Role of Psychological Capacities on Thriving at Work among Services Employees

Abstract

In today’s ever changing world, nurturing personal or psychological resources has become a necessity to sustain in organizations and achieve desired goals.  The purpose of the study is to examine the role of self-efficacy, resilience, hope and optimism (psychological capacities) on thriving at work, among employees of select services organization (i.e. banking, retailing, and e-commerce). This study views the problem under investigation from the field of positive psychology concerning employee’s well-being. Psychological capital and thriving at work are behaviors employees need to possess so that both they and their employers experience long-term gains. Both descriptive and quantitative research designs were adopted using two standardized, valid and reliable scales. The questionnaire was completed by 203 employees from select service organizations in Bangalore with a minimum experience of two years. Stratified sampling technique and Judgmental sampling technique were adopted for selecting the organizations, and for deciding whom to administer the questionnaire. The results of the study indicate that self-efficacy, resilience, hope and optimism (psychological capacities) do have a significant influence on thriving at work. The outcome of this study would help service organizations to understand the importance of nurturing the employees’ psychological capacities by creating an empowering work culture. This study suggests ways to motivate employers to formulate feasible training intervention programs for developing and strengthening such capacities, which in turn, would enhance thriving at work.