Fostering sustainable employability: the nexus of social support and career competencies in healthcare

Purpose This study examines the impact of career competencies (CC) (in the form of personal resources) on sustainable employability (SE) under the tenets of the Conservation of Resources theory. Further, we assess the moderating impact of coworker support and supervisor support (work-related social resources) in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using survey method from 362 doctors employed in private hospitals in Pakistan. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings The results suggests a significant influence of CC on SE. Further, results also reveal that social support received from coworkers moderates the relationship between CC and SE. However, we find that supervisor support does not moderate the said relationship. Originality/value This research has clear novelty as SE is a recently defined construct and is still an area with insufficient empirical research. There is increasing interest in identifying the determinants and underlying mechanism of SE. Thus, this study makes contributions to knowledge by investigating CC and social resources as antecedents of SE. This study also offers implications for theory generally, and within the medical practitioner context more specifically.