Kelsey L. Autin

High levels of poverty and unemployment are pervasive barriers to Nigerian emerging adults entering the job market. The current study employed the Psychology of Working Theory to explore career engagement, academic satisfaction, and life satisfaction predictors in a nation experiencing the intersections of high poverty and high unemployment rate. We tested a model predicting these outcomes from economic constraints and marginalization mediated by work volition, career adaptability, and perceptions of future decent work. We administered online surveys to 310 undergraduates in Nigeria. Career adaptability and work volition predicted the perception of future access to decent work. Also, those who reported higher chances of securing decent work after graduation reported greater academic and life satisfaction and career engagement. While economic constraints predicted career adaptability in this model, marginalization did not predict career adaptability. In contrast with previous studies, economic constraints, and marginalization were not predictive of work volition or future decent work perception. We also found a positive relationship between economic challenges and career adaptability against the propositions of the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT). The implications of our findings were discussed.

The purpose of this study was to describe the development of a new intervention for jobseekers and to assess its efficacy using a naturalistic, pre-post intervention design. In contrast to existing work-based interventions, the Work Intervention Network (WIN) intervention targets multiple intersecting domains through four modules and via six group sessions: deepening and sustaining relationships; fostering social awareness and reducing self-blame; building emotional resilience and self-care; and planning, exploring, and engaging in the job search. To evaluate the intervention, we first recruited a sample of 33 jobseekers to provide feedback on the program. Integrating their feedback into the design of the program, we then recruited a sample of 108 jobseekers who filled out surveys before and after the six-session intervention, which assessed work and mental health functioning across the four domains. Results revealed that participants were highly satisfied with the intervention and reported large increases in social support, belonging, psychological well-being, job search engagement, and work hope as well as decreases in isolation and self-blame. This study provides strong support for the WIN intervention and has implications for how to support jobseekers in an increasingly precarious labor environment.

With a growing Latinx workforce in the U.S., many of whom are Spanish-speaking, there is a pressing need to examine key constructs related to vocational well-being in this population. The aim of the current study was to validate a Spanish language version of the Work Needs Satisfaction Scales (WNSS; Autin et al., 2019 ). The WNSS comprises a set of scales developed to measure satisfaction of survival, social contribution, autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs, all of which are theorized to be key mediators in the link from decent work to well-being and work fulfillment. Using cross-sectional data across two samples of Latinx workers, we tested the reliability and validity of a Spanish language version of the WNSS (WNSS-SV). In Study 1 we conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with a sample of 195 participants. This resulted in a 19-item scale with five factors mirroring those of the English language scale. In Study 2 ( N = 377), we examined factor structure and model fit using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); measurement invariance across gender, language, and social class group; and concurrent validity. Results from Study 2 demonstrated the model was a good fit to the data; showed concurrent validity; and provided support for measurement invariance. Thus, overall results indicated that the WNSS-SV may serve as a useful tool for future research on work-related need satisfaction among Latinx workers. A discussion regarding the importance of these findings and implications for practice and research are provided.