scholarly journals The role of psychological capital in the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieta Du Plessis ◽  
Adre B. Boshoff

Orientation: The focus on positive psychology in the workplace includes interest in engagement of employees and the conditions and/or characteristics that explain variance in engagement levels.Research purpose: Psychological capital (PsyCap) can be used as a substitute or enhancer for leadership in the development of work engagement in cases where the individual has a high level of PsyCap.Motivation for the study: With work engagement becoming increasingly critical to the competitiveness of today’s organisations, there is a need to better understand the role of leadership and psychological strengths that support work engagement among employees.Research approach/design and method: In the quantitative study (on the responses of 647 managers from a national private healthcare organisation), the mediating and moderating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) on the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement was tested.Main findings: Psychological capital partially mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement. Similarly, PsyCap was also a moderator of the relationship, although the main effects remained significant.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations and leaders should focus on developing a high level of PsyCap within their followers in order to retain high levels of work engagement.Contribution/value-add: The role of PsyCap in the leadership–engagement relationship indicates that individuals can draw from their PsyCap to improve work engagement.

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zurayda Shaik ◽  
Johanna H. Buitendach

Orientation: The role of traits as a determinant of states has resulted in researchers closely examining their potential for enhancing work behaviour. This is achieved through the examination of the trait and state perspectives.Research purpose: This research sought to determine the relationship between work locus of control (WLOC) and psychological capital (PsyCap), with the objective of increasing alertness on the trait and state approach.Motivation for the study: The current study investigated the role of traits and states in contributing to the positive psychology arena within the recruitment industry.Research approach, design and method: This longitudinal research design involved 425 middle managers at Time 1 (T1), at both supervisory and specialist levels, and 190 middle managers at supervisory levels at Time 2 (T2). This longitudinal study used a biographical, WLOC and PsyCap questionnaires.Main findings: The findings indicated that WLOC has predictive value for PsyCap: a statistically significant and practical relationship was established between WLOC and PsyCap at T1 and T2. However, the multiple regression analysis results were not consistently demonstrated over time.Practical managerial implications: Understanding the role of personality traits and psychological states can provide managers with additional means of increasing employee efficiency through improving work processes such as recruitment and selection.Contributions/value-add: The recruitment and other industries are encouraged to utilise a strength-based approach to enhance work performance through selection processes that incorporate traits and states to further increase organisational competitiveness.


Author(s):  
Caren B. Scheepers ◽  
Sarah L. Elstob

Orientation: Beneficiary contact moderates the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement.Research purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the moderating effect of the breadth, depth and frequency of employee interaction with the beneficiaries of their work on the positive impact of authentic leadership on work engagement.Motivation for the study: Investigating the boundary conditions of the relationship between leaders and followers is vital to enhance the positive effect of leadership. Authentic leadership has not previously been examined with respect to beneficiary contact as a specific situational factor. The researchers therefore set out to ascertain whether beneficiary contact has a strengthening or weakening effect on the impact of authentic leadership on work engagement.Research design, approach and method: The researchers administered the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) and Grant’s scale on Beneficiary Contact.Main findings: The findings showed that beneficiary contact had a weakening effect on the positive relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement.Practical/managerial implications: Ideally, organisations create environments conducive to work engagement in which leadership plays an important role. This study found that one factor in the work environment, namely beneficiary contact, might have an adverse effect on the positive relationship that authentic leadership has on work engagement. Leaders should therefore take organisational contextual realities into account, such as regular, intense interaction of employees with the beneficiaries of their work. This situation could create strain for individual employees, requiring additional organisational support.Contribution/value-add: Organisations need to recognise the impact of beneficiary contact on the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement. The researchers propose further studies on the influence of contextual variables on the relationship between leaders and followers.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beena Prakash Nair ◽  
T. Prasad ◽  
Shreekumar K. Nair

PurposeThe present study had two objectives, first objective was to examine the impact of authentic leadership on followers' well-being and work engagement. The second objective was to examine the moderating role of authentic leadership and followers' outcomes. Despite an immense amount of research on authentic leadership, how and when authentic leadership is more or less effective in promoting the well-being and work engagement of followers is little known. Drawing from the conservation of resource theory, the authors draw upon the interactionist perspective and suggest psychological capital is a dispositional boundary condition that influences the effectiveness of authentic leadership in promoting well-being and work engagement of followers.Design/methodology/approachUsing cross-sectional research design data were collected from 547 team members nested under 118 team leaders from the financial sector in India. The study used structural equation modelling and hierarchical regression analysis to examine the hypothesised relationships.FindingsThe findings from the study revealed that authentic leadership predicts followers' psychological well-being and work engagement. Also as proposed, the study found psychological capital moderates the relationship between authentic leadership and the well-being of followers. However, the study found psychological capital does not moderate the relationship between authentic leadership and followers' work engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has helped expand the nomological network of authentic leadership by examining the authentic leadership model with followers' psychological well-being and work engagement. Further, the findings suggest that psychological capital being a dispositional boundary condition, it plays a contingent role in explaining the role of authentic leadership in promoting the well-being of followers.Practical implicationsThe results offer strong practical implications that can be considered as the basis for actionable strategies by the human resource management system of the organisation to enhance authentic leadership and psychological capital.Originality/valueThe study is unique in its scope and contribution, as it tries to develop an understanding of how and when authentic leadership promotes psychological well-being and work engagement by considering an interactionist approach in the Indian context.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jatin Pandey ◽  
Manish Gupta ◽  
Yusuf Hassan

PurposeIntrapreneurship is gaining traction in organizations to buckle up for the dynamic business environment. Scholars have argued that intrapreneurship increases positivity at work and helps employees attach themselves better with their job. However, empirical evidence suggests that these relationships do not exist. The objective of this paper is to examine the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) in the relationship between intrapreneurship and work engagement.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through an online survey. Responses from 309 employees working in different industries in India were analysed. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe results show that there exist positive relationships among intrapreneurship, psychological capital (PsyCap) and work engagement. Further, it was observed that the PsyCap partially mediates the relationship between intrapreneurship and work engagement.Practical implicationsManagers may not only encourage intrapreneurial behaviour in their organizations but also ensure that the employees are psychologically capable (high on PsyCap). It would enable the employees to engage themselves wholeheartedly into their work.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is one of its kinds to relate intrapreneurship with PsyCap and work engagement.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 971-991
Author(s):  
Saad M. Alotaibi ◽  
Muslim Amin ◽  
Jonathan Winterton

PurposeThe objective of this study is to investigate the role of emotional intelligence and empowering leadership in enhancing psychological empowerment and work engagement in private hospitals.Design/methodology/approachA total of 500 questionnaires were distributed to staff nurses at five private hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 100 questionnaires to each hospital, with an achieved response rate of 34.8%.FindingsThe results show statistically significant positive relationships between emotional intelligence, empowering leadership, psychological empowerment and work engagement. The relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement and psychological empowerment and work engagement were not significant.Research limitations/implicationsThe study found that employees who have a high level of emotional intelligence and the positive stimulus of empowering leadership demonstrate enhanced psychological empowerment and work engagement.Practical implicationsA better understanding of the role of EI and EL in enhancing psychological empowerment and work engagement could help hospitals reduce turnover among nurses and improve their relationships with patients, as well as maintaining competitive advantage.Originality/valueThe study provides evidence to support the effect of EI on empowering leadership, psychological empowerment and work engagement in private hospitals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Hung-Yi Liao ◽  
Kang-Hwa Shaw

Based on social learning theory, this paper investigated the relationship between authentic leadership and employee voice as well as the mediating role of felt obligations for change, and the moderating role of power distance orientation. Using a questionnaire survey, we collected employee data in China, and obtained 183 usable responses to test our hypotheses. The results show that authentic leadership is positively related to employee voice, authentic leadership positively influences felt obligations for change, and felt obligations for change mediates the relationship between authentic leadership and employee voice. Further, power distance orientation moderates the influence of authentic leadership on felt obligations for change. Theoretical implications, managerial implications, and future directions are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swati Agrawal

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between transformational leadership (TL) and employee engagement through the mediating role of the sub constructs of psychological capital. The article has used a single cross-sectional descriptive design. The sample consisted of 450 full-time employees working in the service sector in India. The data were mainly analyzed through structural and measurement model. The result of the study revealed that TL has an influence on employee engagement. The relationship between TL and employee engagement is mediated by sub-construct hope of psychological capital. Implication of this study is of high importance for organizations continuously working to increase the level of employee engagement to further enhance competitiveness. Prior research has examined the antecedents of employee work engagement, but little is known about the role of TL and a positive psychological state, in shaping employee work engagement. Imparting TL training and style can help to generate psychological capital which will positively drive employee engagement. Organizations with transformational leaders will be able to make employees feel valued and happy by igniting feeling of hope. The engaged workforce will result in the positive social outcome. This study is original as earlier studies have not explored the important role of hope and also optimism as dimensions of psychological capital. The article supports the critical role of leadership and psychological capital in creating highly engaged employees which have not been studied in an Indian context with specific focus to the service sector.


2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christa Welthagen ◽  
Crizelle Els

Orientation: Work engagement, burnout and stress-related ill health levels of individuals, suffering from depression, who are unsure whether or not they suffer from depression, or who do not suffer from depression, have not been investigated in South Africa.Research purpose: The main objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of depression amongst employees in South African organisations and the relationship of depression with specific well-being constructs.Motivation for the study: Organisations should know about the prevalence of depression and the effects this could have on specific well-being constructs.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional design was followed. The availability sample (n = 15 664) included participants from diverse demographics. The South African Employee Health and Wellness Survey was followed to measure constructs.Main findings: The results showed that 18.3% of the population currently receive treatment for depression, 16.7% are unsure whether or not they suffer from depression and 65% do not suffer from depression. Depression significantly affects the levels of work engagement, burnout and the occurrence of stress-related ill health symptoms.Practical/managerial implications: This study makes organisations aware of the relationship between depression and employee work-related well-being. Proactive measures to promote the work-related well-being of employees, and to support employees suffering from depression, should be considered.Contribution/value-add: This study provides insight into the prevalence of depression and well-being differences that exist between individuals, suffering from depression, who are unsure whether or not they suffer from depression, and who do not suffer from depression. 


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