From meaning to adaptation: job crafting and resilience as pathways to career adaptability

Purpose Understanding the mechanisms that enhance the meaningfulness of employees’ work and careers is critical. Scholars and practitioners have shown growing interest in the dynamics and factors influencing career adaptability. This study aims to examine the relationship between meaningful work and career adaptability, focusing on the potential mediating roles of career resilience and job crafting. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from South Korea. Structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze the data and test the hypotheses in the study. Findings The findings revealed significant positive relationships among meaningful work, career resilience, job crafting and career adaptability. In addition, career resilience and job crafting were found to mediate the relationship between meaningful work and career adaptability. Originality/value This study provides valuable insights into the work-related psychological factors influencing employees’ career adaptability by focusing on the relationships among meaningful work, job crafting and career resilience. It also offers implications for practitioners and counselors seeking to better understand the mechanisms that foster career adaptability.