Original Research

The role of flourishing on career well-being and turnover intention of employees in entry-level positions

Annelisa Murangi, Audrey Maletzky

Received: 07 May 2025; Accepted: 17 Sept. 2025; Published: 20 Nov. 2025

Copyright: © 2025. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Abstract

Background: Millennials and Generation Z tend to constitute most of the employees in organisations, especially in entry-level positions. Given the ongoing changes in the workforce, having a younger, more aspirational and tech-savvy workforce can create enormous difficulties for both the company and the employees.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between flourishing and career well-being of employees in entry-level positions in selected private organisations in Windhoek. To investigate the relationship between flourishing and turnover intention of employees in entry-level positions in selected private organisations in Windhoek.

Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational research design was employed in this study. Through purposive sampling, 119 entry-level employees at selected private organisations in Windhoek, Namibia, participated.

Results: Flourishing, which entails psychological, social and emotional well-being, positively and significantly correlates with career well-being of entry-level employees. Social well-being significantly impacts entry-level employees’ intentions to resign.

Conclusion: When entry-level employees flourish, they thrive in their careers. As such, interventions focused on the emotional, social and psychological well-being of entry-level employees are crucial.

Contribution: Organisations must enhance their human resources practices to ensure that entry-level employees’ well-being is safeguarded in the workplace.

Keywords: flourishing; career well-being; turnover intention; entry-level employees; Windhoek; Namibia.

Introduction

The ability to work represents a vital component of an individual’s identity, as it provides not only the basic needs of individuals and their families but also shapes the identity of individuals greatly (Blustein, 2019). Graduates in various disciplines often look forward to paid employment as a reward for the knowledge and skills they have acquired through years of studying. However, for most graduates, paid work begins at entry-level positions in organisations, irrespective of educational qualifications. This has the potential to negatively impact flourishing of these employees, satisfaction with their career and could exacerbate further into resignations. The current study argues that when entry-level employees flourish, how they feel and function in their career is also enhanced.

These assertions are amplified by the findings of the current study, where flourishing (psychological, social and emotional well-being) in the current study was found to positively and significantly correlate with career well-being of entry-level employees. Social well-being was uncovered to significantly impact entry-level employees’ intentions to resign.

Based on assertions made by various authors (see International Labour Organisation [ILO], 2018; Marquardson & Elnoshokaty, 2020; McCoy & Masuch, 2007; Tesone & Ricci, 2006), entry-level work can mean that employees are paid lower, compared to those who have been in the company for longer, or that the employee has newly acquired knowledge in a specific domain but does not have practical exposure to what the work entails.

Workforce demographics across organisations indicate that Millennials and Generation Z tend to make up most of the employees at organisations in entry-level positions. There are new challenges and complexities for businesses with each new generation in the labour force (Schwartz et al., 2020). Given the ongoing changes in labour market landscape, having a younger, more aspirational, tech-savvy workforce, although necessary for the efficiency of the organisation, can also create enormous difficulties for both the company and the employees. These problems could include coping with drastic changes within the job, inadequate remuneration, issues of hierarchy and bureaucracy and inevitably also lead to turnover (Macovei & Martinescu-Bădălan, 2022). It is noteworthy that most issues arising from employee turnover have a detrimental effect on an organisation’s finances. Examples include the expenses incurred in advertising, training and compensating the employees who must occupy these vacant positions (Pieters, 2017).

It could be argued that work not only has remunerational value for employees but also offers employees platforms to build meaningful relationships, contribute to something valuable, use knowledge and skills, develop knowledge and skills, in addition to enhancing one’s standard of living (Murangi, Rothmann & Nel, 2022). This is essential for flourishing of individuals. Keyes and Annas (2009) posit that flourishing is subjectively and uniquely experienced by each employee, underpinned by social well-being, psychological and emotional well-being.

Specific to emotional health, an employee’s work environment must be marked by job satisfaction and positive affect (Rothmann et al., 2019). Work satisfaction refers to all aspects of the current employment in terms of employee expectations, such as positive emotions like thankfulness, pride or delight and general happiness within one’s position at work. Negative affect would therefore contain all the opposing unpleasant emotions, which include anxiety, boredom, stress or wrath, that an employee experiences at their place of employment. The occurrence of negative emotions must be minimised in the workplace, as they can negatively affect how employees feel and function and inevitably lead to a work environment filled with frustrations and anger.

Psychological well-being is characterised by employees experiencing a sense of autonomy, relatedness and competence, being engaged in their work and finding work meaningful (Rothmann et al., 2019). These conditions are crucial for employees to feel and function well at work, which has the potential to positively spill over into other spheres of an employee’s life.

In addition to the aforementioned dimensions, social well-being in the workplace manifests as social acceptance, identifying social relationships, a sense of belongingness and embracing diversity (Keyes, 1998; Rothmann et al., 2019). If employees are affected emotionally, psychologically and socially, there is no doubt that the way they feel and function at work and even beyond work is negatively affected.

In the context of this study, when entry-level employees languish, rather than flourish, their career well-being can become compromised. Career well-being is described by Bester et al. (2019) as a component of optimum human performance and personal growth attained by means of self-management of career development.

As such, career flourishing heavily depends on one’s control of their career development and goals, which would ultimately lead to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Given the changing roles of both men and women, career well-being for some is moored in the work–life career environment, creating implications for work-to-family and family-to-work conflict.

An individual is more likely to achieve overall career development and succeed in their line of work if they are employable and flexible over the long term while juggling the benefits and drawbacks of contemporary employment requirements.

In the end, this could reduce the number of entry-level employees planning to quit, boost employee retention and promote overall employee flourishing.

It is thus imperative to investigate the role of flourishing on career well-being of entry-level employees, as well as their turnover intention.

Research objectives

The objectives of the study were as follows:

• To investigate the relationship between flourishing and career well-being of employees in entry-level positions in selected private organisations in Windhoek.
• To investigate the relationship between flourishing and turnover intention of employees in entry-level positions in selected organisations in Windhoek.

Literature review

The relationship between flourishing and career well-being

A study by Ho and Chan (2022) aimed to identify the organisational and personal resources that form part of career well-being and that contribute to employee flourishing. The study was conducted on 400 working adults from both social and personal service industries in Hong Kong. The findings showed that when an organisation fosters positive psychological resources such as optimism, resilience and confidence within a working environment, it nurtures functional psychological flourishing within an employee over the long run, therefore contributing to the individual’s long-term flourishing. In the changing landscape of work, it is imperative that interventions are introduced, based on employees’ work context, that focus on enhancing both short- and long-term flourishing. Psychological capital is crucial for employee flourishing, especially in the fast-paced place of work where a plethora of pressures inherent to the work environment are found (Youssef-Morgan, 2024).

Furthermore, a study conducted by Arslan and Bayraktar-Uyar (2020) in Turkey aimed to establish whether career decidedness and career distress influence psychological and subjective well-being. The study, which included 338 university students, concluded that career decision-making positively benefitted a student’s psychological and academic well-being, whereas career distress had the opposite effect. This essentially indicates that students tend to perform better mentally and have more positive experiences with life when they have optimistic attitudes about their careers as opposed to when they have negative ones. Negative experiences can be attributed to numerous factors, such as being undecided about one’s career path, financial constraints at academic institutions, academic difficulties and an overall lack of well-being. These factors can hinder one’s ability to take total control of one’s career path, which can result in career distress.

Additionally, another study by Colakoglu (2005) aimed to conduct research on the relationship between career boundarylessness and individual well-being. The study was conducted in Philadelphia (United States), and data were gathered from 201 employed professionals. The results of the study suggest that having a boundaryless career positively influences an employee’s ability to determine and influence the pacing, shape and direction of their career, which results in career autonomy. Thus, career autonomy was found to be instrumental in positively enhancing an employee’s psychological and physical well-being. This, in turn, positively impacted career satisfaction and overall individual flourishing. Boundarylessness refers to the action of having no constraints or limitations when it comes to one’s career goals and being able to grow without limitations. If an employee is given the opportunity to pace and shape their career, they can take full ownership of their development, thus increasing autonomy, which positively impacts their career well-being.

Furthermore, a study conducted by Gujral et al. (2012) aimed to study the influence of emotional intelligence on well-being as well as employee behaviour. Emotional intelligence can be argued to be a crucial component of emotional well-being because individuals known to have good control and awareness over their emotions tend to be more emotionally stable. Emotional stability involves being able to self-regulate and identify one’s own emotions as well as someone else’s. This can be beneficial, particularly because it promotes a good relationship with oneself and fosters empathy for others, especially in a work environment. Therefore, it can be theorised that emotional well-being can be a good determinant of overall flourishing and employee behaviour. The study was conducted in India, and 87 young professionals were administered different tests. The researchers found that there was a significant correlation between emotional intelligence and general well-being, and both contributed to employee behaviour, which is critical to job performance and overall career well-being.

In addition, a study by Crowther (2018) aimed to establish the relationship between workplace status and psychological well-being. Workplace status is a significant component of one’s career, as it establishes one’s rank, responsibilities and recognition among working peers. Therefore, it can be theorised that it would have a relative effect on one’s psychological well-being. Data were collected from 70 employees from different organisations around Northumbria University in England. The results found that perceived workplace status was positively related to psychological well-being as well as workplace inclusion. Therefore, the study concluded that hierarchical status within the workplace is a key organisational concern, impacting an employee’s well-being and the organisation. If an employee feels recognised, appreciated and even rewarded for a job well done, it tends to increase their autonomy, learning ability and overall job engagement. This, in turn, increases their psychological well-being, resulting in an increase in flourishing for the employee.

Lastly, a study conducted by Cramer and Hunter (2019) aimed to establish the relationship between working conditions within an organisation and emotional well-being, utilising a sample of midwives. Working conditions play a major role in employees’ job satisfaction, and it can further be argued that if working conditions are not up to par, it can gravely affect the flourishing of employees within an organisation. The results presented by this study indicate that various types of poor emotional well-being in midwives are directly interrelated with working conditions, including low staffing, high workload, low support from colleagues, lack of continuity of career, challenging clinical situations and low clinical autonomy.

The discussions above point to the fact that flourishing is crucial for career well-being. Although investigated in other countries with different contextual factors and employment settings, it is interesting to see the consistent findings, indicating the significant relationship that exists between flourishing and career well-being.

In view of the above, the following four hypotheses were proposed:

H1: Flourishing has a significant positive relationship with career well-being of entry-level employees.

H2: Emotional well-being of entry-level employees has a significant positive relationship with career well-being.

H3: Social well-being of entry-level employees has a significant positive relationship with career well-being.

H4: Psychological well-being of entry-level employees has a significant positive relationship with career well-being.

The relationship between flourishing and turnover intention

Several researchers globally investigated the relationship that exists between flourishing and turnover intention. Marais-Opperman et al. (2021) conducted a study in South Africa on stress, flourishing and intention to leave of teachers. The study concluded that flourishing at work was positively associated with perceived positive stress and low perceived distress. Perceived positive stress indirectly and negatively impacted teachers’ intentions to leave through flourishing. In addition, another study conducted by Janse van Rensburg et al. (2017b) aimed to study supervisory support, flourishing and the intention to leave of employees in higher education. There were 339 participants from three South African universities who participated in the study. The results of the study found that supervisor support predicted flourishing at work, which in turn predicted intention to leave. If employees feel that supervisors are not supportive, they will experience less work engagement and meaning in the workplace, which will increase their intention to leave.

While the opposite can be true, if an employee experiences favourable supervisory support, they tend to flourish more, decreasing their intention to leave. Furthermore, another study conducted by Janse van Rensburg et al. (2017a) aimed to study the relationship between person-environment fit, flourishing and the intention to leave. The study included 339 academic employees from South Africa. The results conclude that person-environment fit predicted intention to leave, both directly and indirectly through flourishing, meaning that when the employee is compatible with their working environment, they flourish more, thus decreasing intention to leave. Whereas if an employee is incompatible with their working environment, they tend to languish, which increases their intention to leave.

In addition, a study conducted by Redelinghuys et al. (2019) aimed to establish a relationship between flourishing and intention to leave. A sample of 258 secondary school educators in the Gauteng Province of South Africa was used in the study. The results showed that workplace flourishing negatively predicted intention to leave. A negative prediction in this instance means that once an employee experiences workplace flourishing, they would not consider leaving the organisation, increasing employee retention.

Lastly, a study by Gregoriou et al. (2023) aimed at investigating the level of organisational commitment and job satisfaction in association with intention to leave among physicians in Cyprus. It can be argued that job satisfaction and organisational commitment form part of subjective well-being, especially in one’s career flourishing. Approximately 690 physicians working in the public health sector participated in the research. The results of the study indicated that a large percentage of physicians working in the public hospitals and healthcare centres of Cyprus reported their intention to leave their job because of the lack of flourishing within their organisation, which derived from low levels of organisational commitment and job satisfaction. The study also confirmed that organisational commitment and job satisfaction were negatively correlated with intention to leave.

The evidence on the relationship between flourishing and turnover intention is compelling. While the context-specific factors causing employees in various sectors to compel employees to leave are different, the empirical evidence provided in this section shows that, indeed, flourishing is one crucial factor that must be capitalised on to retain employees.

In view of the above, the following four hypotheses were proposed:

H5: Flourishing has a significant negative relationship with turnover intention of entry-level employees.

H6: Emotional well-being has a significant negative relationship with turnover intention of entry-level employees.

H7: Social well-being has a significant negative relationship with turnover intention of entry-level employees.

H8: Psychological well-being has a significant negative relationship with turnover intention of entry-level employees.

Theoretical framework

The Social Exchange Theory (SET) by Blau (1964) is used as theoretical framework in the present study. According to the SET, employee’s behaviour is influenced largely by how they perceive their leaders’ interactions and engagements in the workplace. Relationship marked by support and valued aspects of work, such as rewards and remuneration, is most likely to be reciprocated by enhanced employee effort and dedication (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). This theory suggests that employees evaluate these exchanges with reference to their work experience, impacting how employees feel and function, and inevitably their optimal career functioning, and the decision to stay or leave. Further, when these perceived exchanges are fair and rewarding, employees respond with positive attitudes and behaviours such as enhanced engagement and strengthened commitment, an antecedent to organisational citizenship behaviour (Saoula et al., 2019). This, in turn, enhances well-being, both general and professional, diminishes turnover intention.

In conceptualising the study, entry-level employees who are afforded opportunities to grow professionally in their work, with clear career mobility pathways in the workplace, are more likely to make the most of the time they have as entry-level employees, thereby positively contributing to their career well-being.

In contrast, employees whose entry-level jobs are marked by poor recognition and rewards, with a lack of autonomy and treated unfairly compared to those who are in employment for longer, enhance the precarious work situation of these employees, propelling employees to resign (Allan et al., 2021).

Research methods

Participants and setting

A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational research design was used in this study. The target population for the study was entry-level employees at private organisations in Windhoek, Namibia. The sample, which was purposively selected, consisted of 119 participants, both men and women of different ages, with different marital statuses as well as different academic qualifications and duration of employment, etc.

Demographic results

One hundred and nineteen participants took part in the study, of which 60 participants (50.4%) had recently started working in that position, 26 participants (21.8%) had been working in a position that requires little to no experience, 25 participants (21%) had been working in a position that requires little to no training and 7 participants (5.9%) had been working in a position that requires little to no higher-level education. In contextualising the study, the participants who participated in the study met criteria for inclusion in the study based on the conceptualisation of entry-level employees.

The above sample characteristics are aligned to the assertions made by various authors (see ILO, 2018; Marquardson & Elnoshokaty, 2020; McCoy & Masuch, 2007; Tesone & Ricci, 2006) that entry-level work entails that employees are paid lower, compared to those who have been in the company for longer, or that the employee has newly acquired knowledge in a specific domain but does not have practical exposure to what the work entails. In the context of the participating private organisations, the majority of participants have a grade-12 certificate or a diploma, as their highest qualification, which is a qualification appropriate for most entry-level work within the Namibian labour market. In addition, slightly more men, compared to women, occupy these entry-level positions. This is a common pattern in Namibia, where more women advance to further their studies post-grade-12, compared to men (Zimba et al., 2025). The age range of most entry-level employees is between the ages of 31 years and 40 years. This is interestingly unique, as ideally, most individuals post-grade-12 would be in the age brackets of 20–30.

The rest of the demographic data is presented in Table 1.

Measuring instruments

Flourishing at work scale

The flourishing at work scale developed by Rautenbach and Rothmann (2017) measures flourishing in the workplace for employees. This scale has 21 items that measure participants’ emotional, psychological and social well-being in their workplace. An example of an item is ‘During the past month at work, how often did you feel happy?’ The reliability coefficient of this scale ranges from 0.77 to 0.95. This rating is regarded as a high reliability score, which means that the measure produces similar results under consistent conditions and can be reliable.

Turnover intention scale

The Intention to Turnover Scale, developed by Sjöberg and Sverke (2000), was used to gauge employees’ intention to quit. Three items are included, each with a 5-point rating system that ranges from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). An exemplification of a solitary dimension is, ‘I feel like I could quit this job’. A Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.83 is reported on this scale, which means the measure has high reliability.

Career well-being scale

This study made use of the Career Well-Being Scale, developed by Coetzee et al. (2020), which assesses three states of career well-being: the meaningfulness and positive affective states (6 items, such as ‘I feel my career provides me with the skills and experience I need to easily find new employment’), the state of career networking and social support (4 items, such as ‘I find it easy to reach out to others to help and support me in achieving my career goals’). A 7-point Likert-type scale is used to rate the 14 items (1 being strongly disagreed and 7 being strongly agreed).

Research procedure

The study adopted an online survey method (created through Google Forms), where a link was circulated to the different entry-level participants of Windhoek-based private organisations in Namibia. The researchers visited several privately owned organisations for permission to conduct research. The organisations received the links and shared them with all employees. The participants who were willing voluntarily participated in the study.

Ethical considerations

Ethical clearance to conduct this study was obtained from the University of Namibia, Department of Psychology and Social Work Research Ethics Committee (PS-SoAHS-FHSVM-2023/06). Prior to collecting the data, the researcher obtained information regarding ethical considerations as well as informed participants of the nature and objectives of the study. Informed consent was obtained from participants in the form of a document stipulating their voluntary status to participate in the study as well as their complete freedom to withdraw from the study at any point. Confidentiality and/or anonymity were utilised in the sense that participants did not provide any personal identifying details, for instance, their names, on the questionnaires. Additionally, the participants were also assured that their responses would not be specifically linked to the individual. Participants could withdraw from the study at any time they deemed fit, as participation is entirely voluntary. No negative consequences were incurred for terminating participation.

Results

Descriptive results

The internal consistency of all scales indicated they were suitable for Namibian use. The Flourishing at Work Scale developed by Rautenbach and Rothmann (2017) using a South African sampling statistic to measure well-being with 21 items provided a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.96. The Career Well-Being Scale developed by Coetzee et al. (2020), yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.97. The Turnover Intention Scale developed by Sjöberg and Sverke (2000) yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.82. Therefore, the scales are valid for use in the Namibian context.

Correlational analysis

Data were analysed and computed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29.0. Using Pearson correlation, a correlational coefficient, which indicates the strength of the linear relationship between two variables, was used.

As a main independent variable, flourishing was uncovered to positively and significantly relate to career well-being of entry-level employees. As conceptualised in the study, well-being is divided into emotional, psychological and social dimensions. As shown in Table 2, there is a statistically significant positive relationship between emotional well-being and career well-being (r = 0.56, p < 0.05; large effect). In the same vein, there is a statistically significant positive relationship between psychological well-being and career well-being (r = 0.60, p < 0.05; large effect). Lastly, there is a statistically significant positive relationship between social well-being and career well-being (r = 0.53, p < 0.05; large effect). This is in tandem with findings from Ha & Lee (2022) and Xu et al. (2022), who found positive significant relationships between flourishing and career well-being. As such, the current study fails to reject H1–H4.

In addition, the study found a positive, yet insignificant relationship between flourishing and intention to leave (r = −0.13, p < 0.05; small effect), implying that flourishing does not significantly impact the intention to leave of entry-level employees in private organisations. However, the study uncovered a statistically significant negative relationship between social well-being and intention to leave (r = −0.20, p < 0.05). The findings contradict what was found by Marais-Opperman et al. (2021) and Redelinghuys et al. (2019), who uncovered negative significant relationships between flourishing and turnover intention in different work populations. As such, the study rejects the H5, H6 and H8 and fails to reject H7.

Discussion and practical implications

Findings of the study

The study findings are unique in that they focus on entry-level employees. The findings rather reveal that flourishing positively relates to career well-being of entry-level employees. The study found a statistically significant positive relationship between flourishing and the career well-being of entry-level employees in private-based organisations. This is important to note, as employees in entry-level positions are mostly starting with forming a career identity as they acquire practical knowledge and skills. A’yuninnisa et al. (2023) established that there is a significant relationship between flourishing and career well-being, indicating that when employees function and feel well at work (be it emotionally, socially and psychologically), their career well-being and functioning are also enhanced.

In further analysis of the dimensions of well-being with career well-being, the study uncovered a significant positive relationship between emotional well-being, psychological well-being and career well-being. A negative insignificant relationship between flourishing and intention to leave was found, indicating that flourishing (as measured by emotional, psychological and social well-being) has no significant bearing on entry-level employees’ intention to quit their work.

Based on the demographic information in the current study, it is key to note that most of the entry-level employees who participated in the study had a grade-12 certificate as highest qualification. In the Namibian labour market, individuals are employed on the basis of their acquired knowledge and skills and having only a grade-12 certificate would equate to lower-paid employment opportunities. It could be assumed that being paid low or being in a low-status job will affect how an employee will feel and function. A study by Barrera-Osorio et al. (2023) examined the relationship between what is called the great frustration at work and intention to leave. It was found that although young adults are languishing within their employment, they cannot afford to leave because of a lack of opportunities, financial or family commitments, or simply because they are not getting anywhere with their job search. Namibia is no exception, as job opportunities are quite limited as well. This could explain why the highest number of entry-level employees in the current study are those who only have acquired their grade-12 certificate or diploma. This could further explain, although not entirely, the insignificant relationship between flourishing and turnover intention, which was uncovered in the current study. This could imply that for the advanced generation Z and the millennials in entry-level positions in private organisations in Namibia, turnover intention and eventual turnover will continue to increase, if not intervened upon.

Further, the study found a significant negative relationship between social well-being and intention to leave, indicating that employees with high social well-being are less likely to leave their workplace. Hennicks et al. (2022) established a relationship between social well-being, job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and intention to leave. If people do not feel part and parcel of an organisation or do not experience social well-being, they are more than likely to resign. It could be argued that for entry-level employees, it is important to form meaningful work relationships and networking to make their experiences at work more meaningful. Co-worker support can come in the form of emotional and work and administrative support, which helps boost efficiency and productivity (Murangi & Bailey, 2022).

The study provides crucial information on career well-being and turnover intention of entry-level employees in the Namibian context, which can be used in intervention development.

Initially, organisations that employ entry-level employees must rethink their human resource practices and processes to facilitate an organisational culture that fosters learning and career growth opportunities for entry-level employees. Entry-level employees are considered inexperienced and less qualified (ILO, 2018). As such, an organisational culture provides an innate social system in any organisation that aids in high commitment to organisational values, goal-directed behaviour, closer social relationships among members of the organisation, competitive advantage because of the deep beliefs of values and customs shared among colleagues and overall low employee turnover. According to Alberto (2023), a positive workplace culture can have a significant impact on employee retention, performance and engagement. When employees feel connected to their colleagues and company mission, they tend to work as a team and have higher morale. Additionally, good cultural environments improve employee well-being and communication. It can also attract the best talent and create a good reputation for the organisation. Therefore, it would be essential for private organisations to foster a non-toxic organisational culture by means of providing their staff with opportunities to interact. This can be accomplished by team building or social activities such as wellness programmes or year-end functions.

Furthermore, the study found a significant positive relationship between flourishing and career well-being of entry-level employees in a private Windhoek-based organisation. To perform at their best, be independent, adjust to change and effectively manage their professions, employees need to have good mental health. To increase the psychological well-being of employees, organisations can review employee needs. Employees should also be allowed to file complaints monthly about issues they face within the organisation; this can better assist the organisation in dealing with complexities when they arise. Furthermore, to fairly make decisions that equally benefit or apply to everyone, the organisation should implement policies that can abolish unfair treatment at work and maintain impartiality.

In summary, employees have a responsibility to themselves and the organisation as a unit to perform optimally. If an organisation’s human capital is in shambles, the organisation inevitably becomes disadvantaged because of employee dissatisfaction. It is imperative for both entry-level employees and organisations to find common ground to promote flourishing. As proposed in the interventions, at the organisational level, employee training and development are crucial for career growth. One-on-one training of an employee, organisation-specific assignments to foster self-confidence and autonomy, action learning, coaching and mentoring, business participation and social corporate responsibility in terms of employee investments and social programmes can all be used to bolster employee growth.

Limitations of the study

There was a dearth of prior research on the subject, which restricted access to publications about entry-level workers. It is important to note that there might be variations on the conceptualisation of entry-level employees in the Namibian labour market, compared to other work settings at an international level. It is recommended that further research is geared towards establishing a universal, yet contextualised, conceptualisation of entry-level employees in different work sectors across the globe.

This study was limited to a quantitative research approach, using a correlation research design. There was a short period allocated for data collection, and the researcher only focused on private institutions based in Windhoek. This study was also cross-sectional; questionnaires were used to collect data, and the study was unable to determine a cause-and-effect relationship of variables.

The three variables that were examined in this study were flourishing, intention to leave and career well-being. However, other factors, such as job satisfaction, work engagement and budgetary restrictions, may also have an impact on employee career well-being and turnover intention. Future research should examine these elements along with additional variables. Government institutions should be included in future research, as the study was limited to only private institutions in Windhoek.

Conclusion

The study emphasised that when entry-level employees flourish, they thrive in their careers. As such, interventions focused on the emotional, social and psychological well-being of entry-level employees are crucial. Organisations must enhance their human resources practices to ensure that entry-level employees’ well-being is safeguarded in the workplace. Consequently, this will enhance the competitive advantage of the organisation, fully utilising the knowledge and skills that entry-level employees bring to the organisation.

Acknowledgements

The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.

A. Murangi wrote and edited the article as well as conducted data analyses for the article. A. Maletzky conceptualised the study, collected data and wrote the article.

Data sharing is not applicable to this article, as no new data were created or analysed in this study.

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, A. Murangi.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and are the product of professional research. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated institution, funder, agency or that of the publisher. The authors are responsible for this article’s results, findings and content.

References