Analyzing the Phenomenon of Multiple Job Holding in the Light of Career Development and Employee Empowerment: A Study in Iranian Public Organizations

Abstract :

Purpose: This study aimed to identify and prioritize the factors influencing multiple jobholding in Iranian public organizations, with particular emphasis on its role in career development and employee empowerment.

Methodology: This applied study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design (qualitative–quantitative). In the qualitative phase, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 academic and executive experts selected using purposive maximum variation sampling. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis to develop an initial model of the factors influencing multiple jobholding. The qualitative findings particularly explored the developmental and empowering functions of multiple jobholding. In the quantitative phase, the proposed model was refined, validated, and prioritized using the Fuzzy Delphi technique based on the judgments of the same expert panel.

Findings: The results revealed that financial push motivations were the primary driver of multiple jobholding, achieving the highest fuzzy score (0.903). Situational–structural factors, including available free time and weak organizational supervision, ranked second (0.850), followed by financial pull motivations. Despite the dominance of economic pressures, the qualitative findings indicated a gradual shift toward developmental functions among certain employee groups, particularly specialists and middle managers, who viewed multiple jobholding as a means of enriching career paths, acquiring new skills, expanding professional networks, and achieving self-actualization. These findings suggest that, although multiple jobholding in Iranian public organizations is primarily a response to economic necessity, it also possesses considerable potential to enhance employee empowerment and human capital development when supported by appropriate organizational policies.

 

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