Young adults and employment planning during a pandemic (COVID-19): Decision-making self-efficacy as a mediator between emotional intelligence and career indecision

Empirical findings show that students feel more stressed about their future positions during the isolation of a pandemic (Mahmud, Talukder, & Rahman, 2020). This study examines the dynamics of personality traits that interfere with occupational decisions among young adults, especially during a pandemic. Probable factors related to indecision are planning, emotional intelligence (EI), and career decision self-efficacy (CDSE). As such, we conducted three multiple regression analyses to predict CDSE, such as planning and indecision from the Big 5 personality measures. We hypothesized that EI and personality affect employment conflicts (Study 1), and that CDSE mediates EI and planning difficulty (Study 2). Two out of five personalities, conscientiousness and openness, significantly predicted CDSE, F(5, 128) = 15.64, p < .001, R2 = .38, while only neuroticism was statistically significant in predicting CSPS, F(5, 128) = 3.94, p < .01, R2 = .13. When predicting employment indecision, neuroticism was significant for personality variables, F(5, 128) = 5.58, p < .01, R2 = .18 while a negative correlation was found between EI and career indecision (r = -0.25, at p < .01). Results demonstrate that the positive effect of CDSE mediated EI’s link to any big decision, which reveals that conscientiousness also predicted participants’ occupational indecision (β = -0.17, p < .05), as well as the effect of EI on their choices, mediated by CDSE. This study expands on Gray, Lee, and Kim’s study (2020) by conducting a remediation analysis. Building organizational frameworks that allow college students to pursue their professional goals was critical in maximizing their full potential.