The Relationship between Job Precariousness and Career Capital in Working Students: The Explanatory Mechanism of Job Crafting

While most tertiary students from developed countries now work while studying, we know little about how, or if, the quality of their work affects their career development. We tested a serial indirect effect model (N = 273 working students; 75.8% female; M age 21 years; average 22 hours work per week) in which job precariousness predicted poorer perceptions of organisational climate for job crafting, which was related to less crafting, and, in turn, lower career capital. Job precariousness was related to lower social and professional career capital. Job crafting climate and engagement in cognitive and relational job crafting fully explained the relationships between precariousness and social capital, whereas crafting climate and cognitive crafting partially explained the relationship with professional capital. These results have implications for job precariousness theory development and practical implications for teaching institutions and employers, both of whom have a vested interest in supporting working students to reach their full potential.