Navigating the storm: understanding the impact of a COVID-19-induced negative career shock on career success and life satisfaction in China Open Access

The COVID-19 pandemic represented a global-level chance event that caused significant disruption to our daily lives (Legrand et al., 2023), including via career shocks (CSs) (Akkermans et al., 2020; Mouratidou and Grabarski, 2022). A CS is “a disruptive and extraordinary event that is, at least to some degree, caused by factors outside the focal individual’s control and that triggers a deliberate thought process concerning one’s career” (Akkermans et al., 2018, p. 4). It is important to note that a CS can be positive (e.g. an unexpected promotion) or negative (e.g. unexpected redundancy) (Akkermans et al., 2021).

There has been a growing interest in the career literature examining CSs induced by the COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions (e.g. Mousa and Abdelgaffar, 2023; Silva et al., 2023). There has also been interest in the impacts of CSs on subjective and objective career success (OCS) (e.g. Okay-Sommerville, 2023; Spurk et al., 2019) and life satisfaction and protean career orientation (PCO) (e.g. Legrand et al., 2023). However, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the perspectives of workers in China, especially within industries most vulnerable to disruption during the pandemic.

Understanding such views is vital since the Wuhan lockdown, which began on 23rd January 2020, was the earliest example of a lockdown imposed upon a population. The World Health Organization (2020) referred to the move as “unprecedented in public health history.” Additionally, the pandemic-related restrictions impacted different people in different ways, including via CSs (Akkermans et al., 2020). Given that, as of mid-2023, China was the second-most populous country in the world by population (Statista, 2023), it merits empirical research and attention on this topic.

Furthermore, the cultural context of China, characterized by collectivism, high power distance and a strong emphasis on societal harmony (Hofstede, 1984; House et al., 2004), plays a significant role in shaping career experiences and responses to CSs. The unique societal and organizational structures in China may influence how CSs are perceived and managed, which has not been sufficiently explored in existing research (Farh et al., 2007a, b).

Consequently, our research aimed to understand how a negative CS caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global crisis, impacted employees’ career success and life satisfaction in China. We opted to focus explicitly on a negative CS and on industries that were most significantly impacted in China by the restrictions, which included (1) catering, hotel and tourism; (2) construction and real estate; (3) finance; (4) technology; (5) logistics and (6) manufacturing. A total of 734 employees completed an online questionnaire during the pandemic-related restrictions. The theoretical contribution of our research comes from advancing the conservation of resources (CoR) theory (Hofboll, 1989, 2012; Hobfoll et al., 2018) by considering the impact of a negative CS (Akkermans et al., 2018, 2020; Seibert et al., 2013) and PCO (Hall, 1976, 2004) as a moderator on career success and life satisfaction. The practical contribution comes from informing strategies for individuals and employers in China to enact when facing future chance events on a national or global scale.

Life satisfaction, a key component of psychological well-being, refers to the cognitive process of assessing quality of life based on personal criteria (Jawahar and Liu, 2017). Research by Donald and Jackson (2022) highlights that COVID-19 pandemic restrictions negatively impacted life satisfaction. Pandemic-related job insecurity was also negatively correlated with employees’ life satisfaction (Lee and Tsai, 2022). A useful framework for understanding this is the CoR theory.

The CoR theory (Hobfoll, 1989) captures how an individual is motivated to acquire new resources while guarding against losing existing resources. One of the principles of CoR is that one’s motivation to invest effort in acquiring resources comes from one of the following three reasons: (1) to protect against resource loss, (2) to recover from resource loss or (3) to gain resources in their own right (Hobfoll, 2002). The other principle of CoR is that “it is psychologically more harmful for individuals to lose resources than it is helpful for them to gain the resources they lost” (Halbesleben et al., 2014, p. 1335). Based on the two principles of CoR theory, it would seem logical that a negative CS (loss of existing resources) will negatively impact life satisfaction, especially since the acquisition of resources has been shown to enhance both life satisfaction and career sustainability in India (Nimmi et al., 2021, 2022).

Hobfoll (2012) also introduces the abstract notion of resource caravans and resource passageways. A resource caravan represents the resources that an individual has accumulated, while resource passageways represent the opportunity to operationalize one’s resource caravan (Hobfoll et al., 2018). During a negative CS, the resources in one’s resource caravan may be threatened, and the ability to deploy these resources via resource passageways may also be limited. For instance, Suzanne et al. (2023) discuss how a health-related CS, such as a stroke, can lead to identity shredding. Similarly, pandemic-related restrictions increased mental health issues and reduced opportunities to work, diminishing life satisfaction (Hou et al., 2022; Lam and Zhou, 2020).

In collectivist cultures like China (Hofstede, 1984), where family well-being and social status play pivotal roles in life satisfaction (Lu and Gilmour, 2004), the pandemic disrupted economic and traditional social structures, amplifying stress and reducing life satisfaction (Jiang et al., 2023). Furthermore, academic and career success, heavily emphasized in Chinese culture, made career disruptions during the pandemic more detrimental to life satisfaction compared to more individualistic cultures (Han and Kakabadse, 2009). Consequently, we propose:

Career success can be described as accomplishing desirable work-related outcomes (Judge et al., 1999) and consists of two dimensions: subjective career success and OCS. Subjective career success is the evaluation of one’s career attainments through internal, subjective experiences (Spurk et al., 2019). In contrast, OCS is directly observable by others, for example, a salary rise or promotion (Dries et al., 2009) or increased responsibilities (Van der Heijden et al., 2009).

Building on CoR theory and the development of H1, the COVID-19-related restrictions threaten subjective career success, driven by stress (Titova, 2021) and job insecurity (Nemteanu et al., 2021). These impacts also threaten OCS since the pandemic adversely affected low-paid workers and those in specific sectors compared to others (Donald, 2020; Larrimore et al., 2022). In China, restaurants, manufacturing, real estate, tourism and transportation were among the industries most affected by the pandemic-related restrictions (Lu et al., 2021). Loss of opportunities for overtime work increased financial stress, along with decisions not to raise the minimum wage (Cho, 2020). Given the threat to one’s existing resources within their resource caravan (Hobfoll, 2012), coupled with reduced opportunities to operationalize one’s resource caravan along resource passageways (Hobfoll et al., 2018), we propose:

The CoR theory (Hobfoll, 1989) proposes that career success indicators, such as high wages or status, motivate individuals to maintain and expand their resources. Career success is closely tied to life satisfaction, with reciprocal relationships between the two (Bialowolski and Weziak-Bialowolska, 2020). For instance, Judge and Kammeyer-Mueller (2012) found that individuals with high levels of career success live longer and report higher life satisfaction up to 32 years later. Similarly, those with prestigious jobs maintain high subjective well-being levels post-retirement (Judge et al., 2010).

Subjective and OCS can function as a resource (Spurk et al., 2019), leading to increased life satisfaction (Choi and Nae, 2022) and career sustainability (Donald et al., 2024c). This aligns with career construction theory (Savickas, 2013), which emphasizes life satisfaction as a key outcome due to spillover from work to non-work settings. Put differently, subjective career success is positively related to life satisfaction because perceived career satisfaction can influence happiness (Abele et al., 2016). Similarly, OCS can lead to preferential treatment and more resources via resource gain cycles (Spurk et al., 2019).

In China, career success is evaluated not only through individual achievement but also through societal and familial expectations (Mayrhofer et al., 2016). High career success enhances social status and brings honor to one’s family, a critical source of life satisfaction in collectivist cultures (Mayrhofer et al., 2016). However, failure to meet these expectations can lead to stress and reduced life satisfaction (Yang, 2003), contrasting with more individualistic cultures, where personal satisfaction plays a larger role in assessments of life satisfaction (Diener et al., 1995). Therefore, we propose:

Based on H2 and H4, as well as H3 and H5, we further propose the following hypotheses:

PCO is defined by Hall (1976) as:

The protean career, inspired by the shape-shifting Greek God Proteus, reflects an individual’s ability to adapt to external environments (Mirvis and Hall, 1994). From a CoR theory perspective (Hobfoll, 1989), individuals can deploy the resources within their resource caravan (Hobfoll, 2012) in different ways based on the opportunities afforded by a resource passageway at any given point in time (Hobfoll et al., 2018). Studies have also shown that PCO positively influences career success (e.g. Haenggli et al., 2021; Herrmann et al., 2015; Wiernik and Kostal, 2019).

Additionally, PCO is part of “career identity capital” in Donald et al.’s (2024a) employability capital growth model, where personal outcomes can include career success. High-PCO individuals have strong identity awareness (Hall et al., 2018) through self-reflection, self-exploration and self-management (Hirschi and Koen, 2021), knowing their needs and aspirations. They also display high career adaptability (Hall et al., 2018), a valuable asset in turbulent working conditions (Savickas, 2013), and actively seek better opportunities and resources (Cortellazzo et al., 2020).

Moreover, high-PCO individuals are more likely to be proactive, make plans and initiate change (Baruch, 2014), especially when facing unexpected events (Hall et al., 2018). They tend to perceive themselves as employable (Baruch et al., 2020) and seek new work opportunities proactively (Ayoobzadeh, 2022). Relying less on external resources, they are more likely to retain employment due to traits like proactivity, optimism and adaptability (Waters et al., 2014). Consequently, we propose:

Figure 1 depicts the relationships between the variables in this study, grounded in the CoR theory, where individuals strive to acquire, maintain and protect resources, and resource loss or threat of loss can lead to stress and negative outcomes. In this model, negative CS signifies resource loss or threat, which can negatively affect subjective career success (H2) and OCS (H3), ultimately reducing overall life satisfaction (H4, H5), as individuals may feel diminished in their ability to achieve personal and professional goals.

Additionally, the model incorporates PCO as a moderating variable. A PCO reflects a self-directed and values-driven career attitude, which can serve as a resource or a coping mechanism in the face of CSs. According to the COR theory, individuals with a higher PCO may better manage the loss of resources, thereby reducing the negative impact of a CS on career success (H6 and H7). This moderating role of PCO is represented by the dashed lines in the figure.

Finally, H1 represents the relationship between subjective and OCS, suggesting that career success in one domain may contribute to success in the other as individuals accumulate resources that enhance their overall career outcomes. Together, these hypotheses demonstrate how resource loss (negative CS) and resource accumulation (career success and protean orientation) interact to influence life satisfaction.

Data collection took place in China in late 2020, nearly a year after the stringent COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, focusing on industries vulnerable to the prolonged impacts of the pandemic (Xia, 2020). We commissioned Questionnaire Star (https://www.wjx.cn) for data collection, with over one million members who can be randomly invited to participate. Ethics approval was obtained via the institutional review board, and all participants provided informed consent before participating in the study. Out of 910 responses received, 737 valid responses were retained for analysis.

The sample comprised 382 women (51.8%) and 355 men (48.2%), providing a balanced and representative gender distribution. Of these, 141 (19.1%) had an education level of a bachelor’s degree or below, while 596 (80.9%) held postgraduate qualifications, reflecting a highly educated workforce, which is relevant given the study’s focus on career success. Industry sectors included manufacturing (190, 25.8%), information communications technology (159, 21.6%), catering, hotel and tourism (138, 18.7%), finance (99, 13.4%), construction and real estate (92, 12.5%) and logistics (59, 8.0%). The diversity of industries covered allows for the generalization of findings across various sectors, which is crucial for understanding CSs and success across different professional environments. Respondents were aged between 18 and 69 (mean age 32.28 and standard deviation 6.89), representing a broad range of career stages, from early to mid-career professionals, which is important for exploring how a CS impacts individuals at different points in their career trajectory.

Participants were asked about the characteristics of their companies, including establishment time and employee size. In total, 77 companies (10.4%) had been established within the previous 3 years, 335 (45.5%) between 3 and 10 years before the study, while 325 (44.1%) over 10 years prior. This range of company ages provides insight into how organizational stability and maturity might influence employees’ career experiences and responses to a CS. In terms of company size, 108 companies (14.7%) had less than 30 employees, 260 (35.3%) had 30 to 100 employees and 369 (50.1%) had over 100 employees, offering a balanced representation of small, medium and large enterprises, which could affect career development opportunities and the impact of a CS. Additionally, 467 companies (63.4%) had a monthly income of CNY8,000 (1177.6 USD) and below, while 270 (36.6%) earned over CNY8,000 (1177.6 USD), reflecting a range of economic conditions that may affect both organizational resources and employee outcomes.

Back translation was employed to prepare the questionnaire (Table 1), which was initially developed in English. The process began with the lead author translating the scales into Chinese. To reduce translation bias, a native English speaker then undertook back translation, and two independent academics evaluated content validity.

The scales were chosen based on their strong validity, reliability and relevance to the constructs in this study. Negative CS was measured using Seibert et al.’s (2013) scale, which captures unanticipated career disruptions. Career success was assessed using scales from Shockley et al. (2016) and Spurk et al. (2019) to distinguish between subjective career success and OCS, both critical to understanding career outcomes. Life satisfaction was measured using the widely validated scale by Diener et al. (1995). Finally, PCO was assessed using Briscoe et al.’s (2006) scale, which captures self-directed career management. Control variables were gender and age.

Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for analysis due to its suitability for exploratory research and for situations where the model is not fully established. PLS-SEM is advantageous in handling complex models with multiple constructs and indicators, especially when the primary objective is prediction rather than confirmation (Hair et al., 2019). Additionally, PLS-SEM allows for greater flexibility in theory development and is effective for models in the early stages of theoretical development (Hair et al., 2019).

We operationalized PLS-SEM by first evaluating the measurement model. We examined factor loadings to ensure that each indicator reliably measured its intended construct, only retaining items with loadings above 0.70. We assessed composite reliability (CR) to confirm internal consistency (CR > 0.70) and convergent validity using the average variance extracted (AVE), ensuring that constructs explained more than 50% of the variance in their indicators (AVE > 0.50). For discriminant validity, we applied both the Fornell–Larcker criterion (ensuring that the square root of each construct’s AVE was larger than its correlation with other constructs) and the heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) ratio (ensuring HTMT values did not exceed the threshold of 0.90) (Fornell and Larcker, 1981; Henseler et al., 2015).

Next, we assessed the structural model by examining path coefficients, t-values and significance levels to evaluate the strength and significance of the relationships between constructs. We also tested for multicollinearity using the variance inflation factor (VIF), ensuring that all VIF values were below 5, indicating no problematic collinearity among predictor variables.

Finally, we conducted bootstrapping (with 5,000 subsamples) to test the significance of the moderation effects and to obtain robust standard errors and confidence intervals (Davison and Hinkley, 1997). This allowed us to evaluate whether PCO moderated the relationships between a negative CS and career success as hypothesized.

Column (3) of Table 2 shows the factor loadings. Hair et al. (2019) recommend loadings >0.708. One factor loading less than >0.708 was retained because the AVE and CR were satisfactory. Since all AVE and CR were above the threshold, items with factor loadings from 0.50 to 0.70 were not deleted. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated using CR. As shown in Column 4, all values were <0.95 and were therefore satisfactory. Convergent reliability was assessed by AVE (Column 4), and all values were satisfactory at 0.50 or higher (Column 5).

Discriminant validity was evaluated using Fornell and Larcker’s (1981) metric, with each construct’s AVE compared to the squared inter-construct correlation. The minimum value of AVE was 0.713, suggesting satisfactory discriminant validity. Table 3 shows these values.

We next evaluated discriminant validity using HTMT (Henseler et al., 2015), which is defined as the mean value of item correlations across constructs relative to the geometric mean of average correlations for items measuring the same construct. Table 4 shows a maximum value of 0.729, suggesting reliable discriminant validity.

The significance of each hypothesis was examined using bootstrapping to calculate the significance of the path coefficients. Table 5 shows that a negative CS was significantly associated with life satisfaction (β = −0.067, t-value = 2.183). Thus, H1 was supported. A negative CS was not significantly associated with subjective career success (β = −0.018 and t-value = 0.488), but it was significantly related to OCS (β = −0.131 and t-value = 3.640); therefore, H2 was rejected, while H3 was supported. Subjective career success was positively correlated with life satisfaction (β = 0.566 and t-value = 16.488); thus, H4 was supported. OCS was also positively correlated with life satisfaction (β = 0.100 and t-value = 2.882); therefore, H5 was supported.

The mediation analysis results (Table 6) show that OCS significantly mediates the relationship between negative CS and life satisfaction (H6, β = −0.014 and t-value = 2.261). However, the mediating effect of subjective career success on the same relationship is not supported (H7, β = −0.01 and t-value = 0.482).

We performed bootstrapping to examine the moderation effect of employees’ PCO (Davison and Hinkley, 1997). Table 7 shows that PCO did not moderate the relationship between a negative CS and subjective career success (β = −0.039 and t-value = 0.952). However, it moderated the path between a negative CS and OCS positively (β = −0.092 and t-value = 2.209). Thus, H6 was rejected, while H7 was supported.

Our study aimed to understand how a negative CS, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, impacted employees’ career success and life satisfaction in China. Consistent with Gundogan (2021), we found that a negative CS is negatively related to employees’ life satisfaction (H1). However, this effect is intensified in China, where societal stability and harmony are crucial (Farh et al., 2007a, b). For many Chinese employees, work is closely tied to self-worth and identity, and career setbacks may be seen as disruptions to social order, exacerbating negative effects on life satisfaction.

The positive relationship between objective and subjective career success and life satisfaction (H4 and H5) supports previous findings (Abele et al., 2016; Choi and Nae, 2022). In China, OCS – often measured by income, promotions or job titles – is particularly important. As Zhang et al. (2019) noted, Chinese employees prioritize objective career outcomes over subjective measures like job satisfaction, largely due to the cultural focus on material success and fulfilling familial and societal expectations. Societal pressure to achieve financial stability enhances the salience of OCS as a predictor of life satisfaction.

While a negative CS was negatively associated with OCS (H3), no significant relationship was found with subjective career success (H2). This may stem from cultural expectations to prioritize organizational goals over personal satisfaction (Lu et al., 2021). Despite external disruptions, Chinese employees may suppress dissatisfaction and remain committed to work due to societal expectations of perseverance and the Confucian work ethic, which emphasizes hard work, loyalty and endurance in the face of adversity (Farh et al., 2007a, b).

Finally, PCO moderated the relationship between a negative CS and OCS (H7) but not subjective career success (H6). Individuals with a high PCO can better navigate external challenges by leveraging personal resources and seeking new opportunities. However, in China, external validation and material success may limit the PCO’s influence on subjective career success, as income and job stability take precedence over personal fulfillment.

Our research contributes by advancing the CoR theory (Hobfoll, 1989) by examining the effects of a negative CS as an independent variable and PCO as a moderator on career success and life satisfaction. Our focus on the interaction of resource caravans and resource passageways (Hobfoll, 2012; Hobfoll et al., 2018) addresses calls for empirical research to capture the interplay of agentic and contextual factors (Akkermans et al., 2020, 2021).

While career scholars have emphasized the importance of considering objective and subjective career success on life satisfaction (e.g. Spurk et al., 2019), few empirical studies have explored these dimensions. Our findings, showing that a negative CS is not associated with subjective career success in China, contrast with previous findings from other countries (e.g. Larrimore et al., 2022; Nemteanu et al., 2021; Titova, 2021). These differences provide empirical support for Hofstede’s (1984) work on cultural differences in work-related values and coping with uncertainty. They also offer empirical support for the interplay between the person and context dimensions of sustainable career theory (De Vos et al., 2020).

Moreover, unlike studies that evaluated PCO in regular work contexts (e.g. Kumar et al., 2022), our research explored PCO during a global crisis, adding to the literature by highlighting its moderating role between a negative CS and career success. Our findings suggest that while one can take ownership of their resource caravans to manage resource loss (Hobfoll, 2012; Hobfoll et al., 2018), individual agency can only moderate the effects of CSs and changes to resource passageways rather than entirely negate the negative CS. This supports calls to consider the interplay of agency and context in empirical career research (Akkermans et al., 2024; De Vos et al., 2020).

Our research provides practical insights for individuals and employers in China when responding to future national or global crises. While pandemic-related restrictions were deemed necessary to protect health services, they had clear negative effects on career success and life satisfaction. Therefore, national governments should consider increasing investments in healthcare capacity in preparation for future crises, aligning with Hite and McDonald's (2020) emphasis on the interplay of individual and contextual factors in work and life.

Given the adverse effects on OCS and life satisfaction, national governments might consider offering stronger financial support, such as minimum wage protections, to mitigate the loss of financial resources and reduce health-related quality of life impacts (Ikeda et al., 2022). This could help lower unemployment, safeguard national well-being and alleviate pressures on mental health services (Bui et al., 2022).

Organizations can also cultivate PCO behaviors in their employees, as high-PCO individuals provide value during chance events and negative CSs (Ayoobzadeh, 2022). However, precarious workers often lack resources for personal development, exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities (Côté, 2024). Governments should therefore offer targeted funding and ongoing career guidance to support these groups, not just during times of unemployment. This reflects calls for the liminality of career support to foster a sustainable career ecosystem (Donald et al., 2024b).

The cross-sectional design limits our ability to deduce causality and restricts confidence in our mediation findings. Additionally, the focus on a negative CS at a specific point in time meant considering the evolution of these impacts over time or those of positive CSs (Akkermans et al., 2020) was beyond the scope of our study.

Future research could employ a time-lagged research design to validate our mediation findings and longitudinal studies to examine the long-term effects of positive and negative CSs on life satisfaction. Additionally, incorporating views from socially diverse groups or comparing different regions or industries could provide richer insights.

Our research examined how a negative CS caused by the COVID-19 pandemic impacted employees’ career success and life satisfaction in China, focusing on heavily affected industries. Findings showed that a negative CS was negatively associated with OCS and life satisfaction, while subjective and OCS positively influenced life satisfaction. PCO moderated the association between a negative CS and OCS. The study advanced the CoR theory by considering a negative CS as an independent variable and PCO as a moderator of career success and life satisfaction. Practically, it offers strategies for individuals and employers in China to manage future chance events.