Employable during mid- and late career: A quantitative study on the drivers, barriers and outcomes of employability and mentoring in the Netherlands

This dissertation examines the drivers, barriers and outcomes of midcareer and senior employees’ employability – defined as employee proactivity, work ability and skills including mentorships – using a meso-level theoretical perspective and relying upon a mixture of panel, semi-experimental and cross-sectional survey data. My scientific inquiry brings some nuances to extant employability research by showing that senior employees’ proactivity is hardly moldable and that work ability (i.e., being able to perform one’s present job properly) rather than proactivity is key to their employment prospects (e.g., avoiding unemployment). My scientific inquiry extends extant mentoring research by showing that midcareer and senior employees can accrue skills (e.g., communication skills) and employment benefits from informal mentorships by being employed in an organization that offers learning opportunities as well as social support and anticipates time pressures and reorganizations.

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