Employability as antecedent of eudaimonic wellbeing at work: The mediating role of work meaningfulness

Employee eudaimonic wellbeing is crucial for sustainable performance, health, and quality of work life. However, research is needed to understand what shapes eudaimonic wellbeing at work (EWW), and how and why. Drawing on the self-discovery framework of eudaimonic identity, this study investigated whether employability dimensions (career identity, personal adaptability, and social and human capital) are related to two dimensions of EWW (personal growth at work and purpose in career). Moreover, based on the worker-centric approach to work meaningfulness, we tested whether these relationships are mediated by work meaningfulness. Our study sample consisted of 263 employees. We implemented a longitudinal design with three data collection points. Path analysis results showed that career identity was positively and directly related to both dimensions of wellbeing, whereas social capital and human capital were positively and indirectly related to them via work meaningfulness. Personal adaptability was neither directly nor indirectly related to eudaimonic wellbeing. Our findings advance the theory on antecedents of EEW and its integration with vocational psychology by clarifying how and why employability influences eudaimonic wellbeing at work. The study highlights the importance of employees' employability, specifically career identity, social capital, and human capital, in fostering EWW.