Do Negative Career Shocks Change the Way Skilled Employees Think? A Study on the Effect of Perceived Employability on Turnover Intentions

Rusu, Marius-Nicolae (2025) Do Negative Career Shocks Change the Way Skilled Employees Think? A Study on the Effect of Perceived Employability on Turnover Intentions. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Career shocks are a common occurrence in today’s work environment, and denied promotions are a recurring example. This negative event can lead to employees reconsidering their career path, and eventually leaving the organization. Previous findings suggest that employees who perceive themselves as more employable, are more likely to have intentions of turnover when they are met with an unexpected career event. Different career shocks do lead to different career transitions, accustomed to each individual’s context. In the current study we investigate whether high perceived employability leads to higher turnover intentions in the context of a denied promotion and if perceiving higher career competencies strengthens this effect. We conducted an experimental vignette study (N=118), where participants are presented with a scenario of a denied promotion. Results showed that while higher perceived employability does lead to higher turnover intentions, when checking for the moderating effect of career competencies, no significant results about its effect on the main relationship are found. We conclude that higher perceived employability leads participants to be more intent on leaving their current workplace following the news of a denied promotion. We also remark that there is a negative trend, meaning that when there are higher perceived employability and higher career competencies, there are lower turnover intentions. The study adds to the body of research on career shocks, and offers new insights for organizations regarding the impact that their support mechanisms have on their employees.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Kitz, C.C. and Bucur, R.E.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	08 Jul 2025 08:53
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2025 08:53
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5349

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