Self-Regulatory Processes Mediating Between Career Calling and Perceived Employability and Life Satisfaction in Emerging Adults

We tested a cross-sectional, mediation model of career calling, in which career calling was associated positively with life satisfaction and perceptions of future employability, and these relationships were explained by the self-regulatory mechanisms of work effort, career strategies, and emotional regulation. Using a sample of 664 emerging adults (74.8% female, mean age = 20.2 years) and structural equation modeling, we found that higher career calling was associated with higher life satisfaction and perceived employability. In addition, higher calling was associated with more work effort, greater use of career strategies, and higher emotional regulation. Work effort and emotional regulation mediated the relationship between career calling and life satisfaction. Additionally, work effort, emotional regulation, and career strategies mediated between career calling and perceived employability. We interpreted the results from a developmental and goal-setting perspective and made recommendations for practice.