The Only Constant Is Change? Movement Capital and Perceived Employability

Abstract

This study examines to what extent the four aspects of movement capital (i.e., human capital, adaptability, self-awareness, and social capital) contribute to individuals’ perceived employability. Building on the model of career mobility, we expected positive effects of all movement capital aspects on perceived employability over time. Hypotheses were tested by means of longitudinal structural equation models in two samples of Belgian respondents from the private (N = 409, 6 months between measurements) and the public (N = 718, 8 months between measurements) sector. We established a reciprocal relationship between self-awareness and perceived employability. The other associations of human capital, adaptability, and social capital were surprisingly small and inconsistent. There appears to be a disconnect between conceptualizations and measurements of employability; whereas conceptualizations of perceived employability focus on obtaining and retaining employment, measurements only tap into the former. At the same time, movement capital conceptualizations focus on obtaining employment, whereas their measurements tap into obtaining and retaining employment.