Enhancing employee wellbeing - an employability perspective

Purpose Skill obsolescence among employees can be detrimental to organizational performance and can lead to an ensuing decline in the wellbeing of employees. Today's organizations bank on the employability skills of their human capital to stay afloat in business. The current study examines the impact of developing an employability culture in the organization, the perceived internal employability developed in the employees and impact on employee wellbeing. Design/methodology/approach Research data were gathered from a sample of 421 software engineers in private IT companies in India. Structural equation modeling using SPSS and AMOS was conducted to examine the impact of employability culture and perceived internal employability on the three dimensions of employee wellbeing. Findings The study found a positive relationship between employability culture and the components of employee wellbeing. A partial mediation by perceived internal employability was reported between employability culture and the three components of employee wellbeing. Research limitations/implications The study is a focused attempt on discerning the effect of organizational elements in the form of employability culture on the employee perceptions and the state of wellbeing, which are considered valuable resources in the career context. The study reiterates the prominence of contextual factors in employees' resource enhancement. Originality/value The study is a unique approach to determine the effect of perceived internal employability and employability culture on employee wellbeing based on the social cognitive career theory and the conservation of resources theory.