Gratitude and envy: implication for career development

Despite the fact that gratitude has been found to predict academic self-efficacy (Rey, 2010) and persistence (Shishim, 2013) and its potential role in promoting career development has been highlighted (Dik et al., 2015), little research specifically examined the relationship between gratitude and career development. Instead, research has demonstrated that envy at work acts as a counter-productive behavior which negatively affects one’s own career and the success of the organization (Menon & Thompson, 2010), as well as group effort (Tyler & Blader, 2000), trust and satisfaction (Dunn & Schweitzer, 2006). The present research study aims to explore the role of both dispositional gratitude and envy on career adaptability (Savickas, 1997) in young adults. This construct refers to the individual’s resources for coping with developmental vocational tasks, occupational transitions and work traumas which help to form adaptive strategies. A sample of 180 university students (86% females) whose mean age was 19.54 (SD = 2.33) completed dispositional measures of gratitude (GQ-6, Gratitude Questionnaire) and envy (DES, Dispositional Envy Scale) and a Career Adaptabilities scale (CAAS). Preliminary correlations were carried out on all the examined variables, as well as independent t-tests by gender. Then two-step regression analyses (using the enter method) were performed in order to test whether dispositional gratitude and envy (as explicative variables) could explain variance in career adaptability and in each of its components (concern, control, curiosity and confidence) even controlling for gender and age. With regard to dispositional measures of gratitude and envy no correlation with age or difference by gender was detected (p > .05). There was no association between career adaptability and age; the concern component of career adaptability was instead higher in females (M = 23.31, SD = 3.89) than in males (M = 21.42, SD = 4.14), t(175) = 2.20, p = .029. Regression analyses showed that only envy succeeded in explaining overall career adaptability (β = -.46, p < .001). To expand, envy predicted lower concern (β = -.23, p < .01), control (β = -.53, p < .001), curiosity (β = -.29, p < .001) and confidence (β = -.39, p < .001). Consistent with the theoretical framework, envy seems to reduce career adaptability levels because envious people may not benefit from social comparison as a way of improving their adaptive competences given that the success of ‘the other’ is perceived as unfair. Indeed, envy could represent emotional functioning which allows the individual to avoid coping with frustration and consequently to experience relief without resulting in self-enhancement strategies. However, gratitude seems to have no role in promoting career adaptability. This result surprisingly suggests the scarce relevance of gratitude in career development. Potential explanations are discussed as well as implications for intervention.