Psychological capital and career commitment: the mediating effect of subjective well-being

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discover the role of psychological capital (PsyCap) as a predictor of subjective well-being (SWB) and career commitment (CC). Further, it aims to analyze the mediating role of SWB in the relationship between PsyCap and CC in the Indian manufacturing sector. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey-based research design employing data from 300 employees in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India was used in the present research. Findings The results demonstrated that PsyCap acted as a predictor for SWB and CC. Additionally, SWB partially mediated the relationship between PsyCap and CC. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the present research would have to do with the purposive sample set chosen during the data collection. The sample consisted of middle- and upper-middle-class Indian employees working in the NCR having knowledge of English language and computer skills. Perhaps, future research works should take into account a wider sample in terms of the regions across India and not only the NCR. Although the findings showed that SWB reduced the relationship between PsyCap and CC, still that relationship was significant statistically. Further research studies might also explore various moderators while simultaneously studying SWB. In the research, SWB acted as a significant mediator of the relation between PsyCap and CC, yet at the same time, it may be the scenario that employees who are committed toward their career would be more inclined to espouse a greater sense of SWB (i.e. mediator is caused by the outcome). Hence, the authors duly recognize the need to test this substitute model. Since, SWB places chief emphasis on respondent’s own experiences and perspectives; it does not denote a consummate understanding of their mental health as people may have psychological disorders even if they experience happiness. Hence, the use of other measures in addition to SWB in comprehending a person’s psychological health is desirable (Diener et al., 1997). Practical implications This study suggests that in order for organizations to have a workforce committed to their career and hence, their profession, the supervisors will need to train the employees having a higher incidence of PsyCap to increase their SWB. Consequently, the supervisors will, in turn, need to recruit employees already having the four dimensions of PsyCap, i.e. hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism at the workplace in order for them to have a higher life satisfaction, positive affect, reduced negative affect (three components of SWB) and increased CC. Social implications Employees who develop within themselves a state of being hopeful, efficacious, resilient and optimistic will also be strongly oriented toward having greater life satisfaction, positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. This, in part, would help them achieve the required commitment toward their career and hence, help them in sticking with their jobs. Originality/value The present study advances the existing work on positive organizational behavior by exhibiting the noteworthy role of PsyCap in predicting SWB and CC. Further, it helps in demonstrating the inevitable role of SWB in partially mediating the relationship between PsyCap and CC.

Managerial coaching and subordinates' workplace well‐being: A moderated mediation study

“…First, our findings point to the positive effect of managerial coaching in predicting subordinates' workplace well‐being. The exploration of predictors for workplace well‐being is a hot topic in current organisational behaviour research, but most of the existing research focuses on personal dispositional factors (Laschinger, Finegan, & Wilk, ; Singhal & Rastogi, ). To date, there are few studies on leadership predictors, and empirical research is particularly scarce.…”

“…Given that the workplace is the context we focus on and that subjective and psychological well-being fit within this context, we focus particularly on workplace well-being. Scholarly works have confirmed the advantages of workplace well-being, such as improving individual career commitment (Singhal & Rastogi, 2018) and promoting organisational performance and virtuousness (Ahmed, Rehman, Ali, Ali, & Anwar, 2018;Boxall, Guthrie, & Paauwe, 2016). We therefore consider it critical for organisations to know how to enhance workplace well-being.…”

Influence of the Psychological Capital and Perceived Organizational Support on Subjective Career Success: The Mediating Role of Women's Career Adaptability in the Saudi Context

“…Recently, research has put forward the positive effect of PsyCap on many employees' attitudes and behaviors such as organizational commitment, professional engagement, and subjective well-being (Singhal and Rastogi, 2018;Peterson et al, 2011;Avey et al, 2010). According to Luthans and Youssef (2004), the four dimensions of PsyCap impact organizational performance.…”

Why Childhood Toxic Experiences and Early Maladaptive Schemas Affect Negatively One's Psychological Capital?

“…In addition to individual-level advantages, PsyCap has several implications in organizational level. Accordingly, the positive relationship between PsyCap and some desirable attitudes of employees, such as organizational commitment, career commitment and job satisfaction, were proved by some studies [19][20][21][22]. Respecting these findings, ones with a higher level of PsyCap have a more positive attitude and expectations toward future and correspondingly have more self-efficacy to encounter with a variety of job-related challenges [23].…”