oa Gepercipieerde kans op een baan versus een betere baan: relaties met arbeidstevredenheid en welzijn

Perceived chance of alternative employment versus better employment: associations with job satisfaction and well-being

N. De Cuyper & H. De Witte, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 21, November 2008, nr. 4, pp. 475-492

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between perceived employability and job satisfaction and well-being. Employability is defined as 'the individual's perception of his or her chances to achieve a job'. This may concern (1) a job on the internal (i.e. internal employability) or the external (i.e. external employability) labour market, or (2) a job or a better job, which we refer to as quantitative and qualitative employability, respectively. This combination suggests the following forms of employability: internal quantitative employability, internal qualitative employability, external quantitative employability and external qualitative employability. Confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 389 Belgian (Flemish) respondents supports this 4-factor model. Moreover, the distinction into four forms of employability appears crucial in relation to job satisfaction and well-being: internal qualitative employability relates positively to job satisfaction, and internal quantitative employability relates positively to well-being. External quantitative employability is positively associated with both job satisfaction and well-being, while external qualitative employability is negatively associated with job satisfaction and well-being.