How psychological needs affect job search behaviours

• Main Authors: Cham, Wan Ting, Goh, Aloysius Junjie, Chen, Joyce Enying
• Other Authors: Yu Kang Yang
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::General::Careers and profession
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48136
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study investigated the relationships between three psychological needs – the need for control, certainty and belonging, and five job search behaviours – formal and informal source usage, job search effort, preparatory and active search intensity, and how social factors – reassurance of self-worth and job-seeking support, moderate them. A longitudinal study with 272 final year undergraduates were surveyed at Time 1 for the antecedents and three months later, Time 2, for resultant job search behaviours. Need for control exhibited the strongest direct relationship with job search behaviours. For our social support variables, job-seeking support moderated relationships between need for control and both job search effort and active search intensity. Also, reassurance of worth moderated the relationships between need for certainty and both job search effort and active search intensity. Need for belonging exhibited weak or no relationship with job search behaviours. Implications of results for job search research were discussed.