Servant leadership and perceived employability: proactive career behaviours as mediators

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of servant leadership on perceived employability and examine the mediating role of three proactive career behaviours, namely, career planning, skill development and networking behaviour in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected from 176 employees who were working in a large food and beverage company operating in Pakistan. Structural equation modelling and the bootstrapping procedure were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings Results showed that servant leadership was positively related to career planning, skill development and networking behaviour, which, in turn, were positively associated with perceived employability. Furthermore, it was found that the three proactive career behaviours fully mediated the effects of servant leadership on perceived employability. Practical implications The findings of this study indicate that servant leadership can play a key role in enhancing workers’ employability. Thus, it is important that organisations focus on creating conditions, which help them to develop servant leaders. Originality/value This is the first study, which has empirically established a link between servant leadership and perceived employability. In addition, it uncovers three distinct mechanisms in the form of career planning, networking behaviour and skill development through which servant leadership can influence workers’ employability.