Does work engagement enhance general well-being and control at work? Mediating role of psychological capital
| Published date | 03 December 2018 |
| Pages | 272-286 |
| Date | 03 December 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-05-2017-0027 |
| Author | Manish Gupta,Musarrat Shaheen |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
Does work engagement enhance
general well-being and control at
work? Mediating role of
psychological capital
Manish Gupta and Musarrat Shaheen
IBS Hyderabad, a Constituent of IFHE (Deemed University), Hyderabad, India
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) between
work engagement (WE) and general well-being (GWB) as well as between WE and control at work (CAW).
Design/methodology/approach –Data were collected from 200 medical employees involved in rendering
healthcare services. Structural equation modeling was done to test the hypotheses.
Findings –Analyses of the data revealed that PsyCap mediates fully between WE and CAW and partially
between WE and GWB.
Research limitations/implications –The results show that PsyCap plays a positive role in transferring
the impact of engagement levels to GWB and CAW. The results augment the broaden-and-build theory by
explaining how positivity at the workplace can help the engaged employees improve well-being and CAW.
Practical implications –Hospitals in India are encouraged to recruit psychologically capable (high in
PsyCap) employees. Such psychologically capable and engaged employees have greater CAW and have
higher general well-being.
Originality/value –This study is among the few preliminary studies which have focused on the mechanism
through which well-being and CAW of employees involved in healthcare services in India get affected.
Keywords Healthcare industry, Work engagement, Psychological capital, Control at work, General well-being
Paper type Research paper
The concept of engaging employees has started gaining popularity among occupational
health psychologists and practitioners primarily because of its positive impact on
employees’well-being and control at work (CAW) (Shuck, 2011; Anonymous, Harvard
Business Review, 2013). A staggering 90 percent of employers feel that an engagement
strategy would help employees enhance their well-being (Bahreini, 2015). Engaged
employees are vigorous, dedicated and absorbed in their workplace. Prior research suggests
that these engaged employees are highly productive, and so organizations need to help them
channel their energies in such a way that it leads to their well-being (Luthans et al., 2013)
and greater CAW (Bahraminejad et al., 2015; Crabtree, 2013). However, one area that
remains underresearched is the mechanism through which work engagement (WE) affects
well-being and CAW (Schaufeli et al., 2008).
Since most of the frontline jobs are considered “three cornered fights”with employees
feeling that they are caught in the middle of constant demands by both their managers and
customers (Bateson, 1985), scholars believe psychological capable employees can overcome
this challenge. Psychologically capable individuals are high in psychological capital
(PsyCap) that helps them cope with such pressure, invest their energies into their work role
(Luthans et al., 2008, 2013) while simultaneously enhancing their well-being and increasing
their CAW (Nguyen and Nguyen, 2012).
Today’s workplace is characterized as dynamic, complex and uncertain. In such a work
environment, only an employee who is positive, proactive and resilient can perform. PsyCap
is one of the personal resources of an employee which keeps employees positive, confident,
hopeful, optimistic and resilient at the workplace (Luthans et al., 2016). High PsyCap
Evidence-based HRM: a Global
Forum for Empirical Scholarship
Vol. 6 No. 3, 2018
pp. 272-286
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2049-3983
DOI 10.1108/EBHRM-05-2017-0027
Received 10 May 2017
Revised 11 September 2017
2 February 2018
12 April 2018
Accepted 16 June 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2049-3983.htm
272
EBHRM
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