The Pathway from Salient Future Work Selves to Proactive Career Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Perceived Control

Abstract

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The overarching purpose of the extant research was to investigate the impact of salient future work selves on proactive career behaviors, given the moderating effect of perceived control. Having an image of the self in the future would promote proactive career behaviors aimed at self-development. Additionally, perceived control would further strengthen the relationship by providing additional motivation for individuals to engage in such behaviors. To test the relationships, the study collected data from 249 Taiwanese final-year students including local and international ones who are proficient in Chinese. The data was then processed by SPSS AMOS 23 and IBM SPSS to run confirmation factor analysis and to test the hypothesis results. Findings statistically confirmed that future work self salience positively predicted career planning and proactive skill development and perceived control as a moderator strengthened the relationships. This study contributed several theoretical and practical significances to the extant career literature. The study responded to a call for more research regarding the role of autonomous motivation (future work selves) to proactivity and filled research gaps by suggesting an effective mechanism under which the relationship between the selves and proactive behaviors is enhanced. Furthermore, relevant parties can cultivate insights in this study to promote individuals' proactivity by increasing individuals’ level of future self salience or nurturing an environment that signals high perceived control.