Navigating the storm: understanding the impact of a COVID-19-induced negative career shock on career success and life satisfaction in China

Abstract

Purpose: our study aimed to understand how a negative career shock (CS), caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global crisis, impacted employees’ career success and life satisfaction in China.

Design/methodology/approach: employees (n = 737) from industries adversely impacted by COVID-19-related restrictions (e.g. (a) catering, hotel and tourism; (b) construction and real estate; (c) finance; (d) technology; (e) logistics and (f) manufacturing) responded to an online survey on a negative CS, subjective career success, objective career success (OCS), life satisfaction and protean career orientation (PCO).

Findings: a negative CS was negatively associated with OCS and life satisfaction. Subjective and OCS were positively associated with life satisfaction. PCO moderated the association between a negative CS and OCS.

Practical implications: the practical contribution comes from informing strategies for individuals and employers in China to enact when facing future chance events on a national or global scale.

Originality/value: the theoretical contribution of our research comes from advancing the conservation of resources theory by considering the impact of a negative CS as an independent variable and PCO as a moderator on career success and life satisfaction.

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Identifiers

ORCID for William e. Donald: orcid.org/0000-0002-3670-5374

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