Inclusive Leadership and Career Adaptability: The Sequential Mediating Roles of Psychological Safety and Thriving at Work

Abstract

The increasingly dynamic work environment driven by digital transformation, technological disruption, and evolving career demands has made career adaptability a critical capability for employees navigating uncertainty and change. This study examines how inclusive leadership shapes career adaptability through the sequential mediating roles of psychological safety and thriving at work. Using a quantitative explanatory design, data were collected from 200 employees across various industries in Indonesia through purposive sampling and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS. The findings show that inclusive leadership significantly enhances psychological safety, thriving at work, and career adaptability both directly and indirectly. Psychological safety and thriving at work both serve as significant mediators, with psychological safety emerging as the stronger mediating mechanism, as reflected by its larger indirect effect on career adaptability compared to thriving at work. Most importantly, this study confirms that inclusive leadership contributes to career adaptability through a sequential process in which employees first feel psychologically safe, then experience greater learning and vitality at work, and ultimately become more capable of adapting to changing career demands. Together, these mechanisms explain 62.7% of the variance in career adaptability. The findings highlight that employees’ ability to adapt does not develop in isolation; rather, it is shaped by everyday workplace experiences and interactions with their leaders. When leaders are open, approachable, and supportive, employees are more likely to feel safe, continue learning, and grow in their careers. For organizations, these findings suggest that developing inclusive leadership should go hand in hand with creating a psychologically safe work environment. Future research may extend this model by examining additional variables and testing its applicability across different career stages and cultural contexts in Southeast Asia