Guided by the job characteristics model, this study aims to examine the effect of the expected specific job characteristic – theorised as work flexicurity – on organisational outcomes, operationalised as employees’ perceptions of the company as an employer of choice, from the perspective of the Zalpha microgeneration.
Empirical research was conducted in Poland on 446 young adults aged 19–22 years using computer-assisted web interviews. Quota sampling was applied, with gender, age and region of residence serving as the stratification criteria. Work flexicurity was conceptualised as a construct of work flexibility, material security and psychological safety. Reliability and validity were assessed, followed by analysis of the measurement and structural models.
The results suggest that Zalphas expect work flexicurity and an adequate work–life balance and that employer-driven promotion of work–life balance mediates the relationship between expected job characteristics and organisational outcomes.
This study advances both academic discourse and organisational practice. It extends the job characteristics model by adding insights from work flexicurity and employer attractiveness concepts. The conceptual model examines relationships that, to date, have not been empirically investigated within a single model. The study contributes to the scholarly debate on generational cohorts and on the youngest entrants to the labour market. The findings offer implications for human resource management, particularly in the domain of employer branding. They provide guidance on developing an employment value proposition for Zalphas to enhance their perceptions of employer attractiveness.
