Abstract
The increasing demand for flexibility and adaptability among workers underscores the necessity to explore the outcomes of enhanced proactivity in employees. This study explores the role of job crafting and career competencies (i.e., knowing why, knowing how, and knowing whom) in the relationship between boundaryless career orientation and opposite indicators of subjective career success (i.e., work engagement and job insecurity). Data collected on a sample of 1431 Italian workers (75.5% females; Mage = 37.95) were tested using nested models via Structural Equation Modeling. The results provided support for a significant serial mediation pathway from boundaryless career orientation to work engagement and perceived job insecurity through the subsequent role of job crafting and career competencies. This study sheds light on the protective role of a boundaryless career orientation in fueling a proactive attitude to navigate the progressive fading of traditional career paths and employment stability while sustaining workers’ engagement.
In recent years, the labor market landscape and organizational contexts of major industrialized economies, such as the EU and US, have experienced rapid changes (Ng & Stanton, 2023). The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the necessity for swift adaptation to survive sudden challenges (Ng & Stanton, 2023). Uncertainty prevails across various sectors and organizational contexts, shaping perceptions and strategies (Fan & Qian, 2023; Sharma et al., 2020). Companies, in response, have sought to contain costs by cutting benefits, fostering worker insecurity (Lian et al., 2022). Reorganization processes, vital for organizational adaptation, often heighten job insecurity for individuals (Piccoli et al., 2017). Studies highlight the adverse effects of job insecurity on employee well-being and organizational transitions (De Cuyper et al., 2020; Sverke et al., 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this, reducing work engagement (Romero-Martín et al., 2022). With traditional employment relationships giving way to alternative arrangements, the notion of a career has evolved towards continuous adaptation and skill acquisition (De Vos et al., 2019). Amidst uncertainty, individuals and organizations must navigate career development effectively (Baruch & Vardi, 2016). Robust career competencies are essential for success in a boundaryless labor market, including motivation, knowledge acquisition, and networking (Jo et al., 2023). The integrative model proposed by Guan et al. (2019) combines boundaryless career orientation with subjective indicators of career success.
Boundaryless careers transcend single employment settings, involving organizational, relational, and psychological facets (DeFillippi & Arthur, 1994). Career orientation shapes individuals’ pursuit of opportunities beyond their current scope (Briscoe et al., 2006; Gerber et al., 2009). A boundaryless career orientation encourages proactive self-management, enhancing personal resources and learning gains. While subjective career success indicators have been studied, research on career agency and mechanisms linking career attitudes with success is limited (Abele et al., 2016). Few studies explore the relationship between boundarylessness and job insecurity, or career insecurity (e.g., Çolakoğlu, 2011), despite the conceptual association (Abele et al., 2016). This study proposes a negative relationship between boundarylessness and job insecurity mediated by job crafting and career competencies.
Theoretical Background and Hypotheses Development
This study is grounded in the career agency perspective, as articulated by Tams and Arthur (2010). This perspective emphasizes the proactive role individuals play in managing and shaping their careers within a dynamic and interdependent global context. This theoretical framework posits that individuals who exhibit a boundaryless career orientation are more likely to engage in proactive job crafting behaviors. These behaviors enable them to align their job roles with their personal objectives, thereby enhancing their career-related competencies. One of the prominent operationalizations of boundaryless career orientation identifies two underlying dimensions: (a) boundaryless mindset, entailing the “capacity to move as seen through the mind of career actor,” and (b) mobility preference, describing the “actual movement between jobs, firms, occupations, and countries” (Sullivan & Arthur, 2006, p. 21). Prior research has revealed that boundaryless career orientation is positively associated with subjective and objective career success (Briscoe et al., 2012; Enache et al., 2011; Verbruggen, 2012).
According to the model proposed by Guan et al. (2019), the impact of boundaryless careers on career success can vary due to several individual and contextual factors. Boundaryless careers have been shown to lead to more opportunities and advantages. These include an increase in career resources and skill levels, as well as expanded social networks. However, they can also entail costs and risks, such as physical and mental stress, and difficulties and shock related to transitions. The impact depends on whether the mobility is voluntary or imposed, individual factors like a person’s resources and coping strategies, and organizational factors such as institutional support and the organization’s views on mobility. Career success can be measured by both objective and subjective indicators. Objective career success involves externally observable indicators, including salary and promotions (Ng et al., 2005). In contrast, subjective career success pertains to personally meaningful and intangible outcomes, often measured through career satisfaction (Seibert et al., 2013) and considerations of growth, development, personal life, and authenticity (Haenggli & Hirschi, 2020; Spurk et al., 2019).
Although the available literature has thoroughly explored various variables associated with subjective career success, there is limited research grounded in the career agency perspective (Tams & Arthur, 2010) that specifically targets employees’ daily work experience variables (Peng et al., 2021). The career agency perspective emphasizes how individuals actively shape their career paths through proactive behaviors, including job crafting and the enhancement of career competencies (Berg et al., 2010; Tims et al., 2012). More specifically, when individuals with a boundaryless career orientation proactively engage in self-management behaviors that increase their personal and job resources and produce learning gains, they will have more positive experiences in their daily work lives (Hirschi, 2014). As subjective career success is defined as employees’ perceptions and feelings about their professional life (e.g., Park, 2010), we may assume that employees with great boundaryless career orientation will also experience higher work engagement as reported by preliminary findings (Alok & Rajthilak, 2023). Work engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related psychological state that results from the combination of three interrelated dimensions, namely, vigor, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004; Schaufeli & De Witte, 2017). Vigor encompasses high energy and resilience, dedication involves a profound sense of meaning, pride, and work-related challenge, and absorption characterizes employees fully engrossed and happily absorbed in their work. Aligned with this understanding, earlier research has incorporated work engagement as an aspect of subjectively defined success measures (Smith et al., 2012). Employees with a high boundaryless career orientation are intrinsically motivated and self-directed. They constantly pursue self-driven goals and activities (Volmer & Spurk, 2011). This shared attitude aligns them with engaged employees. Similarly, these employees proactively engage in self-management behaviors driven by a sense of competence, meaningfulness, and choice. This results in experiencing strong intrinsic motivation (Thomas, 2009). Furthermore, they experience less job insecurity, defined as an individual’s anticipation of a loss in the continuity and stability of employment, perceived as a significant threat not only to the current job due to unpredictable and uncontrollable events that may disrupt the continuity of the individual’s professional trajectory (Sverke & Hellgren, 2002). Work engagement and job insecurity capture the dual nature of subjective career success, providing a comprehensive understanding of both its positive and negative dimensions. Job insecurity reflects an employee’s perception of the threat to the continuity and stability of their job, which is inherently contrary to the concept of career success. Job insecurity significantly undermines an individual’s sense of career stability and progress, which are fundamental to perceptions of career success (Jiang & Lavaysse, 2018). Furthermore, job insecurity is associated with reduced opportunities for career advancement, professional development, and skill utilization, all of which are key indicators of career success (Vander Elst et al., 2016). Conversely, work engagement reflects a positive psychological state that significantly contributes to an individual’s overall career satisfaction. It plays a crucial role in enhancing employees’ perceptions of career success by increasing job satisfaction, elevating performance levels, and fostering a heightened sense of well-being in their professional endeavors (Joo & Lee, 2017).
Employees with a strong boundaryless career orientation perceive themselves, both in their current job and other possible alternative jobs, as having more resources and career competencies to cope with work turbulence (Mazzetti et al., 2018). Previous research has shown a negative relationship between career competencies (considering career boundarylessness as an antecedent) and career insecurity (Çolakoğlu, 2011). Based on these rationales, we propose the following hypothesis:
Boundaryless career orientation is associated with higher levels of work engagement (H1a) and negatively related to perceived job insecurity (H1b).
From the career agency perspective, agency encompasses the actions individuals take to influence their environment (Brown & Lent, 2016). Job crafting, a construct integrating individual and interdependent dimensions, involves proactive changes aligning job roles with personal goals (Berg et al., 2010; Tims et al., 2012). There are two commonly acknowledged perspectives on job crafting. Wrzesniewski and Dutton’s (2001) perspective conceptualizes job crafting as limited to changes that can be made within the physical and cognitive boundaries of work tasks and relational attributes. This includes altering the type and number of tasks, adjusting cognitions regarding the tasks, and modifying interactions with others during job performance (p. 182). Tims et al.’s (2012) perspective on the other hand, builds upon this approach by incorporating the job demands–resources (JD–R) model to capture additional forms of job crafting. This involves changing the job by decreasing job demands, such as cutting unwanted or unnecessary task engagements, and increasing job resources, such as developing skills. In the current study, we adopt Tims et al.’s (2012) perspective that conceptualizes job crafting more broadly as changes to job demands and resources (p. 174) as it serves more inclusively for understanding the links between study variables in broader sense. Job crafting behaviors, aimed at enhancing job resources and challenging demands, integrate the career agency approach (Tams & Arthur, 2010). Proactive employees driven by career engagement tend to exhibit increased job crafting behaviors (Kim et al., 2018; Kundi et al., 2021). Learning, a key feature of agency, involves self-reflection and adaptation in career transitions (Rottinghaus et al., 2012). Career agency leads to an increase in career competencies, facilitated by job crafting behaviors (Guan et al., 2019). Job crafting initiatives foster on-the-job learning, enhancing motivation, expertise, and interpersonal skills (Kuijpers et al., 2020). Career adaptability positively correlates with job crafting, indicating its role in skill cultivation (Federici et al., 2021). Çolakoğlu (2011) describes career competencies as critical skills and attributes that enable individuals to effectively navigate and manage their career trajectories, especially within boundaryless career contexts. These competencies are classified into three dimensions: knowing-why, knowing-how, and knowing-whom. In particular, knowing-why involves an understanding of personal motivations and career aspirations, knowing-how encompasses the acquisition of transferable skills and knowledge, and knowing-whom refers to the development of a broad professional network. Collectively, these competencies facilitate proactive career management and adaptability in evolving career environments (Çolakoğlu, 2011). Previous findings suggest that job crafting mediates the relationship between boundaryless career orientation and career success (Kundi et al., 2021). The job crafting behavior mediates the relationship between existing career competencies and perceived employability, indicating that career competencies drive job crafting behaviors, which subsequently enhance perceived employability (Akkermans & Tims, 2017). Numerous studies support the connection between career competencies and success (Blokker et al., 2019). Based on the career agency perspective and the model proposed by Guan et al. (2019), job crafting linked to a boundaryless career orientation enhances career competencies. These enhanced competencies then mediate the relationship between boundaryless career orientation and career success. Supported by this model as well as in the hypothesized relationships in our previous argument about H1, we propose the following hypothesis:
Boundaryless career orientation is positively related to job crafting (as a first mediator), which in turn enhances career competencies— that is, knowing why, knowing how, and knowing whom (as a second mediator). These competencies then exhibit opposite relationships with career success indicators: positively with work engagement (H2a) and negatively with perceived job insecurity (H2b).
Method
Data Collection
The data collection procedure involved a self-administered electronic survey. Members of the research team contacted several Italian organizations to invite them to participate in the study. The questionnaire was administered using the Qualtrics online platform (https://www.qualtrics.com/it). The participants received an e-mail containing an anonymous link, enabling them to access the online questionnaire. The anonymity and confidentiality of the collected data were guaranteed following the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and the guidelines for personal data treatment defined by the General Data Protection Regulation and Italian privacy law (Law Decree DL-196/2003 and at. 89 of EU REGULATION 2016/679). All the participants provided informed consent. The first page of the online questionnaire provided detailed information about the study through a Participant Information Sheet and Participation Consent form. Consent was obtained using the click-box method. The questionnaire was only accessible to participants who ticked the “I agree” box. By selecting the “I do not agree” box, the questionnaire was automatically closed. Questionnaires with 20% or more of the items unanswered were deemed invalid and were not included in the analysis (Graham, 2009). Based on this criterion, 45 questionnaires, or approximately 3.1% of the total collected data, were excluded from the analysis. The participants were 1431 Italian workers. Most were female (74.7%), and the average age was 37.92 years old (SD = 10.28; min = 18; max = 75). As for the participants’ employment sector, 73.3% worked in the industrial sector, 14% in the commercial sector, and the remaining 12.7% in the public administration sector. More than half of the participants held a university degree (58.8%), 27.5% were high school graduates, and the remaining 13.7% had a higher qualification, such as a master’s degree or PhD. The sample consisted of office workers (53.3%), supervisors (36.5%), and managers (4.2%). Most of them had a permanent job (69.2%) and worked full-time (63.9%); the mean period of employment was 10.36 years (SD = 8.86; min = 1; max = 49).
Measures
Boundaryless Career Orientation
Boundaryless career orientation was measured using the Boundaryless Career Attitude Scale (Briscoe et al., 2006; It. version: Lo Presti et al., 2011). This measure has been shown to be reliable in multiple studies (e.g., Gubler et al., 2014). The scale consists of two subscales assessing two facets of boundaryless career orientation: boundaryless mindset and mobility preference. The boundaryless mindset dimension (eight items) evaluates the overall attitude towards searching for job opportunities across organizational boundaries. A sample item is “I enjoy job assignments that require me to work outside the organization.” The dimension of mobility preference (five items) is aimed at assessing the strength of one’s willingness to stick with a single (or multiple) employer and within the current organization. A sample item is “In my ideal career, I would work for only one organization (reversed).” All items were scored on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Job Crafting
Job crafting was measured using the Italian version of the Dutch Job Crafting Scale, developed by Tims et al. (2012); It. version: Cenciotti et al., 2016). The scale has demonstrated high reliability in various studies (e.g., Lichtenthaler & Fischbach, 2019). This measure includes the three increasing dimensions of job crafting (Bakker et al., 2012): increasing structural job resources (four items, e.g., “I make sure that I use my capacities to the fullest”), increasing social job resources (four items, e.g., “I ask whether my supervisor is satisfied with my work”), and increasing challenging job demands (five items, e.g., “When an interesting project comes along, I offer myself proactively as project co-worker”). Participants were asked to rate each item on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).
Career Competencies
Career competencies were assessed using items developed by Çolakoğlu (2011). The measure has been validated in multiple contexts (e.g., Hirschi & Jaensch, 2015). The Knowing-why competencies scale (ten items, e.g., “I have a good idea about my career-related skills and abilities”) gauged the individual’s understanding of their interests, abilities, values, strengths, and areas for improvement in career and life experiences. The Knowing-how competencies scale (six items, e.g., “I have a diversified set of job-related skills”) assessed the extent to which individuals acquire a diverse portfolio of transferable job-related skills and knowledge. The Knowing-whom competencies scale (eleven items, e.g., “I regularly network with individuals outside of my organization”) aimed to measure the extent to which individuals invest in developing a broad relationship network for information, guidance, influence, and support. Items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Work Engagement
Work engagement was assessed using the ultra-short version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-3) developed by Schaufeli et al. (2019). The UWES-3 has shown excellent reliability in various studies. For instance, Fong and Ng (2021) confirmed reliability with alpha values consistently high across different samples. The scale consists of three items: “At my work, I feel bursting with energy” (vigor); “I am enthusiastic about my job” (dedication); and “I am immersed in my work” (absorption). The response options ranged on a five-point agreement scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always).
Job Insecurity
Job insecurity was measured using the scale proposed by Castellini et al. (2016) and comprised five items. Previous studies provided evidence for the internal reliability of this measure (e.g., Chirumbolo et al., 2020). A sample item was “I’m afraid I’m losing my job.” Participants rated each item on a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Data Analysis
Structural equation modeling (SEM) using the AMOS (version 26) software package (Arbuckle, 2019) was used to test the hypotheses. In particular, nested models were compared using χ2 differences to determine if the partial or full mediation model fit better than the others. Along with the goodness-of-fit statistic χ 2 , model fit was estimated using the Tucker–Lewis Index (TLI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA). As a rule of thumb, TLI, CFI, and GFI values greater than .90, and RMSEA at or below .08, provide evidence of acceptable model fit (Byrne, 2001; Hu & Bentler, 1999). The hypothesized model included latent boundaryless career orientation indicated by a boundaryless mindset and mobility preference. Job crafting was represented as a latent variable with observed indicators of increasing structural job resources, increasing social job resources, and increasing challenging job demands. Career competencies were assessed through observed scores on knowing why, knowing how, and knowing whom. Work engagement and job insecurity were modeled as a single latent factor indicated by corresponding scale scores. This research viewed boundaryless career, job crafting, and career competencies as higher-order factors with underlying lower-order factors. Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) tested the factor structure of the measurement model by comparing the hypothesized structure with two alternative models.
Results
Preliminary Analysis
Means, Standard Deviation, Cronbach’s Alphas (in Brackets), and Correlations Among the Study Variables (N = 1431).
Note. JR, job resources; **p < .05; ***p < .001.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results (N = 1431).
Note. χ2, Chi-square, df, degrees of freedom; TLI, Tucker–Lewis index; GFI, goodness-of-fit index; CFI, comparative fit index; RMSEA, root mean square error of approximation; SRMR, standardized root mean squared residual; ***p < .001.
Hypotheses Testing
To test our first hypothesis, a linear regression analysis tested the direct relationship between boundaryless career orientation and subjective career success (i.e., work engagement and perceived job insecurity). In line with our hypothesis, boundaryless career orientation was positively related to employees’ work engagement: F(1, 1429) = 36.30, β = .16, p = .000, 95% CI [.26, .51]. This result supports H1a. In a complementary manner, boundaryless career orientation also showed a negative association with perceived job insecurity, in particular, F(1, 1429) = 35.76, β = −.16, p = .000, 95% CI [−.35, −.18]. This result indicates that stronger boundaryless career orientation is associated with lower levels of perceived insecurity, in line with H1b. The hypothesized mediation model (M1) showed a good fit to the data, with χ 2 (33) = 259.72 (p < .001), CFI = .93, TLI = .91, GFI = .97; RMSEA = .06 [90% CI .06, .08], and SRMR = .04. Moreover, all indicators showed significant factor loadings on their respective latent factors (p < .001), with λ values ranging from .50 to .93, thus meeting the commonly accepted threshold of .50 (Hair et al., 2006).
As shown in Figure 1, the results indicated that boundaryless career orientation was positively related to job crafting: γ = .42 (p < .001, 95% CI [.40, .63]). Job crafting strategies, in turn, were positively associated with career competencies: γ = .69 (p < .001, 95% CI [.54, .71]). Concerning the criterion variables of the model, career competencies were positively associated with work engagement: γ = .48 (p < .001, 95% CI [.72, .96]). However, career competencies were negatively related to perceived job insecurity: γ = −.28 (p < .001, 95% CI [−.70, −.44]). Standardized path coefficients of the final model. Notes. JR, job resources; ***p < .001; (n.s.), non-significant, control variables are omitted for reasons of clarity. Dotted lines denote the direct effect of independent variable on the dependent variable.
In the next series of analyses, M1 was compared with the partial mediation model (M2), which comprised of direct paths from boundaryless career orientation to subjective career success indicators (i.e., work engagement and perceived job insecurity). The indices of the partial mediation model demonstrated that the difference between the models was statistically significant (Δχ2(2) = 17.68, p < .001). The addition of the direct path from the independent variable (i.e., boundaryless career orientation) to the model outcomes (i.e., work engagement and perceived job insecurity) significantly improves fit. In particular, the direct link between boundaryless career orientation and work engagement was significant: γ = .14 (p < .001, 95% CI [.27, .87]). Accordingly, the relationship between boundaryless career orientation and work engagement was partially mediated by job crafting and career competencies. This result provides partial support to H2a, although job crafting and career competencies mediate the relationship between boundaryless career orientation and work engagement, a significant direct relationship also persists. However, the direct link between boundaryless career orientation and perceived job insecurity was not significant (γ = −.03 (p < .648, 95% CI [−.22, .15]), thus indicating full mediation through job crafting and career competencies. This result is consistent with that of H2b. Overall, our results supported H2.
Discussion
The current study explores the relationship between boundaryless career orientation—comprising a boundaryless mindset and mobility preference—and subjective career success indicators (i.e., work engagement and perceived job insecurity). Grounded in the career agency perspective (Tams & Arthur, 2010) and the boundaryless career model (Guan et al., 2019), the findings demonstrate how job crafting (enhancing structural job resources, social job resources, and challenging job demands) and career competencies (knowing why, knowing how, and knowing whom) act as serial mediators.
Despite the conceptual association of boundaryless career orientation with lower stability and higher ambiguity, the results show that, through increased job crafting and career competencies, it is linked to reduced job insecurity. This pattern may explain full mediation rather than partial. The findings suggest that job crafting strategies and career competencies partly clarify the association between boundaryless career orientation and work engagement, which remains significant even after their inclusion. The model by Guan et al. (2019) highlights various potential mechanisms but acknowledges a direct link. The results underscore the significance of both indirect and direct effects of boundaryless career orientation on engagement. Overall, these results support the link between boundaryless career and career success through enhanced resources. A competence-based perspective on boundaryless career orientation provides a theoretical foundation for considering career competencies as resources acquired through boundaryless career behaviors (DeFillippi & Arthur, 1994). Moreover, the findings are in line with the empirical evidence supporting the link between boundaryless career orientation and career competencies (e.g., Çolakoğlu, 2011) and the significant mediating role of job crafting between career competencies and perceived employability (Akkermans & Tims, 2017). Similarly, Gerli et al. (2015) reported a positive link between boundaryless career and career success. A possible alternative foundation for the current findings could rely on the career construction model (Federici et al., 2021; Savickas, 2005). This model distinguishes adaptivity from adaptability and refers to adaptivity as an antecedent of the adaptation results. Thus, career adaptation results such as perceived job security require adaptivity (willingness) and adaptability (ability). In this paradigm, boundaryless career orientation can be considered the first requirement (willingness), and career competencies as the second requirement (ability). Our research model introduces a third variable (job crafting) that connects boundaryless career orientation and career competencies, forming a pathway toward subjective career success, evidenced by lower levels of perceived job insecurity. This study contributes significantly to the literature by exploring the overlooked domain of mechanisms linking career attitudes to subjective career success, with a specific focus on the perspective of career agency. The unique context of the COVID-19 pandemic further enhances the study’s relevance and contribution. Recent studies show the pandemic-related recession increased perceived job insecurity across career stages (e.g., De Angelis et al., 2021). This may negatively affect career management, particularly for those with fewer resources (Lin et al., 2021). Emphasizing work’s significance and person-to-work adaptation highlights subjective professional success as a key indicator of professional development.
Study Limitations
This study reports several limitations. The use of cross-sectional data prevents drawing causal conclusions, necessitating future research with longitudinal data to explore potential reverse causality effects, such as from career competencies to job crafting strategies. While self-report questionnaires were employed, concerns about common method variance were addressed through Harman’s single factor test and alternative factorial structures, which reported a poor fit to the data, disconfirming common method variance (Podsakoff et al., 2003). A further limitation involves the absence of controls for demographic variables. Recent literature indicates that career success perceptions may vary based on these factors. For instance, Chang et al. (2023) revealed that proactive career orientation significantly influences subjective career success, with this relationship moderated by demographic factors such as age, gender, and education. Similarly, Spurk et al. (2019) show that men often prioritize objective success (e.g., promotions), while women focus on subjective success (e.g., job satisfaction), and that younger individuals value career development, whereas older individuals prioritize job stability and security. Accordingly, future research should incorporate these demographic variables to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the relationships examined in this study. Furthermore, the study focused on individual perceptions, as job insecurity is inherently subjective, independent of the solidity of the objective employment contract (Klug et al., 2020; Shoss, 2017). Self-report measures were deemed suitable for exploring these constructs.
Research Implications
The current study provides substantial theoretical implications by examining the underexplored domain of mechanisms that connect career attitudes with subjective career success, through integration of several theoretical lenses. Specifically, study demonstrates that, by fostering increased job crafting and career competencies, boundaryless career orientation is associated with decreased job insecurity despite its direct theoretical association with decreased stability and increased ambiguity. This study adds an indirect path to Guan et al.’s (2019) model by testing the mediating role of job crafting strategies and career competencies in the association between boundaryless career orientation and work engagement. The study also elaborates on a job demands resources approach (Tims et al., 2012) to job crafting for linking boundaryless career and career success through enhanced resources. Study benefits from a competence-based approach to boundaryless career orientation (DeFillippi & Arthur, 1994) that offers a theoretical perspective for viewing career competencies as resources obtained through boundaryless career orientation. The research additionally provides insights into the theoretical frameworks regarding how they operate under the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study’s exclusive focus on quantitative job insecurity, centered on the perceived threat of job loss, overlooks qualitative aspects, such as concerns about losing benefits and career development opportunities (De Witte et al., 2016). Future research could replicate the study by integrating qualitative measures to explore potential differential effects of boundaryless career orientation on the mediators considered. Additionally, future career studies might benefit from considering the potential influence of contextual and structural factors, exploring their interdependencies with individual factors (Klug et al., 2024a, 2024b; Schneidhofer et al., 2019), and advancing research on career proactivity.
Practical Implications
The study’s findings hold practical implications for employee career management by human resources managers and career counseling. Despite boundaryless career orientation often being associated with higher intentions to quit, organizations can benefit from promoting it (Gerber et al., 2009; Rodrigues et al., 2015). Encouraging boundaryless career orientation through interventions is linked to increased engagement and reduced insecurity via enhanced job crafting and career competencies. Interventions promoting a proactive mindset for positive career self-management behaviors are recommended (Hirschi & Koen, 2021). The significant mediating role of career competencies highlights the importance of investing in workers’ career self-management strategies. Organizations can leverage gains from self-management interventions, fostering responsibility and competence in career management for higher success (Wang et al., 2022). HR practices, particularly in enhancing adaptability, are crucial for improving career competencies and personal outcomes (Di Maggio et al., 2022). Effective career counseling should recognize the complexity of current work conditions and focus on individual responsibility for career development and competencies (Rodrigues et al., 2015). Enlarging opportunities for job crafting strategies is essential, as job crafting mediates the association between boundaryless career orientation, insecurity, and engagement by fostering career competencies (Mukherjee & Dhar, 2022). Job crafting interventions can lead to positive organizational outcomes such as increased work engagement and job performance (Roczniewska et al., 2023). Human resources and managers can support employees with boundaryless career attitudes through actions like job redesign, autonomy, empowerment, and reinforcement of job crafting behaviors via training and rewards (Kundi et al., 2021). In today’s dynamic work environment, investing in employees' boundaryless career orientation can lead to multiple positive outcomes and successful integration of HRM practices.
Conclusion
The existing literature emphasizes the proactive pursuit of opportunities, resource acquisition, and skill development in career development. This proactive approach is essential for navigating labor market uncertainties and enhancing prospects for career success. The current findings affirm the critical role of individual resources and competencies in adapting to professional changes and striving for subjective career success. Educational and organizational environments that foster boundaryless orientations and facilitate skill cultivation are significant contributors to promoting proactive behaviors such as job crafting. These behaviors, in turn, lead to reduced perceptions of job insecurity and increased work engagement.
Footnotes
Author Contributions
Conceptualization: Greta Mazzetti, Eva Derous, and Dina Guglielmi; Methodology: Greta Mazzetti and Mehmet Çetin; Writing – original draft preparation: Greta Mazzetti, Elisa De Carlo, and Mehmet Çetin; Writing – review and editing: Carlos Alcover and Eva Derous; Supervision: Dina Guglielmi and Carlos Alcover.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
