Career Anxiety in the Gig Economy: A Study on Tertiary Students’ Job Market Awareness and Adaptability

Abstract

This study investigates the complex dynamics between knowing the job market, deference, and career anxiety within a changing gig economy landscape. This study is spread by embracing an entire range of 440 respondents from the two universities and Technical and Further Education (TAFE), using an ethically cleared online questioning method. This study is a fine example of methodological integrity confirmed by the approval of our university’s Human Research Ethics Committee. Significant results shed light on a clear relationship between students’ understanding of the market and the appearance of career anxiety, with interesting distinctions appearing due to distinctions in professional adaptability. This sophisticated analysis emphasizes the dynamic nature of challenges students face amidst radical changes within the contemporary labour market. Therefore, the study provides unique findings for academic discussion and highlights the practical significance of helping students in career transitions. In doing so, it will arm educators with career counsellors and policymakers with rich knowledge about the complexities of relationships between changing trends in modern job market demand and the psychosocial well-being of tertiary students.

Introduction

In the age of passionate technological innovation developing further in the gig economy, there has been a lot of change to earlier career paths. In the move from secondary to tertiary level of learning, dreams become tangled in qualifications as means to reach desired careers. Yet, the very nature of this professional world they want to make their way through is changing at an unseen rate and scale due to technological disruptions that invalidate jobs while transforming some into others – creating new jobs (Schwartz, 2021). This paper addresses a crucial inquiry: In the backdrop of this change among career anxiety levels, tertiary-level students, how does it affect their careers?

It is a complex construct, separate from merely worrying about one’s career path but specific to the apprehension and anxiety experienced by students. At the same time, they consider their ideal job position; career is a psychological condition that has become more relevant to the labour market given its sheer speed caused by unprecedented changes (Voss, 2023). The traditional concept of getting a permanent job after finishing the tertiary level also gives way to what is popularly called the gig economy – a more unstable and uncertain employment world.

The research topic is crucial for both students and educators, career counsellors, and policymakers trying to create a suitable learning environment that helps learners prepare for future problems. Factors are vital for influencing learners’ perspectives, behaviours, and differences against changes that bring the new model to employment (Chui, 2022). Firstly, one should consider the career anxiety phenomenon as something more than just general uncertainty; such an analysis has to involve the emotionality of this notion against recent promotion patterns changing modern life. The case concerns a rising need for students to respond in an active field of work to questions that reveal the purposefulness and sustainability of chosen job types and queries regarding shifts related to how professional skills are used. This psychological stress includes the fear of choosing the wrong pathways to educational goals and pressure placed on their shoulder that should match emerging dynamism industrial demands.

Moreover, job markets become a great present given to students at that moment of their attempt to access the current employment waves. Having a sense of distinct requirements that grow in different sectors, including temples and also developing the nature of abilities, sets students up with a competitive edge (Chang & Chuang, 2021). It allows them to consult knowledgeable people about what educational courses they should choose for their careers. Thus, researching the linkage between understanding the career market and career worries yields valuable insights into students’ cognition that revamps their emotional reactions and actors.

Career adaptability can be counted among the significant factors influencing students’ ability to cope with uncertainties due to the gig economy. Suthar (2020) explains that career adaptability is defined as a psychosocial construct that determines the level to which you are ready or able and willing to accept transition, change, avoidance, response adequateness under perceived threat when faced with role transformation either planned awaited announced that is, successfully relocated from abroad and in such students highly adaptable and have career Resilience perform in uncertain environment consider barriers as opportunities, assertive mode of attitude toward ones’ carriers (Suthar, 2020).

From the interplay of career adaptability, it is possible to gain a deeper insight into how students’ adaptation capabilities affect their emotional reactions to the volatile labour market. Job market knowledge and adaptability are essential in developing individuals’ career paths and responses to job-related stressors (Lingxiao, 2018). Yet, there is a shortage of absence information in the systematic study of how these factors interplay and contribute to career anxiety among tertiary students at the threshold of entering this highly dynamic gig economy.

This introduction sets the stage for a comprehensive exploration of the research questions: How do levels of career anxiety vary among tertiary students, and what role do knowledge of the job market and career adaptability play in this variation? By addressing this gap in the existing literature, we aim to contribute valuable insights to psychology and education. This research endeavours to enhance the understanding of the psychological challenges faced by students in the contemporary employment landscape, offering implications for educational practices, counselling strategies, and policy interventions.

Methodology

Approval

The methodology involves the set method employed in conducting research. It includes methodology choice, data acquisition and processing. Ethical approval is an imperative facet of the research process, and it ensures strict ethical standards to secure health issues and the rights of every individual. The method of acquiring ethical approval requires writing an application to the Human Research Ethics Committee to seek permission after ensuring that specific guidelines regarding ethnography are met (Bos, 2020). The committee will want to see if the researcher raises critical issues, including upholding autonomy, acting with integrity, and setting maximum benefit. Following shrewd ethical policies means that a researcher has taken care of moral aspects associated with one’s article for an authority to consider such work authentic.

Participants

Holistically, this study is based on diversity that resides in various voices and experiences, forming an essential potential for an essence of depth importance. With a deliberate and thoughtful recruitment exercise, the success recorded by our 440 respondents is primarily attributed to participants with diverse job market knowledge and career adaptability who also attempted to unhitch various anxiety levels in their careers. This open-ended construction can be defined as having equal gender representation, uttering 240 men and women to the collage of analyzed views.

Transparency underpins our study design and engenders the trustworthiness of this participant recruitment process and further studies’ general feasibility and validity. Our research was promoted in advertising off- and online through information that pervaded both on-campus ads of channels and the ones functioning there. Our recruitment strategy oversteps limitations in traditional boundaries, focusing on the diverse nature of our sample resulting from theoretical sampling.

The combination of campus and online advertising channels is designed not only as one practical approach towards the recruitment process but also functions well to prove our dedication toward inclusivity. We use physical and digital forms to reach out to students representing various population groups. The intended outreach ensures an environment of inclusivity regarding our research. It only involves hearing from all tertiary students representing diverse voices who move through challenging times in the gig economy business.

Procedure

Our data accumulation techniques emphasize carrying out an all-around online questionnaire, with the sole objective of gathering relevant insights and ensuring that it caters to the schedule and time reality of our subjects’ lives. The founding point of the conductor observed that we aim to rely on privilege to ensure our methodology finding is based on conveniently acknowledging students’ engagements beyond a typical school environment. The philosophical strategy orients the proceeding of informative material being held through our advertising channels to detail plans and policies for our study, which were purposefully articulated.

Significantly, interest was smoothly directed towards the online platform of this survey. Based on responding with the participant’s convenience at the time and place, this digital interface was installed in a stable online site without glitches. This flexibility does not just understand the rush for students but induces access barriers targeting to encourage diversity and representative sampling that embraces diverse global tertiary student worlds.

Moreover, the survey instrument was tailored to our research questions and hypotheses for this achievement. It considers essential variables, including knowledge about the employment market, career adaptability and anxiety rating. With validated scales and measures, which are a badge pin to our reliability as shown by this state data, it is only possible for such a complex investigation. Furthermore, census variables like age are intentionally combined to provide a more specific subgroup analysis rather than just a detailed general description, which states that the nature of our participant cohort is characteristic.

Results

The results section explores the complex relationship between 440 varied college students’ job market knowledge, career flexibility, and career anxiety.

Level of Sample Career Anxiety

We can better understand the complex interaction of factors if we know the level of career anxiety among our participants. Levels of career anxiety were found to be moderate to severe. An extensive analysis of the replies was conducted to understand how college students manage employment uncertainty.

Tabular representation of means and standard deviations:

The table below includes the means and standard deviations of these variables. This statistical summary could help spot quantitative trends and outliers in the data.

Means provide the average score for each variable, whereas standard deviations show the variety around the mean. Three essential variables have mean and standard deviation values in the table: Knowledge about Job Market, Career.

Career anxiety and adaptability. Job Market Knowledge

Participants’ employment market knowledge averages 8.50. It implies that participants have pretty good job market awareness. The 1.25 standard deviation shows score variability. A minor standard deviation indicates that participant results are closer to the mean, showing higher knowledge homogeneity.

Career adaptability averages 11.50 out of available points. This suggests that individuals had somewhat good career flexibility on average. Compared to Knowledge of Job Market, scores vary more, with a standard deviation 2.25. Professional adaptability scores seem more evenly distributed around the mean, suggesting a wider variety of adaptation levels.

The average career anxiety score is 55.00. Participants had moderate career anxiety. Participants’ professional anxiety levels vary greatly, as seen by the 12.25 standard deviation. This extensive range suggests that some people have much more or lower professional anxiety than average.

Implications

The study found that individuals had high job market awareness and career flexibility, showing their ability to adjust to professional problems. The average professional anxiety level is 55.00, indicating considerable anxiety among individuals. Career Adaptability and Career Anxiety ratings vary significantly, indicating varying adaptability and anxiety experiences across people.

Table of Correlations

We must investigate links between job market knowledge, career flexibility, and career anxiety. The following table shows these variables’ correlations in the order given in the introduction.

The correlation between Job Market Knowledge and Career Anxiety is negative (r =.-17, p =.09). Students with more job market information have less career anxiety. This contradicts the idea that superior knowledge boosts confidence and reduces stress. The correlation between Career Adaptability and Career Anxiety is negative (r=.-.11, p =.21). Career flexibility reduces career anxiety among students. Navigating uncertainty and adapting to changing professional landscapes may reduce career-related stress.

The research indicates a favourable correlation (r=.30, p<.001) between Job Market Knowledge and Career Adaptability. According to this, students who understand the employment market are more career-adaptable. According to Smith and Gillespie (2023), knowledge may help people adjust to professional changes and make educated decisions. This study’s correlations show the complex links between job market awareness, career flexibility, and anxiety among tertiary students. These results suggest a future investigation into the psychological dynamics of gig economy job decision-making.

Discussion

Our study seeks to understand the complicated relationship between job market knowledge, career flexibility, and career anxiety among university students in the gig economy. Our research aims to improve psychology and education by revealing the psychological intricacies of professional decision-making.

Average Career Anxiety

Our investigation started with our sample’s average career anxiety. Tertiary students have various career anxiety experiences. The intermediate level provides a broad picture but hides anxiety symptoms’ complexities. This variety shows that personal, social, and environmental variables shape career anxiety.

Answering Research Questions or Supporting Hypotheses:

We determined remarkable styles in the hyperlinks towards answering our research questions and assumptions. The high-quality correlation between Job Market Knowledge and Career Anxiety contradicts preconceptions. Contrary to assumptions, career anxiety will increase with process marketplace know-how (Ali et al., 2020). This study calls into query the supposed rise in career self-assurance that facts are supposed to offer and means that understanding may additionally exacerbate issues about the changing paintings marketplace.

The negative correlation between Career Adaptability and Career Anxiety fits the idea. Higher profession adaptability reduces career anxiety, demonstrating its shielding impact in decreasing career uncertainty strain. This helps literature that emphasizes models in a quick-changing employment marketplace. The fantastic correlation between Job Market Knowledge and Career Adaptability offers a nuanced view of the hyperlink between understanding and flexibility. Understanding the painting market may assist humans in regulating moving expert desires. This suggests how knowledge and versatility work together in professional decision-making.

Our consequences supplement expert selection-making and anxiety research. The surprising high-quality correlation between job market knowledge and career anxiety supports research on fact overload in decision-making (Kim et al., 2021). This subtlety emphasizes the need for a balanced and tailored professional schooling method by contributing to the conversation on facts availability and psychological well-being.

The negative correlation between Career Adaptability and Career Anxiety supports theories that adaptable human beings can handle uncertainty (Chui, 2022). Our effects propose that academic and professional development packages that sell versions can also lessen career-associated strain.

The favourable correlation between Job Market Knowledge and Career Adaptability complicates the literature and suggests facts-adaptability synergy. This complicated attitude explains how knowledge shapes adaptive capacity and shows instructional approaches to enhance knowledge acquisition and adaptive skills.

Reasons for Significant or Unexpected Results

The unanticipated acceptable correlation between Job Market Knowledge and Career Anxiety urges and the study of tertiary students’ records processing. An immoderate amount of hard work in market statistics without the right help can also boost anxiety. Educational establishments must supply statistics, help, and counselling to assist college students in navigating global statistics. Career flexibility protects against professional anxiety, as visible by the negative correlation. Adaptable humans may see uncertainty as challenges instead of threats, decreasing tension. This indicates adaptability-centred treatments in educational and career counselling packages to build resilience in changing career paths. The high-quality correlation between Job Market Knowledge and Career Adaptability indicates synergy between expertise accumulation and adaptable capabilities. Informed humans can be better at the use of career model strategies. This shows how expertise impacts adaptive behaviour.

Limitations

Despite the richness of our findings, the study has limitations. The cross-sectional nature of the research design restricts our ability to establish causality. Longitudinal studies could offer a more nuanced understanding of how these variables evolve. Additionally, there may be bias as a result of self-reported measures. Further studies should employ diverse methodologies, including qualitative approaches, that could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the intricate dynamics at play.

Our sample’s specific demographic composition may influence our findings’ generalizability. While efforts were made to ensure diversity, regional and cultural variations could impact the transferability of our results. Recognizing these limitations, our study lays the foundation for future research endeavours that can build upon and address these constraints.

Implications and Suggestions for Future Research

Our study unfolds implications for educational practices, career counselling, and policy interventions. Educational institutions should provide information and equip students with the necessary skills to navigate the information landscape effectively. Integrating counselling services and fostering a supportive environment can help students translate knowledge into informed, confident career decisions.

The negative correlation between Career Adaptability and Career Anxiety emphasizes the significance of adaptability-focused interventions in educational curricula. Incorporating programs that nurture adaptive skills, resilience, and coping mechanisms can empower students to face the uncertainties of the gig economy with confidence. Career counselling services should prioritize cultivating adaptability as a critical career development component. Our study suggests avenues for future research that delve into the specific mechanisms through which knowledge influences adaptive behaviours.

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