Does the Employability Paradox Exist or Not? An Inverted U-Shaped Model.

Area of Science:

• Organizational Behavior
• Human Resource Management
• Psychology

Background:

• The employability paradox suggests high perceived employability may negatively impact employees.
• Conservation of Resource (COR) theory and prospect theory offer frameworks to understand employee resource management and decision-making.
• Employee seniority and career timetables are crucial factors in career development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the employability paradox using a combined linear and non-linear approach.
• To examine the influence of perceived employability on turnover intention and job performance.
• To analyze the moderating role of employee seniority and career timetables.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative study using hierarchical regression analysis.
• Data collected from 623 matched employee-manager surveys across 27 Chinese enterprises in two waves.
• Theoretical frameworks: Conservation of Resource (COR) theory and prospect theory.

Main Results:

• Perceived employability does not exhibit a paradox; it positively influences turnover intention and performance.
• An inverted U-shaped relationship was found between perceived employability and turnover intention.
• Seniority moderates these relationships: curvilinear effects for employees with ≤3 years of experience, linear effects for those with >3 years.

Conclusions:

• Employability is valuable for employers, with specific recommendations for enhancement based on seniority.
• The study validates the 'too much of a good thing' (TMGT) effect.
• The findings negate the employability paradox from the perspective of perceived general employability and career timetables.