Relationships between Self-Efficacy, Job Instability, Decent Work, and Life Satisfaction in A Sample of Italian, Swiss, and Spanish Students

Abstract

Recent research has shown that self-efficacy has a positive relationship with life satisfaction and with the perception of access to decent work. On the other hand, a perception of instability regarding the profession is negatively correlated with these dimensions. Few authors have studied these constructs within the same research. Therefore, the aim of the study was to fill this gap in the literature by testing a structural equation model in which the perception of access to decent work could mediate between perceived self-efficacy in one’s training and life satisfaction, and between perceived instability of the profession and life satisfaction. Data was collected through an online research survey. Five hundred and seventeen university students (104 males and 413 females) aged between 18 and 30 years (M = 22.50; ds = 2.61) from three different countries participated: 181 were Italian, 173 were Swiss, and 163 were Spanish. The results only partially confirmed our model. The idea of finding a decent work mediates the relationship between perceived job instability and life satisfaction, but not between self-efficacy and life satisfaction. Perceived self-efficacy together with the idea of finding a decent work have a direct effect on life satisfaction. In career development, counselors must take into account what the perception of job instability entails for students, which may be demotivating and not allow future workers to imagine a decent job.

Redefining ‘Careers’ and ‘Sustainable Careers’: A Qualitative Study with University Students

“…However, we know that the context in which young individuals envision and make decisions about this process has significantly changed [9][10][11]. The difficulties and challenges they face in accessing qualified jobs and building sustainable careers [13,14] represent a significant source of pressure, especially for countries like Spain and Italy, which are characterized by high unemployment rates and job instability [27][28][29]. The perceptions and meanings that young people attribute to their careers are crucial inputs in planning their future, as noted by various researchers [35,36].…”

“…On the one hand, job insecurity characterizes the transition of Spanish youth into the world of work [28]. On the other hand, young Italian university students have a more negative perception than their peers in other European nations, such as Switzerland, of being able to access a decent job [29]. These data can influence youth perceptions of career development.…”

Öz Yeterlilik ve Yaşam Doyumu Arasındaki İlişkide Sosyal Destek Algısı Aracı Rol Oynar mı?

“…Yapılan çalışmalar sosyal desteğin yaşam doyumu üzerinde olumlu etkileri olduğunu göstermektedir (Marsack ve Perry, 2018;Park, Roh ve Yeo, 2011;Tsuji ve Khan, 2016). Öz yeterliliğin yaşam doyumunu artırması (Ekinci ve Koç, 2023;Zammitti, Moreno-Morilla, Romero-Rodríguez, Magnano ve Marcionetti, 2023) ve sosyal destekle ilişkili olması (Hua ve Ma, 2022;Warshawski, 2022), ayrıca sosyal desteğin yaşam memnuniyetinin önemli bir yordayıcısı olması (Fisher, Sung, Kammes, Okyere ve Park, 2022;Ji, Zhou, Wu ve Zhang, 2022) nedeniyle öz yeterlilik ve yaşam memnuniyeti arasındaki ilişkide sosyal destek belirleyici bir rolü olduğu düşünülmektedir. Buradan hareketle, bu araştırmanın amaçladığı temel problem, öz yeterlilik ve yaşam doyumu arasındaki ilişkide sosyal desteğin tüm boyutlarının aracılık rolünü ortaya koymaktır.…”

El trabajo decente en el desarrollo de la carrera: Un análisis comparativo de las percepciones de estudiantes universitarios italianos y españoles

“…A nivel comparativo y respondiendo al segundo objetivo del estudio, se destaca que son los estudiantes españoles quienes conceden una mayor importancia a la retribución económica, y menos al bienestar personal. Estos resultados vienen a completar los hallados por Zammitti et al (2023) desde donde se evidencia cómo los estudiantes del sur de Italia muestran una menor satisfacción con la vida que los estudiantes del sur de España. Otra posible explicación podría estar relacionada con los valores, como concluyen Caggiano et al (2017) en su estudio con jóvenes El trabajo decente en el desarrollo de la carrera: Un análisis comparativo de las percepciones de estudiantes universitarios italianos y españoles españoles e italianos a partir de resultados similares a los que se han obtenido en este trabajo.…”