‘ <scp>MY BOSS MAKES THE MOST OUT OF IT</scp> ’: The predictive value of learning climates for employability

Abstract This study aims to examine to what extent the employability of followers and their managers is equally supported by organizational learning climates. Studies often assume that managers and their followers benefit equally from these climates. However, this assumption overlooks the distinct roles and positions that managers hold in comparison with their followers. Managers typically have more freedom to engage in learning activities, make decisions about their professional development and leverage organizational resources to support their growth. Consequently, they may have better positions to reap the benefits of learning climates than followers, whose roles may be constrained by organizational hierarchies. Using an actor–partner interdependence model, in a dyadic study among 205 manager‐follower dyads, we investigated how three specific learning climates—appreciation, facilitation and error avoidance—relate to managers' and followers' employability. Our findings revealed that managers' employability benefits from all three climates. Contrastingly, followers' employability is enhanced only by a facilitating learning climate. These results suggest that learning climates primarily enhance managers' career potential, while followers depend more on direct facilitation to improve their employability.