Abstract:
Purpose
The dynamic and complex working environment of 21sl century demands
extraordinary efforts from faculty of higher education. No matter what, faculty members
expected to be loyal to the organization, multitask and seek institutional support for the
effective development and delivery of their skills. However, around the world with the
increased implementation of ‘protean career orientation' the attitudes seem to have shifted,
and the employees are registering a drop in commitment towards their organization. It is very
important that this vicious circle has to be tackled keeping in mind the personal growth ofthe
faculty which can leverage the academic institutions and quality education. The concept of
career has come a long way from being traditional to protean; now generation X has been
retired, generation Y has got much experience and generation Z have stepped into workforce
with all new and unique needs and mindset. In this situation, adaptation to new concepts is
the key to success especially in the field of higher education. This study aims to understand
the mediation effect of psychological capital (hope, efficacy, resilience, optimism) between
protean career orientation and career success (objective career success and subjective career
success). This mediation effect is analyzed on academics’ in the higher education sector of
Karachi, and primary data is collected from faculty members of private universities of
Karachi.
are
Methodology & Design
Based on the quantitative nature of this study, a quantitative descriptive research design has
been used in this study. An online survey for primary data collection is used. Due to the large
target population, a random sampling technique has been used, which is a non-probabilistic
sampling. For calculation of the sample size, G*power 3.1.9.4 software is used. 254 faculty
members of private universities of Karachi have participated in this survey. The collected
data is analyzed by using Jamovi 1.2.27 software techniques. Besides the context of this
study, another profound uniqueness of this research is that, this study assesses career success
as formative construct as compared to past studies where career success was assessed as
reflective construct.
Findings
This study reveals that academics’ psychological capital (hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and
optimism) is not only a vital predictor of their career success (objective and subjective) it
plays the role of positive mediator between protean career orientation (PCO) and career
success. These findings can be used by the administration of universities for development of
psychological capital of teachers to enhance career success and commitment towards their
job and profession.
Limitations
Since the field of education is a pure service sector so, psychological capital and protean
career orientation play a crucial role in teachers' performance and career success (Hasan,
2020). Protean career orientation and psychological capital is important for teachers at all
levels. This study is limited to higher education only; the secondary and primary education
sector is not included. The other limitations are the small sample size due to the time frame
and COVID -19 Pandemic situation. This study can be longitudinal for improved results and
can be done through a focused group of heads of departments of different university faculties
which will eventually lead to fruitful results of career success through protean career
orientation and psychological capital.
Recommendations
This study focused on positive individual traits only (i.e., hope, self-efficacy, resilience,
optimism, self-directed, and value-driven) for analyzing career success. While addressing
academics’ career success, there could be other positive psychological predictors as well.
These predictors could be positive emotions, positive institutions, motivation, life
satisfaction, happiness, general mental ability etc. Future research may apply the goal-setting
theory to address career success. Furthermore, future study can also analyze the impact of
different career resources (human capital, environment, motivation and career management
behaviors etc.) on psychological capital and protean career orientation.