Psychological characteristics and training influences on sustainable careers: a 12-year Australian perspective

Introduction Understanding sustainable careers—characterized by happiness, health, and productivity—require continuous exploration of their driving factors across diverse labor markets. Building on prior integrations of Social Cognitive Career Theory and sustainable career frameworks, our study investigates key predictors within the Australian workforce. Specifically, it focuses on hope for success and future orientation as psychological factors, which were selected for their potential to trigger career-relevant mechanisms. Correspondingly, training as a contextual influence was differentiated into present- and future-oriented formats to align with this focus on temporal perspectives. Methods Using longitudinal data collected over 12 years from employed Australian workers ( N = 6.033), latent change scores and multilevel modeling were employed to capture dynamic changes and between-person effects. Results Results revealed that only future-oriented training was associated with higher subsequent income, whereas all other training effects were non-significant. Psychological predictors demonstrated consistent significance and yielded aligned patterns: both hope for success and future orientation were positively associated with job satisfaction and income but negatively associated with health. This consistency underscores the complex interplay between psychological traits and career outcomes, emphasizing the unique role of health within the sustainable career paradigm. Discussion Through identifying differential effects of psychological predictors, our study extends the theoretical understanding of sustainable careers. Consequently, it offers critical insights for employees striving to build sustainable careers and for organizations seeking to match individual well-being with organizational objectives.