-related beliefs) to contextual characteristics (e.g., social support or barriers). In lin ew ith SCCT, theo-

rists contend that the roles of such personal and contextual characteristics ultimately merge in a way that is

reflected in individuals' psychological states (e.g., positive, energetic, or forward learning experiences), which

guide them through career processes (Lent & Brown, 2013; Savickas, 2002).

Thriving is such a state that integrates diverse, positive psychological reflections to produce favorable vocational out-

comes (Porath, Spreitzer, Gibson, & Garnett, 2012). The concept of thriving underscores energetic and vigorous learning,

foritis“the psychological state in which individuals experience both a sense of vitality and a sense of learning at work”

(Spreitzer, Sutcliffe, Dutton, Sonenshein, & Grant, 2005, p. 538). Researchers emphasize thriving as an essential mechanism

that leads individuals to be psychosocially adaptive in career contexts (Spreitzer & Porath, 2014). Although the importance

of thriving in one's career development is theoretically evident (Spreitzer et al., 2005), empirical research appears to be rela-

tively scant. While a small number of extant studies have integrated thriving into career development (e.g., Jiang, 2017;

Porath et al., 2012), they do not add to our understanding of how, why, or under what conditions thriving can boost career

outcomes. However, this understanding is important for both theoretical and practical reasons. Theoretically, such an

understanding can advance knowledge by presenting a more diverse and comprehensive view of the process thriving

employees to undergo progress in their careers. Practically, it would assist human resource (HR) managers and

WHAT IS CURRENTLY KNOWN?

•How workplace thriving benefits career development is empirically unclear.

•Under what conditions thriving boosts positive career outcomes is unclear.

WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS?

•A moderated mediation model tests how and when thriving is beneficial.

•Thriving benefits vocational outcomes through promoting career resilience.

•Achievement orientation is the condition making the role of thriving more salient.

THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS

•Career programs should enable employees' sense of vitality and learning.

•Thriving-enabling practices help to maintain employees' positive career status.

•Achievement-oriented workers' careers benefit more from these practices.

144 JIANG ET AL.