Exploring Goal Orientation as an Antecedent to Career Adaptability and Thriving at Work

Workers experience many challenges and changes, hence, the ability to adapt and thrive at work is important for keeping up with work-related demands. The current study identified goal orientations as antecedents of career adaptability and thriving at work. It also examined the relationships between learning goal orientation, performance goal orientation, career adaptability, learning and vitality. This study is based on a convenience sample of 232 adult individuals who attended postgraduate courses at a university. They voluntarily participated in the research by responding to an online questionnaire. The results showed that learning goal orientation was a positive predictor of career adaptability, thriving at work in learning and thriving at work in vitality, while performance goal orientation only positively predicted thriving at work in learning. Implications in educational practices for adult learners were discussed and workers could be encouraged to pursue more learning goals to promote better adaptability and thriving at work.