Mediating effects of ego-resilience on the association between career growth opportunity and withdrawal in employees

Abstract

The research on organizational behaviors has primarily focused on the promotion of employees’ productive behaviors through positive attitudes and behaviors related to their organization and job and, ultimately, on the improvement in organizational effectiveness. This study was designed upon taking into account the situation in which the relationships based on a psychological contract between an organization and an employee weakened, as well as the issue of the decline in employment with the introduction of the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Specifically, it aimed to confirm the association between withdrawal, which is typical of unproductive behavior inhibiting organizational consolidation, and career growth opportunities in a situation characterized by increasing anxiety about job security and employability. It also verified the mediating effects of ego-resilience as a positive result of adjustment by employees perceiving the risk in the association between these two variables. A survey was conducted in 400 employees at public and private enterprises in South Korea and 293 questionnaires were analyzed. The career growth opportunities perceived by employees were found to be significant variables. In contrast, their ego-resilience partially mediated between career growth opportunities and physical withdrawal but had insignificant mediating effects on the association between career growth opportunities and psychological withdrawal. Lastly, the theoretical and practical implications and limitations of this study were indicated and the issues for further research were discussed.