Psychological career resources and subjective work experiences of working adults: an exploratory study

The objective of this study was to determine the relationshipbetween the psychological career resources (as measured by thePsychological Career Resources Inventory) and the subjective workexperiences of a sample of working adults (as measured by a fouritemglobal work experiences scale). The research also aimed toexplore broad trends regarding how the participants diff ered onthese variables in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics(marital status, educational level, age, gender and race). A sampleof 2 997 working adults, registered as students at a South Africanhigher distance education institution, participated in this study.Stepwise regression analyses indicated dimensions of psychologicalcareer resources as signifi cant predictors of the four subjective workexperiences: life satisfaction, job/career satisfaction, happinessand perceptions of work as a valuable activity. The results furtherindicated signifi cant diff erences between participants with regardto their socio-demographic characteristics and their psychologicalcareer resources and subjective work experiences. Considering thatthe employment equity context in South Africa contributes to a morediversifi ed workforce, the fi ndings add valuable new knowledge thatcan be used to inform organisational career development practicesconcerned with promoting experiences of psychological careersuccess