Abstract
Orientation: The study sought to develop an early career success model for Generation Z (Gen Z) employees by firstly investigating the direct relationships between Gen Z cohorts, career success, and proactive career behaviours using a sample that was at an early career development stage. The unique Gen Z cohorts were defined by shared-age location and socioeconomic status during formative years. Career success was operationalised by career adaptability and career employability. Proactive career behaviours were operationalised by career engagement and career mentor engagement. Gen Z cohorts was conceptualised as an independent variable, career success as a dependent variable, and proactive career behaviour as a mediator variable.
Research Design: A quantitative research approach and design was adopted. The units of analysis were active bursary programme beneficiaries on bursary programmes funded by two Sector Education Training Authorities (SETA) of South Africa. Probability and cluster sampling techniques were used. From a 1511 target population,
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320 students fully responded to an 80-item questionnaire that was rated on 5-point Likert Scale. Hence, 320 was the official sample of the study.
Main Findings: The study resulted in an amended model of early career success for different Gen Z cohorts, which slightly distinct to the model that was initially conceptualised. Further, shared age-location and career adaptability were found to be related to a certain extent. Compared to their rural counterparts, the township and urban cohorts emitted different career adaptability. Township and rural cohorts exhibited career adaptability to a lesser degree than rural cohorts. The findings implied that Gen Z cohorts from the rural areas are likely to exhibit a greater degree of career adaptability in the workplace and subsequently experience early career success in contrast to the urban and township Gen Z cohorts. However, when analysed against urban Gen Z cohorts, the township Gen Z exhibits stronger career adaptability and were likely to experience more early career success.
Practical implications: The revised early career success model provided early career development specialists with a different, contextualised, and comprehensive knowledge on how different Gen Z cohorts in South Africa view their career success, i.e., the study concluded that each of the following Gen Z cohorts: rural, township, and urban, exhibited levels of career adaptability, with the rural cohort showing better adaption than their peers who grew up in townships and urban areas. This led to the conclusion that different cohorts may need personalised early career development interventions to accelerate their career success and development.
Theoretical Contribution: Majority literature on career success is mainly centred around samples that are on the mature stages of career development, the current study, in its attempt to close this gap in literature sampled participants that were on formative early career stages of career development. The operational model paired shared age-location and socioeconomic as independent variables. A concoction of the two variables resulted in unique Gen Z cohorts which was not located elsewhere in previous research. The findings of the study revealed an adjusted and unique conceptual and operational model in comparison to the one initially conceptualised and operationalised based on previous literature, thus, resulting a unique contribution the literature in field of study.