Employee perceptions of disruption knowledge: the influence on career attitudes and behaviors

Purpose The world of work is changing rapidly as a result of technology, with more workers being impacted by automation, the gig economy and temporary work contracts. This study focusses on how employees perceive their disruption knowledge and how this perception impacts their career planning, career satisfaction and training behaviors. Design/methodology/approach The authors use data from 1,516 employees across a broad range of industries and professions from the United States (n = 505), New Zealand (n = 505) and Australia (n = 506). Findings The authors find that an employee's knowledge and research into automation positively influence how employees plan their careers, their career satisfaction and their training behaviors. While career planning is positively related to career satisfaction and training behavior, career satisfaction is negatively related to training behaviors. The authors test mediation effects and find consistently significant indirect effects, and these findings are all largely replicated across the three countries. Originality/value This study highlights the importance of understanding the processes that employees go through when thinking about disruption knowledge, their careers and the impact on their training behaviors.