Uncovering Gender and Temporal Dynamics

Career Resources Impacting Career Success

Abstract

This study examines whether the Conservation of Resources theory propositions are supported using three-wave survey data (one month between measurements) of 543 employed individuals, as analysed via Latent Growth Modelling. Subjective career success fluctuated throughout the two months of the study, decreasing in the absence of career resources. Human capital, environmental, motivation, and self-management resources predicted workers’ subjective career success over time, but these effects were moderated by gender. Human capital only predicted the objective career success of women, not men. This means that men’s subjective and objective success are aligned and predicted by the same resources, whereas women need to mobilise different resources to achieve each type of success.