Understanding Career Adaptability Through Personality Traits and Transformational Leadership


Authors : Yichen Yuan

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 5 - May


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/5x2fw72j

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25may2130

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.


Abstract : This study examines personality traits, transformational leadership, and job engagement as determinants of career adaptability among professionals in their early and mid-career stages in Bangkok, Thailand. 350 participants from various industries filled out verified questionnaires evaluating transformational leadership, work engagement, career adaptability, and the Big Five personality traits. On all scales, descriptive studies verified strong internal dependability and normal distributions. Conscientiousness, openness to new experiences, and extraversion were found to be significant positive predictors of career adaptability, but neuroticism was found to be a negative predictor, according to correlation and hierarchical regression analyses. The element of agreeableness did not show up as significant. Transformational leadership and work engagement also significantly contributed to the prediction of career adaptability, with work engagement demonstrating the strongest influence. The prediction of career adaptability was also highly influenced by transformational leadership and work engagement, with work engagement showing the largest influence. 49% of the variation in career adaptability was explained by the final regression model. These results lend credence to an integrated paradigm in which adaptive professional behaviours are shaped by both contextual and dispositional influences. The findings, which highlight the importance of leadership and motivational resources, are consistent with the Career Construction Theory and the Job Demands–Resources model. In terms of application, the study emphasises the importance of developing transformational leadership and employee engagement as well as integrating personality testing into career development programs. There is discussion of the implications for theory, practice, and future research approaches, especially in the setting of Southeast Asian professional environments.

Keywords : Career Adaptability; Personality Traits; Transformational Leadership; Work Engagement; Emerging Professionals; Organizational Psychology.

References :

  1. Arabiun, A., Dehghan Najmabadi, A., Rezazadeh, A., & Haji Fathali, A. (2014). Investigating the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance. Journal of Research in Educational Administration, 5(1), 56–57.
  2. Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The Job Demands–Resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328.
  3. Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Sanz-Vergel, A. I. (2011). Burnout and work engagement: The JD–R approach. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 389–411.
  4. Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44, 1–26.
  5. Barrick, M. R., Mount, M. K., & Judge, T. A. (2001). Personality and performance at the beginning of the new millennium: What do we know and where do we go next? International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 9, 9–30.
  6. Bass, B. M. (1998). Transformational leadership: Industry, military, and educational impact. Erlbaum.
  7. Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Sage.
  8. Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1995). MLQ Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (2nd ed.). Mind Garden.
  9. Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  10. Brislin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1(3), 185–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910457000100301
  11. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.
  12. Buyukgoze-Kavas, A., Kostal, J., & Robinson, C. (2015). Career adaptability and personality traits as predictors of career decision-making self-efficacy. Journal of Career Development, 42(6), 511–524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845314568196
  13. Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.
  14. Costa, P. T., Jr., McCrae, R. R., & Holland, J. L. (1984). Personality and vocational interest in an adult sample. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 390–400.
  15. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
  16. Digman, J. M. (1990). Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model. Annual Review of Psychology, 41, 417–440.
  17. Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A.-G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149–1160. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.41.4.1149
  18. Guan, Y., Deng, H., Sun, J., Wang, Y., Cai, Z., Ye, L., ... & Li, Y. (2013). Career adaptability, job search self-efficacy and outcomes: A three-wave investigation among Chinese university graduates. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 561–570.
  19. Hartung, P. J., & Savickas, M. L. (2011). Career construction and subjective identity. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.12.006
  20. Hartung, P. J., & Taber, B. J. (2008). Career construction and subjective well-being. Journal of Career Assessment, 16(1), 75–85.
  21. John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 102–138). Guilford Press.
  22. Johnston, C. S., Luciano, E. C., Maggiori, C., Ruch, W., & Rossier, J. (2013). Validation of the German version of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale and its relation to orientations to happiness and work stress. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 295–304.
  23. Klehe, U.-C., Zikic, J., Van Vianen, A. E. M., & De Pater, I. E. (2012). Coping proactively with economic stress: Career adaptability in the face of job insecurity, job loss, unemployment, and underemployment. In P. L. Perrewé, J. R. B. Halbesleben, & C. C. Rosen (Eds.), The role of the economic crisis on occupational stress and well being (Vol. 10, pp. 131–176). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
  24. Li, X., Hou, Z. J., & Jia, Y. (2019). The influence of transformational leadership on career adaptability: The mediating role of work engagement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 110, 86–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.11.008
  25. McCrae, R. R. (1987). Creativity, divergent thinking, and openness to experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1258–1265.
  26. Mount, M. K., & Barrick, M. R. (1995). The Big Five personality dimensions: Implications for research and practice in human resources management. In G. R. Ferris (Ed.), Research in personnel and human resources management (Vol. 13, pp. 153–200). JAI Press.
  27. Ng, T. W. H., Eby, L. T., Sorensen, K. L., & Feldman, D. C. (2005). Predictors of objective and subjective career success: A meta‐analysis. Personnel Psychology, 58(2), 367–408. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2005.00515.x
  28. Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  29. Rottinghaus, P. J. (2012). The Career Futures Inventory–Revised: Measuring dimensions of career adaptability. Journal of Career Assessment, 20(2), 123–139.
  30. Rudolph, C. W., Lavigne, K. N., & Zacher, H. (2017). Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptivity, adapting responses, and adaptation results. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 17–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.002
  31. Savickas, M. L. (1997). Career adaptability: An integrative construct for life‐span, life‐space theory. The Career Development Quarterly, 45(3), 247–259.
  32. Savickas, M. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 42–70). Wiley.
  33. Savickas, M. L. (2011). Constructing careers: Actor, agent, and author. Journal of Employment Counseling, 48(4), 179–181. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1920.2011.tb01109.x
  34. Savickas, M. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. In R. W. Lent & S. D. Brown (Eds.), Career development and counseling (2nd ed., pp. 147–183). John Wiley & Sons.
  35. Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 661–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.011
  36. Savickas, M. L., Nota, L., Rossier, J., Dauwalder, J.-P., Duarte, M. E., Guichard, J., ... & van Vianen, A. E. M. (2009). Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the 21st century. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75(3), 239–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.04.004
  37. Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2003). UWES—Utrecht Work Engagement Scale: Preliminary manual. Occupational Health Psychology Unit, Utrecht University.
  38. Tolentino, L. R., Garcia, P. R. J. M., Lu, V. N., Restubog, S. L. D., Bordia, P., & Plewa, C. (2014). Career adaptation: The relation of adaptability to goal orientation, proactive personality, and career optimism. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.11.004
  39. Tolentino, L. R., Garcia, P. R. J. M., Restubog, S. L. D., Bordia, P., & Tang, R. L. (2013). Validation of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale and an examination of a model of career adaptation in the Philippine context. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 410–418.
  40. Tuna, M. (2007). Personal devir oranı analizi: Ankara’da yer alan yıldızlı otel işletmelerinde bir uygulama [Employee turnover analysis: A case study in rated-hotel operations in Ankara]. Anatolia: Turizm Araştırmaları Dergisi, 18(1), 1025–1040.
  41. Zacher, H. (2014). Career adaptability predicts subjective career success above and beyond personality traits and core self-evaluations. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(1), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.10.002

42. Zhuang, M., She, Z., Cai, Z., Huang, Z., Xiang, Q., Wang, P., et al. (2018). Examining a sequential mediation model of Chinese university students’ well-being: A career construction perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 593. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00593

This study examines personality traits, transformational leadership, and job engagement as determinants of career adaptability among professionals in their early and mid-career stages in Bangkok, Thailand. 350 participants from various industries filled out verified questionnaires evaluating transformational leadership, work engagement, career adaptability, and the Big Five personality traits. On all scales, descriptive studies verified strong internal dependability and normal distributions. Conscientiousness, openness to new experiences, and extraversion were found to be significant positive predictors of career adaptability, but neuroticism was found to be a negative predictor, according to correlation and hierarchical regression analyses. The element of agreeableness did not show up as significant. Transformational leadership and work engagement also significantly contributed to the prediction of career adaptability, with work engagement demonstrating the strongest influence. The prediction of career adaptability was also highly influenced by transformational leadership and work engagement, with work engagement showing the largest influence. 49% of the variation in career adaptability was explained by the final regression model. These results lend credence to an integrated paradigm in which adaptive professional behaviours are shaped by both contextual and dispositional influences. The findings, which highlight the importance of leadership and motivational resources, are consistent with the Career Construction Theory and the Job Demands–Resources model. In terms of application, the study emphasises the importance of developing transformational leadership and employee engagement as well as integrating personality testing into career development programs. There is discussion of the implications for theory, practice, and future research approaches, especially in the setting of Southeast Asian professional environments.

Keywords : Career Adaptability; Personality Traits; Transformational Leadership; Work Engagement; Emerging Professionals; Organizational Psychology.

Never miss an update from Papermashup

Get notified about the latest tutorials and downloads.

Subscribe by Email

Get alerts directly into your inbox after each post and stay updated.
Subscribe
OR

Subscribe by RSS

Add our RSS to your feedreader to get regular updates from us.
Subscribe