Career Calling and Job Performance: The Multiple Mediating Effects of Emotional Regulation and Career Resilience

Ni Xudong; Yang Lulin; Zhu Xingkui

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.202304022

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (4) : 937-943. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.202304022

Social, Personality & Organizational Psychology

Career Calling and Job Performance: The Multiple Mediating Effects of Emotional Regulation and Career Resilience

Ni Xudong, Yang Lulin, Zhu Xingkui

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Abstract

This study aims to explore the influence of career calling on employee job performance and its underlying mechanism. Career calling is a beneficial motive for people to deliver better work performance. In this sense, the research emphasizing work results (i.e. work performance) can well reflect the importance of career calling at work. With the rapid social and economic development, individuals begin to have diversified pursuits. Compared with material factors such as salary, individuals nowadays value the meaningfulness of work that is created for them and the society, and turn such senses of meaning into higher spiritual pursuits in career. In this context, research on career calling have been gradually rising, and this topic has become a primary issue in the field of positive psychology and organizational behavior. Introducing emotional regulation and career resilience as chain mediators, this study emphasized the significance of emotional coping and problem-solving in the relation between career calling and job performance.
The participants of this study consisted of 479 employees who completed questionnaires that measured career calling, emotional regulation, career resilience and job performance. Correlation analysis (using SPSS 22.0) and structural equation model analysis (using AMOS 22.0) were conducted to examine the chain mediating effects of emotion regulation and career resilience in the relation between career calling and job performance. The bootstrap method was adopted to analyze the chain mediating effects, and AMOS was employed to calculate the coefficients of the mediating effect.
Results of the current study showed that: (1) There were significant positive correlations between career calling, emotional regulation, career resilience, and job performance. (2) Career calling not only directly predicted job performance, but also indirectly affected job performance via the mediating effects of emotional regulation and career resilience and the chain mediating effect of emotional regulation and career resilience. The mediating effects of emotional regulation, career resilience, and the chain of emotion regulation and career resilience were 31.81%, 26.79% and 19.01%, respectively.
On the basis of the positive emotion expansion and construction theory, the current study proposed a mediation model with multiple mediators that translated the impact of career calling on job performance. In addition, the change from emotional coping to problem solving opens up a new path for interpretation and a novel perspective for studying the relationships among the four focal variables.
The findings of the current study suggested that to enhance job performance, the management and the employees should focus on the following aspects. Firstly, employees should be given suitable positions according to their strengths and interests. Secondly, the intrinsic motivation of employees could be heightened with the arrangement of suitable tasks, sufficient autonomy and other job designs to stimulate career calling. Thirdly, career promotion paths should be in place for employees as well as diversified learning and training opportunities to meet the different demands of employees and help them enhance career resilience. Finally, by learning different emotion regulation approaches, employees should strengthen their positive emotions so that they can maintain a positive work state which is conducive to future positive work behaviors.

Key words

career calling / emotion regulation / career resilience / job performance / chain mediating effect

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Ni Xudong, Yang Lulin, Zhu Xingkui. Career Calling and Job Performance: The Multiple Mediating Effects of Emotional Regulation and Career Resilience[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2023, 46(4): 937-943 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.202304022

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