Determinants of positive mental health during organizational change: role of continuous learning, mindfulness and change-efficacy

Abstract

Purpose By integrating job demands-resource (JD-R) theory and organizational change approach, the paper investigates determinants of positive mental health (PMH) of employees experiencing unpredictable organizational change (i.e. transition from physical work to remote work and other associated changes during the Covid-19 pandemic). The paper aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of continuous learning (CL) and mindfulness (MF) on PMH of employees via their perceived change-efficacy (CE). Design/methodology/approach Time-lagged primary data were collected from a cohort of information technology employees experiencing organizational change in the past one year. During the first stage, data was collected on variables, including CF, MF and CE, whereas response on PMH of employees was collected after one month. AMOS-24 has been used to assess the measurement model and perform the analysis. Findings At the outset, the study affirms that CL, MF and CE significantly contribute toward PMH of employees. The mediation analysis suggests that CE significantly mediates both relationships (i.e. CL-PMH and MF-PMH). Practical implications First, CL and MF are key to recovering from a crisis and enhancing PMH of employees. Second, employees’ CE is an essential ingredient for organizations to successfully implement organizational changes while amplifying the PMH of employees. Originality/value The study is one of its kind which examines the antecedents of employees’ mental health during organizational change while examining the mediating role of their CE. The findings contribute substantially to the literature of organizational change and JD-R theory by integrating and extending it to organizational change context.

Leveraging human resource management practices during mergers and acquisitions: a bibliometric analysis and future research agenda

“…However, individual-level variables, such as employees' psychological and social needs, change-efficacy (i.e. employees' beliefs and assumptions about their change capabilities), and attention to quit have received lesser attention (Budhiraja and Rathi, 2022). Similarly, in PMI, the role of communication and employee commitment has been significantly researched in the past (Cooke et al ., 2021), whereas more recent studies have emphasised the idea of creating learning culture and measuring contextual performance of employees in the post-merger phase (Budhiraja, 2021).…”