Exploring the Psychosocial Predictors of Career Contentment among Young Bankers

Aims: Career contentment, a state where employee experience satisfaction and fulfillment with total career path, is a crucial variable influencing employee’s retention and organizational success, which its psychological determinants remain underexplored, especially among young bank employees. This study was designed to examines the influence of emotional intelligence, work environment, and gender on career contentment among young bank workers.

Study design, place and duration of study: A cross-sectional survey was employed for selecting 246 young bank employees using convenience sampling techniques in gathering data between Tuesdays-Thursdays in February to April, 2023 in Alimosho, Ikeja and Ojo local governments of Lagos state.

Methodology: While a total of 319 bank employees were sampled, but only 246 valid responses from those aged 40 or below were analysed after data cleaning. The final sample included 138 males (56.1%) and 108 females (43.9%).

Results: The results of multiple regression analysis revealed a significant joint influence of emotional intelligence and work environment on career contentment (R² = 0.048, F(2, 243) = 6.09, p < .001). Independently, only emotional intelligence predicted career contentment (β = 0.241, t = 3.174, p < .001), while work environment showed no significant effect. Furthermore, an independent t-test showed no significant difference in career contentment between male (M = 32.42, SD = 3.48) and female (M = 32.46, SD = 3.45) employees, t(244) = 0.079, p = .05.

Conclusion: These findings highlight the critical role of emotional intelligence in shaping career fulfillment, emphasizing the need for organizations to foster emotional intelligence development programs. The study contributes to understanding the psychological dynamics of career contentment, offering practical insights for enhancing employee well-being and retention in the banking sector.