Abstract

The relationship between economic constraints and work-related variables has been extensively studied by those in the field of psychology of working theory. However, the emotional impacts of these economic constraints remain underexplored. We addressed this gap by using a psychology of working theory with decent education and self-determination theory to investigate the serial mediation effects of the fear of missing out and work volition on the effect of economic constraints on career preparation behaviors of South Korean undergraduate students. We collected data from 400 university students in South Korea and employed structural equation modeling with bootstrapping to validate these effects. The results revealed that the fear of missing out and work volition sequentially mediated the influence of economic constraints on career preparation behaviors, suggesting that emotions triggered by economic barriers affect autonomy and, ultimately, career preparation. The indirect effect of economic constraints on career preparation behaviors through work volition was also significant. Overall, we discuss the implications of these findings and provide suggestions for future research.