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Coping with an insecure employment environment: The differing roles of

protean and boundaryless career orientations

Jon P. Briscoe a,⁎, Stephanie C. Henagan a,1, James P. Burton a,1, Wendy M. Murphy b,2

a Department of Management, Northern Illinois University, 245 Barsema Hall, DeKalb, IL 60115-2897, USAb Management Division, Babson College, 231 Forest St., Tomasso Hall 126, Babson Park, MA 02457, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article histo ry:

Received 19 September 2011

Available online 8 January 2012

In this paper, we utilize a sample of working adults (N =362) in the context of the recent eco-

nomic recession to explore the coping mechanisms associated with different career attitudes

and their subsequent impact on important individual work outcomes. Results of structural

equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated that boundaryless mindset and self-directed protean

career attitudes were differentially correlated with external support seeking, active coping,

and identity awareness, which in turn were differentially correlated with individual work out-

comes of job search behavior, performance, career success, and psychological well-being. Evi-

dence for both full and partial mediation within the model tested is presented, as well as the

potential implications of these findings and suggested avenues for future research.

© 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords:

Protean career

Boundaryless career

Job security

Coping with change

Subjective career success

Career self-management

Introduction

Recently the United States and many other countries experienced the worst economic recession in several decades. In regard

to workers seeking to cope with such difficult situations we propose that employees' protean and boundaryless career orienta-

tions will lead them to engage in differential coping behaviors, which will in turn have varying impacts on important work

outcomes.

While protean and boundaryless perspectives have been increasingly researched in relationship to career success ( De Vos &

Soens, 2006) and individual differences (Briscoe, Hall, & DeMuth, 2006; Segers, Inceoglu, Vloeberghs, Bartram, & Henderickx,

2008), such studies have typically taken place in more stable and predictable circumstances. The widespread uncertainty result-

ing from the recessionary context in regards to employment provided a unique opportunity to study a widespread phenomenon

that (due to potential increased stress levels, De Witte, 2005) tests the efficacy of protean and boundaryless career attitudes and

associated coping mechanisms.

In a context in which one has so little control over the outcomes related to job stability, we explore five functional outcomes

that could potentially flow from (and in spite of) periods of employment instability: job search behavior, job performance, subjective career success, and psychological well-being. In turn, we explore how these outcomes might be influenced by external re-

lationship seeking, active coping, and identity awareness. We argue that these three career development skills are themselves

driven by a protean self-directed attitude and/or boundaryless mindset. We propose that self-directed and boundaryless career

attitudes lead to career behaviors that foster positive career outcomes during the economic downturns (as they have been

shown to do in stable economic situations). These relationships are illustrated in Fig. 1 and discussed in detail below.

Journal of Vocational Behavior 80 (2012) 3 08–316

⁎ Corresponding author. Fax: +1 815 753 6198.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J.P. Briscoe), [email protected] (S.C. Henagan), [email protected] (J.P. Burton), [email protected] (W.M. Murphy).1 Fax: +1 815 753 6198.2 Fax: +1 781 239 5272.

0001-8791/$ –

see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2011.12.008

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Journal of Vocational Behavior

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / j v b

http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.12.008http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.12.008http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.12.008mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.12.008http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00018791http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00018791http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.12.008mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.12.008http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-

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Theoretical background

Protean and boundaryless career attitudes might motivate engagement in certain career development behaviors that result in

positive work outcomes, even in uncertain contexts. While careers were for many years primarily considered to be predictable

paths based upon vocation and stable career management systems (Hall, 2002; Sonnenfeld, 1984) they now are thought to re-

quire a more self-managed approach to help individuals to be adaptive (Savickas, 1997).

Hall (1976) wrote about the emergence of a “protean career” in which individual career actors, not organizations, drove their

careers based more upon their own psychological success and decisions than upon a structure, sequence, or set of standards im-

posed by the organization. Arthur (1994) defined “boundaryless” careers as those led independent of organizations, vocations and

other bounded social and regulatory mechanisms. Rousseau (1995) documented a shifting psychological contract moving from a

relational to a transactional and performance basis; this contract represented decreased loyalty on both sides of the employment

contract. Hall's protean concept was revived as a representation of pursuing the career on one's own terms and the relational and

“whole-life” qualities of the career were emphasized (Hall & Associates, 1996). Only more recently have these career gestalts from

the 1990s become operationalized as measurable constructs (Briscoe et al., 2006; Sullivan & Baruch, 2009) and our knowledge of

if and how they lead to a wider range of outcomes is limited.

Self-directed and boundaryless career attitudes' potential to impact positive outcomes in insecure employment environments

How might protean and boundaryless attitudes influence career outcomes in employment in insecure employment situations?

In relatively stressful economic conditions, the employment context is arguably a “strong” situation that might prevent (or allow)

individuals from acting in ways consistent with their true preferences ( Feldman & Ng, 2007). We argue that protean and bound-

aryless career attitudes are particularly adaptive in this context and allow individuals to continue to thrive during periods of

uncertainty.

Protean attitudes have been specified (Briscoe et al., 2006) as involving self-directed career management and a “values-driv-

en” career orientation with an emphasis upon the individual's values driving their careers (versus organizational values for exam-

ple). While Arthur (1994) originally mentioned six potential meanings of the boundaryless career Sullivan and Arthur (2006)

later generalized it to comprise physical and psychological mobility.

Self-directed and boundaryless attitudes lead to related career behaviors that serve as “

skills”

relevant to effective career man-agement. Skills can be considered an interaction of personal capacity and context (Fischer, 1980). Thus being self-directed or

boundaryless in one context is a different skill from being self-directed or boundaryless in another. In a setting of threatened em-

ployment being self-directed or boundaryless requires one to explore alternative possibilities while at the same time maintaining

competence in one's current context.

Social, tactical and identity-related career tasks are called for in an insecure employment environment. In order to explore ex-

ternal opportunities, relationships are needed for both practical networking purposes as well as to provide psychosocial support

(Higgins & Kram, 2001; Kahn, 1996; Kram & Hall, 1999). Coping with change ( Judge, Thoresen, Pucik, & Welbourne, 1999)

demonstrates the ability to function in a self-directed fashion even amidst uncertain and tumultuous environments. Finally, to

preserve – while simultaneously explore career options – it is necessary for a person in an environment of low job security to

be especially mindful of and explore their career identity (Fugate, Kinicki, & Ashforth, 2004; Hall, Briscoe, & Kram, 1997). Bound-

aryless and protean self-directed career attitudes will relate in different ways to the skills just described.

Because a boundaryless mindset involves an emphasis on exploring opportunities and relationships (Briscoe & Hall, 2006;

DeFillippi & Arthur, 1996; Sullivan & Arthur, 2006), it is logical that such an orientation will predict the seeking of relationship sup-port outside of the work setting. As the boundaryless career mindset has been strongly correlated with openness to experience

BoundarylessMindset

External Support

Seeking

Performance

Career Success

Job Search

Behavior

Self-directed

Protean

Active Coping

Identity

Awareness

PsychologicalWell-Being

H1a

H1b

H2a

H2b

H3a

H3b

H4a

H4b

H4c

H5a

H5b

Fig. 1. Hypothesized model.

309 J.P. Briscoe et a l. / Journal of Vocational Behavior 80 (2012) 3 08– 316

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individuals with the capacity to physically or psychologically “move across boundaries” are intrinsically driven by both affiliation

and autonomy (Segers et al., 2008). This corresponding autonomous behavior can result in an individual preference for taking ini-

tiative in organizing one's work and an adaptive advantage, which includes functioning effectively in changing contexts (Deci &

Ryan, 2000). Those with a boundaryless mindset tend to have a more proactive personality ( Briscoe et al., 2006) and may be

more likely to initiate an individual (and perhaps group/organizational level) response to real or anticipated change.

H1. Boundaryless career mindset is positively related to external support seeking (H1a) and active coping with change (H1b).

An individual with a protean self-directed attitude is motivated by personal growth and learning, making it easier to adapt to

changing tasks, roles, or conditions and reducing the importance of job security ( Hall, 2002; Hall & Associates, 1996). This may

explain why self-directed career management has also been associated with proactive personality and a mastery goal orientation

(Briscoe et al., 2006), both of which result in behaviors that enable coping with change. Schmidt, Dolis, and Tolli (2009) found that

those with a mastery goal orientation were more likely to shift attention to more “discrepant” goals at times of external uncer-

tainty. To the degree that the self-directed attitude operates similarly, economic threats to employment could trigger greater per-

sonal attention to organizational change issues perceived as discrepant with personal goals.

In addition, because self-exploration is at the heart of being “protean” and self-directed (Hall, 1976, 2002), we would predict

that those who are more self-directed would be more likely to demonstrate identity awareness (Hall et al., 1997). A values-driven

career attitude, in which the focal person is driven by personal career standards, correlates very strongly with a self-directed at-

titude (Briscoe et al., 2006). Fugate and Kinicki (2008) have posited that work identity provides both affective and cognitive

“foundations” for what they term “dispositional employability,” or an ongoing readiness to proactively and reactively adapt to

change. We suspect that self-directed career attitudes would function with identity awareness in much the same way.

H2. Protean self-directed career orientation is positively related to active coping with change (H2a) and identity awareness

(H2b).

Linking protean and boundaryless career attitudes and coping skills with career outcomes

We expect the coping-related variables of seeking supportive relationships outside of work, coping with change, and the explo-

ration of career identity to impact the following functional career outcomes: job search behavior, job performance, psychological

well-being, intention to remain, and subjective career success. Arthur's (1994) boundaryless career theory emphasizes the search

for opportunities amidst chaotic environments. Job search might be considered a proactive behavior in an uncertain context, and

proactive behavior (Batemen & Crant, 1993) has been correlated with career success (Seibert, Kraimer, & Crant, 2001). By defini-

tion, job performance is a functional outcome, and people who can thrive amidst change are considered to be acting functionally

for both themselves and their employers ( Judge et al., 1999). Psychological well-being (Berkman, 1971) is an especially relevantdesirable outcome because one benefits from it in spite of external events. Lastly, subjective career success is a positive career out-

come in good as well as difficult times. If a person has been able to achieve success on their own terms, they may feel less buffeted

by external events which would otherwise threaten their identities and self-esteem (Waters, Briscoe, & Hall, 2005).

The seeking of external support should directly lead to more job search behavior either as a planned or unforeseen outcome of

such efforts. It has been found that non-work relationships can have an impact on the relationship between outcome expectations

and career development efforts (Garofano & Salas, 2005). Research has shown that people who are more proactive (Brown, Cober,

Kane, Levy, & Shalhoop, 2006) are more likely to engage in job search, and seeking an external support group might be considered

a proactive endeavor. The pursuit of support from a non-work network is consistent with the prescription of “knowing whom”

(DeFillippi & Arthur, 1996) and would seemingly enable one to feel more well-being through the establishment of a support

group (Higgins & Kram, 2001).

H3. External support seeking is positively related to job search behavior (H3a) and psychological well-being (H3b).

As the career actor is better able to cope with changes the organization is undergoing, his or her job performance will almost

certainly be better relative to other employees. The ability to cope with problems has the potential to mediate between appraisal

of a situation and the resulting emotional response (Fugate, Kinicki, & Prussia, 2008) and could increase psychological well-being.

Finally, it makes sense that coping with organizational change will increase one's career self-efficacy and the possibility of

experiencing subjective career success (Kossek, Roberts, Fisher, & Demarr, 1998). While job search behavior could be considered

a form of active coping, we used this dimension of the coping with change construct consistently with the original conceptuali-

zation of Judge et al. (1999), referring primarily to intra-organizational activity and not inter-organizational behavioral responses.

H4. Active coping is positively related to performance (H4a), career success (H4b), and psychological well-being (H4c).

Understanding oneself and one's motivation is a form of authenticity, and authenticity has been found to increase motivation

and well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2000). By definition, a clearer understanding of oneself and one's priorities should increase the like-

lihood of experiencing subjective career success (Heslin, 2003). Having the career competency of “

knowing why”

is a key to ca-reer performance according (DeFillippi & Arthur, 1996; Parker, Khapova, & Arthur, 2009).

310 J.P. Briscoe et al. / Journal of Vocational Behavior 80 (2012) 308– 316

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Identity learning and identity awareness go hand in hand as learning cannot occur without awareness and awareness will

stagnate without learning. Ibarra and Barbulescu (2010) outline the critical role of identity exploration (via narratives) and

role adaptation in finding eventual career success and adaptation. In a longitudinal study Pratt, Rockman, and Kaufmann

(2006) described the critical role of identity learning for increasing the performance and skill of physicians in training. For all

of these reasons, we would posit the importance of identity awareness to the following outcomes.

H5. Identity awareness is positively related to performance (H5a), career success (H5b), and psychological well-being (H5c).

Because of the tendency of individuals to choose behaviors that are in line with their attitudes (Festinger, 1957), we believe

that the protean and boundaryless career attitudes lead employees to engage in certain career development behaviors that in

turn result in important individual work outcomes. Because of this, we hypothesize that it is through their influence on the career

development skills discussed that self-directed protean and boundaryless mindset attitudes have an impact on the associated out-

comes presented. Specifically, we predict:

H6. External support seeking and active coping with change will serve as mediators of the effects of boundaryless mindset on job

search behavior, performance, career success, and psychological well-being.

H7. Active coping with change and identity awareness will serve as mediators of the effects of protean self-directed orientation

on performance, career success, and psychological well-being.

Method

Procedure and participants

We began the sampling procedure for this study during the late spring of 2009, a time during which the U.S. and world econ-

omy were seen as very fragile and unemployment was increasing rapidly (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009a, 2009b). National and

regional unemployment rates are considered indicators of real job security (De Witte, 2005). At the time of this study, the unem-

ployment rate was 8.9% in the United States and 9.4% in the region from which most participants were drawn (Bureau of Labor

Statistics, 2009a). The unemployment rate in this region was up 277% from the previous year, and the locale was in the top

five states for mass layoffs, up 123% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009b).

We utilized undergraduate and graduate management students from a large university in the Midwest. Specifically, we asked

137 undergraduate and 107 graduate students to send a link to the survey to at least two, full-time employed (i.e., >30 h per

week), adult workers. The graduate students were full-time working adults, and therefore also filled out the survey themselves.

In the web-based survey, we impressed upon the workers that their participation was voluntary and their responses would be

kept confidential. All participants were entered into a random drawing for a $100 gift card from Amazon.com, and students re-

ceived extra credit in their courses for completed and returned surveys.

We received 362 completed surveys from employed adults. Of the valid responses received, 51.7% (N =358) were female. The

participants averaged 39.99 (N =360; SD =12.34) years of age and 8.63 (N =32; SD = 6.89) years with their employers. Addi-

tionally, 68.3% (N =359) had achieved at least a bachelor's degree, and 81.44% of the respondents classified themselves as Cau-

casian. The remaining respondents indicated that they were Hispanic (6.65%), Asian (4.71%), African American (3.32%), or

others (1.66%). The majority of the sample indicated that they were born in the United States (85.0%; N =361), and the remaining

sample indicated that they were born in countries such as Mexico, India, Spain, Pakistan, Germany, and Columbia. The partici-

pants in this study worked in a variety of industries, including business or finance, service, health care, science/engineering,

sales, construction, manufacturing, transportation, and protective services. The average income for this sample was approximate-

ly $64,789.50 (N =282; SD =$45,810.12).

Measures

The following measures were used in assessing the constructs of interest in this study. All items were measured using a 7-

point scale (1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree).

Boundaryless mindset

Respondents' boundaryless mindsets were measured using the eight items developed by Briscoe et al. (2006). Sample items

included, “I would enjoy working on projects with people across many organizations” and “I enjoy job assignments that require

me to work outside of the organization.”

Self-directed protean

Respondents' self-directed protean career attitudes were measured using the eight items developed by Briscoe et al. (2006).

Sample items included, “

I am responsible for my success or failure in my career”

and “

Overall, I have a very independent, self-directed career.”


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External support seeking

The degree to which respondents sought external support over the last few months was measured using the two behaviorally-

oriented items adapted from Higgins' (2004) development network questionnaire. The remaining items in this measure were

tapping into support received rather than support sought. The items used in the current study were “I have sought advice or

help from others outside of my workplace in terms of direction in my work and/or career” and “I have sought counsel or support

from others outside of my workplace to help me cope with work and/or career challenges.”

Active coping with change

The degree to which respondents actively responded to change was measured using four items from the copyrighted (used by

permission) coping with change measure developed by Judge et al. (1999). The remaining items seemed to be tapping into atti-

tude toward change or leading change efforts, as opposed to measuring behavioral responses to change (which was the focus of

this study). Sample items included, “When changes happen in my company, I react by trying to manage the change rather than

complain about it” and “When changes are announced, I try to react in a problem-solving, rather than an emotional, mode. ”

Identity awareness

The extent to which respondents engaged in behaviors of identity awareness over the past few months was measured using

the five items developed by Stumpf, Colarelli, and Hartman (1983). Sample items included, “I have reflected on how my past ca-

reer and activities matches my future career” and “I have been retrospective about my career.”

Job search behavior

Participants answered five items from Kinicki and Latack (1990) to rate the degree to which they engaged in job search behav-

iors in the last few months. Sample items included, “Focused my time and energy on job search activities” and “Devoted a lot of

time to looking for a new job.”

Performance

Participants provided self-ratings of their individual performances by responding to five items developed by Ashford and Black

(1996). Sample items included, “I adequately complete my assigned job duties” and “I fulfill responsibilities specified in my job

descriptions.”

Career success

Participants' perceptions of their own career success were measured using three items developed by Wiese, Freund, and Baltes

(2002). Sample items included, “I have come closer to achieving the goals I have for my working life in the past year ” and “I have

been successful so far in pursuing the goals I have set for my working life.”

Psychological well-being

Psychological well-being was measured using the eight items in Berkman's (1971) neuroticism measure (negatively-worded

items were reverse-coded to represent psychological well-being). Sample items included, “I often feel pleased about having ac-

complished something” and “I often feel particularly excited or interested in something.”

Analyses

The Cronbach's alpha scale reliability values for the nine focal constructs consisted of a range of .71 to .94, which was beyond

the minimum acceptable level of .70 (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). We used Harman's one-factor test to check for the presence of

common method bias. Harman's one-factor test resulted in ten factors accounting for 66.9% of the variance, of which the first fac-

tor accounted for about 18.9%. Because a single factor did not occur and no factor accounted for most of the variance, the single

method of data collection was not viewed as a substantial risk (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003).

Variable means, standard deviations, Cronbach's alpha coefficients, and Pearson correlation coefficients among the study vari-ables are shown in Table 1. Correlations among the study variables were strong, with the highest (.45) between the two career

orientations and between the self-directed protean orientation and career success.

Due to the high number of latent variables in our model, and because some of the items had non-normal distributions, we

formed parcels for all measures consisting of greater than five items. Parceling is one method for avoiding bias from non-

normal distributions of continuous variables and has been identified as a preferred technique over transformation options

(Williams, Vandenberg, & Edwards, 2009). We utilized the approach suggested by Little, Cunningham, Shahar, and Widaman

(2002), balancing the best and worst items across the parcels. Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) two-step approach for structural

equation modeling was then utilized to test the proposed model using EQS 6.1. For the first step, confirmatory factor analysis

was conducted using the measurement model, which included the nine latent constructs representing boundaryless mindset,

self-directed protean career orientation, external support seeking, active coping with change, identity awareness, job search be-

havior, performance, career success, and psychological well-being. The structural model was analyzed to complete the second

step. The hypothesized structural model was a mediated model consisting of paths between the nine study variables, whereby

the two career orientations boundaryless mindset and self-directed protean were hypothesized to result in the work-related be-haviors external support seeking, active coping, and identity awareness, and these behaviors were then hypothesized to mediate


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the effects of the career orientations on the important individual work outcomes of job search behavior, performance, career suc-

cess, and psychological well-being. We assessed mediation by comparing the fit of alternative models.

Results

The results of confirmatory factor analysis [χ 2(459, N =362)=1013.34; χ 2/ df =2.21; Comparative Fit Index (CFI)=.92;

Bentler-Bonnet Non-normed Fit Index (NNFI)=.90; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=.06; standardized

root mean-square residual (SRMR)=.06] using the measurement model met Hu and Bentler's (1999) conservative two-index

presentation criteria for good model fit. Though the chi-square statistic was significant, which can be expected with larger sample

sizes (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988; Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson, & Tatham, 2006), the normed chi-square fell below the recommended 3.0

maximum (Kline, 2005). All items loaded significantly on their corresponding constructs. The nine-factor model was compared to

an eight-factor model [χ 2(458, N =362)=1444.29; χ 2/ df =3.15; CFI=.85; NNFI=.83; RMSEA=.08; SRMR=.08] in which the

two career orientations were combined into a single factor. The nine-factor model showed significantly better fit (Δχ 2=430.95;

pb .0001) than the eight-factor model, thus providing some evidence of discriminant validity for the career orientation measures.

Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated that the two career orientations were differentially correlated

with the three coping mechanisms external support-seeking, active coping, and identity awareness. These coping mechanisms

were then differentially correlated with the four individual work outcomes. The hypothesized model was tested first. Wald sta-

tistics identified the non-significant paths as those that should be removed for improved model fit, and none of the univariate La-

grange multipliers for adding paths was significant.

The hypothesized, fully-mediated model was then compared to a model showing partial mediation by freeing all of the direct

paths from the two career orientations to the four individual work outcomes. The non-significant direct paths were then removed

(based on Wald statistics), and the resulting final model [χ 2 (482, N =362)=1109.71; NNFI=.90; CFI=.91; RMSEA=.06;

SRMR=.09; χ 2/ df =2.30] showed improved fit over the hypothesized model. Because this third model was more parsimonious

than the partially mediated model and fit the data at least equally as well, it was retained as the final model (Kline, 2005, p. 146).

Comparison fit statistics for the models tested are shown in Table 2. Standardized coefficients are shown in Fig. 2.

Examination of the paths in the final model (depicted in Fig. 2) indicated that both career orientations were correlated with

active coping (Hypotheses 1b and 2a), but that only boundaryless mindset was correlated with external support-seeking

(Hypothesis 1a) and only self-directed protean was correlated with identity awareness (Hypothesis 2b). The three coping mech-

anisms were then differentially related to the four outcome variables. External support-seeking was positively correlated with

job-search behavior (Hypothesis 3a). Active coping was positively correlated with performance (Hypothesis 4a) and career suc-

cess (Hypothesis 4b; pb .10) and negatively related to psychological well-being (Hypothesis 4c). Identity awareness was positive-

ly correlated with psychological well-being (Hypothesis 5c). In addition to indirect effects, self-directed protean attitudes werealso directly correlated with three of the outcome variables: performance, career success, and psychological well-being. Given

the non-significant paths from external support seeking to psychological well-being and from identity awareness to performance

and career success, Hypotheses 3b, 5a, and 5b were not supported. The results suggest full mediation for the effects of

Table 2

Fit statistics for hierarchical models tested.

Model tested Chi-square statistic df Normed chi-square NNFI CFI RMSEA SRMR

Hypothesized model

Full mediation 1177.721 482 2.443 0.885 0.895 0.063 0.091

Partial mediation 1273.288 475 2.681 0.866 0.880 0.068 0.085

Final model 1109.706 482 2.302 0.897 0.906 0.060 0.085

Notes: NNFI = Bentler-Bonnet Non-normed Fit Index; CFI = Comparative Fit Index; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; SRMR = standardizedroot mean-square residual.

Table 1

Means, standard deviations, alpha coefficients, and correlation coefficients among the study variables.

Variable Mean (SD) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. B ou ndaryless mind set 5.64 (1.26) ( .93)

2. Sel f-di rected protean 5.71 (1.1 8) .45⁎⁎⁎ (.83)

3. External support seeking 3.96 (1.96) .21⁎⁎⁎ .16⁎⁎ (.86)

4. Active coping with change 5.25 (1.12) .36⁎⁎⁎ .34⁎⁎⁎ .07 (.71)

5. Identity awareness 5.32 (1.37) .24⁎⁎⁎ .20⁎⁎⁎ .29⁎⁎⁎ .15⁎⁎ (.78)

6. Job search behavior 3.05 (1.95) .14⁎⁎ .06 .44⁎⁎⁎−

.09 .27⁎⁎⁎ (.94)

7. Performance 6.37 (0.91) .04 .03 .09† .04 .01 .15⁎⁎ (.80)

8. Career success 5.08 (1.40) .28⁎⁎⁎ .45⁎⁎⁎ .10† .25⁎⁎⁎ .07 −.05 .07 (.83)

9. Psychological well-being 5.07 (1.56) −.03 .02 −.19⁎⁎⁎ .01 −.23⁎⁎⁎ −.21⁎⁎⁎ −.14⁎⁎ .15⁎⁎ (.82)

Notes. Numbers on the diagonal represent alpha coefficients. N =362; † pb .10; ** pb .01; *** pb .001.


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boundaryless mindset on the outcome variables through the mediators of external support seeking and active coping. The signif-

icant direct paths from self-directed protean to performance, career success, and psychological well-being suggest partial medi-

ation through the mediators' active coping and identity awareness for the effects of this career orientation.

Discussion

This study makes several important contributions to the literature. First, the findings empirically confirm that protean and

boundaryless attitudes may indeed help employees develop careers skills and ultimately cope with uncertain career environ-

ments. Second, the relationships between the two career attitudes and the career skills showed distinctive individual and syner-

gistic influences, putting protean and boundaryless attitudes more precisely into a nomonological relationship with career

attitudes, skills and outcomes. These results highlight the idea that self-directed protean attitudes are more internally focused,

facilitating self-exploration that enables individuals to attend to identity issues for example, while boundaryless attitudes are

more externally focused, thus allowing individuals to cross boundaries of the organization in seeking support and opportunities.

The boundaryless mindset, as expected, predicted the seeking of external relationships for support and this in turn resulted in

job-search. In cases of poor person-job fit, job search may be in the best interest of the employee and employer alike. This raises

provocative questions regarding the use of external relationships when considering career development design options. Should

organizations encourage employees to develop supportive and/or learning relationships outside of the organization, even outside

work? Is this their role? Is it risky to encourage the cultivation of such relationships from a retention perspective, or is it smart

management?

We see from the final model that both the internal and external career orientations synergistically produce the most positive

results for the individual. Is this true for the individual's organization as well? While the research in this article is not conclusive it

does suggest that more highly functioning individuals focus on agentic behavior within themselves, in regards to their work con-

text, and with an added focus upon contexts beyond. Not encouraging such behavior, and not selecting/developing employeesbased upon such patterns may not serve the organization well.

Research has shown that in terms of the self-directed and boundaryless mindset attitudes measured in this study (as well as

values-driven career orientation, which was not included here) there is not an inherently decreased chance of organizational

commitment (Briscoe & Finkelstein, 2009). Thus encouraging a full range of internally and externally focused career orientations

may be a prudent if unintuitive course for organizations to pursue. Because these protean and boundaryless orientations are con-

sidered attitudinal, they can be taught and learned, which has great implications for career development.

The external relationship support-seeking did not however result in greater psychological well-being as we had anticipated. It

may be that well-being is not predicated so much on where people specifically turn for support (e.g. within or outside of organi-

zations) and the boundaryless mindset may be primarily about learning and exploration rather than about support. The protean

self-directed attitude did drive active coping with change as well as identity exploration, which we anticipated. While the coping

with change variable was predictive of two of the three hypothesized outcomes (performance and career success) it was nega-

tively correlated with psychological well-being. In the case of coping with change in a stressful environment, those actively cop-

ing may be more likely to feel (negatively) affectively impacted. Furthermore, it seems probable that the unexpected relationshipwas a result of the cross-sectional nature of the data collection, causing respondents to simultaneously report that they were

Boundaryless

Mindset

External Support

Seeking

Performance

Career

Success

Job Search

Behavior

Self-directed

Protean

Active Coping

Identity

Awareness

Psychological

Well-Being

.22***

.32***

.24**

.25***

.49***

.17**

.47***

-.30***

.46***

.14*

.12†

-.24**

.18**

Notes. Dashed lines represent nonsignificant paths . N = 362;† p < .10; * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001.

Fig. 2. Final model showing standardized path coefficients.


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engaging in coping behaviors and rate their psychological well-being. A longitudinal design would be ideal to determine if the

relationships would be different.

Identity awareness only correlated with psychological well-being and not with performance nor career success. We had hy-

pothesized that identity awareness would be related to better performance and greater feelings of success as self-aware people

understand their own strengths and weaknesses and therefore set realistic expectations for themselves. It may be however

that in the process of examining identity, conclusions that challenge career success and role decisions are as likely as those

that affirm career success and role performance.

Limitations

This study has some limitations which should be kept in mind when interpreting the results. There is always the potential for

other constructs to have influenced these relationships. Future research might consider other outcome variables that might be of

interest to researchers and practitioners, such as additional or alternative withdrawal outcomes (e.g., distinguishing preparatory

from active job search; Blau, 1993), objective performance, and organizational commitment.

The rigor of the data collection methodology may be called into question. By relying on respondent-driven sampling to procure

our sample of working adults, we relinquished some control of the process, potentially allowing some degree of sampling bias and

further limiting generalizability (Biernacki & Waldorf, 1981). We do note, however, that this approach has been used by many re-

searchers to obtain data from employees in a variety of firms and industries (e.g., Ashforth, Kreiner, Clark, & Fugate, 2007; Powell &

Greenhaus, 2010). Further, the use of incentives and quotas in the present study should have helped to alleviate some of the po-

tential for sampling bias (Heckathorn, Semaan, Broadhead, & Hughes, 2002). Whereas respondent-driven sampling may help as-

suage respondent fears related to reporting job search behaviors, future research might consider instead soliciting employees fromselected organizations or industries with different degrees of job insecurity based on objective economic trend indicators.

The timing of this study, when the saliency of job insecurity was particularly high, could affect generalizability of the results.

Future research

Future research would benefit from a longitudinal approach that could confirm some of our findings without the limitations of

a cross-sectional design. Also, the specific relationships between variables that we have found might manifest themselves differ-

ently in a more secure employment environment.

A major question is how protean and boundaryless career attitudes impact high-career functioning in contexts of chronic un-

employment. With the recession that framed this study in technical decline, but with employment still tenuous and world econ-

omies still teetering long-term job insecurity may become more of a norm than many current generational cohorts have

experienced. This seems especially consequential to protean and boundaryless career assumptions (of both employees and the-

orists). The advantages of an agentic career are predicated on assumed opportunities and abilities to practice one's autonomy anddemonstrate competence (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Yet, pessimism over economic and career mobility can very much challenge such

confidence (Foorohar, 2011).

The value of protean and boundaryless attitudes has primarily been demonstrated in relatively healthy economic contexts. The

positive outcomes these attitudes produced in a more challenging context suggest all the more that greater knowledge about how

to identify and inculcate them is in order.

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