Enhancing Substainability: Psychological Capital, Perceived Employability, and Job Insecurity in Different Work Contract Conditions

Psychological capital educational program and its effect on nurse interns' innovative behavior

BACKGROUND

Nurse interns' capacity for innovative behavior is a key component of healthcare settings because of increasing demands and complexities. Thus, it is important to find strategies that promote their innovative behavior. The development of psychological capital (PsyCap) improves positive behaviors and attitudes, such as engagement, motivation, and satisfaction, in the work environment. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effect of a PsyCap educational program on nurse interns' innovative behavior.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. This study was executed at Fayoum University hospitals. The study participants comprised all the available nurse interns (n = 223) registered in the internship year (2022-2023) in the aforementioned settings. The data were gathered using three instruments, namely, the PsyCap Knowledge Questionnaire, the PsyCap Questionnaire, and the Innovative Behavior Inventory.

RESULTS

The nurse interns' mean scores regarding total knowledge about PsyCap, total perception of PsyCap, and total perception of innovative behavior significantly improved through the posttest phase (41.27 ± 9.31, 92.22 ± 6.26, 91.31 ± 9.06, respectively) and the follow-up phase (37.83 ± 8.83, 89.96 ± 6.31, 88.89 ± 8.33) in comparison with the pretest phase (14.39 ± 5.83, 69.04 ± 8.13, 60.55 ± 7.15).

CONCLUSION

The PsyCap educational program was effective and beneficial for improving the nurse interns' perceptions of innovative behavior. Therefore, PsyCap interventions should be implemented in hospitals through professional development programs and orientation programs.

The effect of sense of security on job performance of medical staff: the mediating effect of psychological capital

Objective

To investigate the current situation of sense of security, psychological capital and job performance of medical staff in Guangdong Province, and to explore the mediating role of psychological capital on the relationship between sense of security and job performance of medical staff.

Methods

In this study, 969 health care workers were selected from February 2023 to April 2023 from 37 hospitals in Guangdong Province, China, using purposive sampling method. The Sense of Security Scale for Medical Staff (SSS-MS), psychological capital scale (PCS) in Chinese version and the Chinese version of job performance scale (JPS) were used in this study. We use SPSS 26.0 for statistical analysis and Amos 24.0 for structural equation modeling (SEM). The control variables entering SEM were selected by regression analysis. SEM analysis confirmed psychological capital scale's mediating function in the link between work performance scale and Sense of Security.

Results

The overall SSS-MS, PCS, and JPS scores were 67.42 ± 16.136, 87.06 ± 15.04, and 77.87 ± 10.50, respectively. The results of Pearson's correlation analysis showed that there was a positive relationship between PCS and JPS (r = 0.722, P < 0.01), SSS-MS and JPS (r = 0.312, P < 0.01), and SSS-MS and PCS (r = 0.424, P < 0.01). PCS demonstrated a fully mediating influence on the link between medical workers' SSS-MS and JPS, according to structural equation modeling.

Conclusion

The JPS of medical personnel in Guangdong Province is at a medium level, with much room for improvement. PCS is positively impacted by a sense of security. There is a supportive correlation between PCS, JPS, and SSS-MS. Furthermore, PCS fully mediates the relationship between medical staff members' JPS and their SSS-MS. The Job Diamond-Resource model and Conservation of Resource theory are further validated and supplemented by the findings of this study, which also gives managers a theoretical foundation for enhancing medical staff performance.

Achieving Workplace Wellbeing Among Indian IT Engineers

The predictors of millennials’ wellbeing at work keep on changing in lieu with their changing career and work orientation. This quantitative research paper focuses on Indian Information Technology employees and aims to identify how their changing career orientation impacts work wellbeing, psychological capital and perceived employability. The proposed conceptual model of protean career orientation is empirically tested among 411 Information Technology engineers working at private companies in India. Findings indicate that the changing career orientation has a positive impact on work wellbeing, psychological capital and perceived employability. The study contributes to vocational psychology literature on enhancing our knowledge on the importance of protean attitude among millennials. The paper indicates further research areas and implications for employers.

Examining the role of employability as a mediator in the relationship between psychological capital and objective career success amongst occupational psychology professionals

Employability is core to our understanding of career sustainability, and at an individual level, identifying the personal resources that support employability in the achievement of career success is warranted. This study builds on the conservation of resources theory, examining the role of employability as a mediator in the relationship between psychological capital and objective career success. To test our hypotheses, we utilised a context-specific practitioner sample of 135 individuals with UK-accredited occupational psychology qualifications. Employability was conceptualised using the competence-based model, underpinned by occupational expertise. Psychological capital and employability were measured using self-report questionnaires, whilst career success was determined via gross annual salary and practitioner status, ensuring objective measures of this outcome variable. Structural equation modelling identified that the relationship between psychological capital and objective career success was fully mediated by employability. These novel findings have important theoretical and practical implications for the role of psychological capital as a personal resource in achieving career success via its influence on employability.

The Effect of Personal Environment Suitability and Work Environment of Luxury Hotels on Psychological Capital and Innovation Behavior

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of personal environment suitability and the work environment of luxury hotels on psychological capital and innovation behavior. Seven hypotheses were proposed. First, the work environment will have a positive effect on psychological capital. Second, personal environment suitability will have a positive effect on psychological capital. Third, the work environment will have a positive impact on innovation behavior. Fourth, the suitability of one’s environment will have a positive impact on one’s innovation behavior. Fifth, psychological capital will have a positive (+) effect on innovation behavior. Sixth and seventh, work environment and personal environment suitability will have a positive (+) effect on innovation behavior through psychological capital. To achieve the purpose of this study, eligible respondents (n = 327; 214 male and 113 female) were recruited from four-star hotels or higher located in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do and then evaluated for an online survey method. Hypothesis verification was conducted through CFA and structural equation model analysis. As a result of the analysis, all hypotheses except Hypothesis 3 were adopted. Personal environmental suitability drives innovation behavior at the organizational level, but programs that recognize work environment fit are also needed. This study has an advantage in that psychological capital has a mediating role in the relationship between work environment, personal environment suitability, and innovation behavior. As a result, it is suggested that hotels need to understand the psychological state of their members and manage their responses and attitudes. This study also suggests that personal environment suitability leads to organizational-level innovation behavior, but programs for work environment suitability are also needed.

Fear of Losing Jobs during COVID-19: Can Psychological Capital Alleviate Job Insecurity and Job Stress?

Job insecurity is a growing concern among bank employees. In this research, we examined whether psychological capital can alleviate bank workers’ perceptions of job insecurity and job stress during COVID-19. In particular, we aimed to examine this relationship at both the individual and work-unit levels of analysis. Based on the data collected from 520 bank tellers in 53 bank branches in Thailand, our multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) analyses revealed that there was significant between-branch variation in the levels of psychological capital (15%), job insecurity (23%) and job stress (24%). In particular, perceptions of job insecurity were found to have a positive effect on job stress at both levels of analysis. We also found that psychological capital significantly reduced perceptions of job insecurity and job stress at the individual level. These findings emphasize that perceptions of job insecurity can emerge at both the individual and work-unit levels. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Self-efficacy and academic programme satisfaction: mediating effect of meaningfulness of study

Purpose

The paper examined the mediating effect of meaningfulness of study on the relation between self-efficacy and academic programme satisfaction within higher education setup.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 376 randomly selected students took part in the study by completing a self-reported survey. Data were analysed using PLS-SEM.

Findings

Results suggest self-efficacy and meaningfulness of studies positively predict student's satisfaction with academic programme. Besides, meaningfulness of study mediates the relation between self-efficacy and student's satisfaction of academic programme.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to provide empirical evidence of the influence of meaningfulness of studies on self-efficacy and student academic programme satisfaction in the higher education context.

Job Insecurity in the COVID-19 Pandemic on Counterproductive Work Behavior of Millennials: A Time-Lagged Mediated and Moderated Model

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the market environment for the information technology (IT) industry changed dramatically, presenting companies with numerous obstacles in day-to-day management activities and changing business needs. Previous studies found that job insecurity due to COVID-19 significantly impacted millennials. Our research explored the effect of job insecurity on counterproductive work behavior among millennial employees during the COVID-19 period, using moral disengagement as a mediating variable, and psychological capital and negative emotions as moderating variables. In this study, 298 employees working in Chinese IT companies completed the questionnaire survey. We collected data from employees over three different time intervals (baseline, three weeks later, and six weeks later) to mitigate the issues of common method bias and single-source data. We analyzed the collected data using SPSS25.0 and Amos24.0 for structural modeling. Our research results indicate that job insecurity is positively associated with counterproductive work behavior, and moral disengagement plays a mediating role. In addition, psychological capital moderates the relationship between job insecurity, moral disengagement, and counterproductive work behavior. Negative emotions also moderate the mediating effect of moral disengagement between job insecurity and CWB.

CSR Perceptions and Career Satisfaction: The Role of Psychological Capital and Moral Identity

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the macro-level has been explored quite extensively, but how it affects employee-level outcomes was only recently researched. This paper draws on insights from the micro-foundation of CSR in explaining the effect of employees’ CSR perceptions on their career satisfaction. Moreover, the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating role of moral identity are also explored. Data were collected from a cross-industry sample of 383 employees in Saudi Arabia. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. The results show that CSR perceptions positively affected career satisfaction, and psychological capital mediated the effect of CSR perceptions on career satisfaction. Both factors of moral identity (internalized and symbolic) positively moderated the link between CSR perceptions and psychological capital. Finally, the indirect effect of CSR perceptions on career satisfaction via psychological capital was moderated by internalized moral identity and symbolic moral identity. Organizations can enhance career satisfaction by communicating to employees about CSR programs, initiatives, and actions. Moreover, employees should be provided with a working environment that provides them with the most resources so that they can feel confident, hopeful, resilient, and optimistic.

The Impact of Employees’ Perceptions of CSR on Career Satisfaction: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between employees’ CSR perceptions and their career satisfaction. Moreover, the mediating roles of organizational pride, organizational embeddedness, and psychological capital in the relationship between CSR perceptions and career satisfaction are also examined. Finally, the moderating roles of internalized moral identity and symbolic moral identity in the relationship between CSR perceptions and career satisfaction are investigated. A cross-industry sample of employees from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was collected. The results show that CSR perceptions positively affect career satisfaction. Organizational pride, organizational embeddedness, and psychological capital mediate the link between CSR perceptions and career satisfaction. Both dimensions of moral identity (internalized moral identity and symbolic moral identity) positively moderate the effect of CSR perceptions on career satisfaction.

Perceived Employability of Highly Skilled Migrant Women in STEM: Insights from Labor Market Intermediaries’ Professionals

While global economies are in a tremendous need for talented workers that could fill vacancies in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, available evidence shows that highly skilled migrants with a background in these fields are not protected from brain waste and deskilling. In this paper, we add to the previous literature on the employability of highly skilled migrant women from the specific—and under-investigated—perspective of labor market intermediaries. We specifically investigate what the barriers and resources are for employability of highly skilled migrant women in STEM, as perceived by labor market intermediaries’ professionals; and what the training needs are that labor market intermediaries’ professionals perceive to effectively work with this target group. We use unique explorative survey data collected in 2018 in five countries (Greece, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom) from professionals working in diverse labor market intermediary organizations. We find that these professionals perceive the employability of migrant women in STEM as rather low, and strongly determined by migrant women’s psychological capital. Professionals in Southern Europe perceive structural barriers as more important than those in other countries. Professionals display training needs related to ad-hoc mentoring and networking competences for this specific target group. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Can Hindrance Stressors Change the Nature of Perceived Employability? An Empirical Study in the Hotel Industry

This empirical study aims to design and test a research model that investigates the effect of job insecurity as a moderator of the relationships between perceived employability and employee well-being (work engagement). It also measures the impact of perceived employability on work engagement. Data were gathered from full-time frontline workers employed in five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus to test the study variables; the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was applied and supported the research hypotheses. In line with the study predictions and findings from previous literature, perceived employability was found to have a significant positive impact on work engagement. The result revealed that, as a hindrance stressor, job insecurity negatively affects the relationship between perceived employability and work engagement. The findings of this study provide some insights concerning employability’s importance as well as influencing factors on employees’ job selection and their attitudes during job performance in the organizations. The knowledge gathered in this research is a source for stressing the value of employability in developing professional skills and professional involvement, as well as for reducing the perception of job insecurity, especially in the tourism industry, which has a delicate and sensitive structure. The implications of the empirical findings are discussed and future research directions are offered.

Explaining Job Search Behavior in Unemployed Youngsters Beyond Perceived Employability: The Role of Psychological Capital

Job search seems to be a daunting task for youngsters in the Spanish labor market, unfortunately so given that it is the best predictor of getting a job even during economic crisis. Accordingly, it is vitally important to find resources that promote youngsters’ job search. The present study examines the effect of psychological capital on job search through perceived employability in a sample of Spanish unemployed youngsters. We analyzed data of 568 Spanish unemployed youngsters aged 16–29 years using structural equation modeling. Results showed that unemployed youngsters who possess high levels of psychological capital also perceive more control over job search which is directly connected with their job search intention. Surprisingly, analyses also showed that perceived employability is not an antecedent of job search. Instead, psychological capital seems to be a more beneficial resource for keeping unemployed youngsters engaged in job search in an adverse economic context.

Some Voices from Italian Youth on Well-Being: How to Cope with Job Insecurity?

’Insecure’ jobs and alternating between periods of unemployment and periods of employment under fixed-term contracts are increasingly widespread among the youth in Europe. This phenomenon is an important risk factor for young people’s well-being. Despite the growing number of studies, some issues have still not been adequately addressed. Compared to the high number of quantitative studies, the number of qualitative researches is limited: in fact, few studies have tackled this topic from a qualitative standpoint, highlighting the dynamics and the subjective processes which operate in this relationship and considering the different functions that work can have for the individual. Another aspect that has not been adequately dealt with is represented by the coping strategies that young people put in place to deal with job insecurity, and which have consequences on their well-being. The present article on the Italian case is intended to give a contribution in these directions. In particular, it analyses the way in which a group of 40 unemployed or temporarily employed young people, in-depth interviewed, subjectively describe the relationship between job insecurity and well-being, and reflects on coping strategies to face job insecurity and related perceived consequences. In doing this, the authors consider the role of individual factors, as well as of meso and macro ones, given that—for example—the national contexts have a role in influencing the way in which job insecurity is perceived and managed by individuals. The results highlight the complexity of this relationship, in which the intertwining of factors at different levels plays a very important role in determining the coping strategies and the overall well-being of people: individually, like the functions and the subjective meanings of work for the youth, but also in meso and macro terms, such as the familial support and relationships, and the institutional and public resources available.

Humor Styles as New Resources in a Primary Preventive Perspective: Reducing Resistance to Change for Negotiation

Reducing resistance to change is fundamental to dealing with the rapid and continuous changes of the 21st century labor market. Personality traits have been widely studied in relation to resistance to change. However, personality is not completely suitable for primary prevention intervention, since it does not change over time. Instead, humor styles appear to be a promising preventive resource to facilitate the negotiation process by enabling individuals to cope with the current work environment. Using a sample of 149 university students, this study analyzed the relationship between personality traits, such as extraversion and emotionality, humor styles, and resistance to change. The mediation analysis highlighted that both affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles could promote integrative negotiations within organizations in relation to change, due to their negative relationships with resistance to change. Thus, implementing dedicated interventions to increase the usage of affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles could help in lowering the failure risk in negotiation processes, supporting changes.

I Am a Leader, I Am a Mother, I Can Do This! The Moderated Mediation of Psychological Capital, Work–Family Conflict, and Having Children on Well-Being of Women Leaders

Gender equality is one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Management is one of the jobs that more clearly needs a gender perspective. Women leaders have found a way around the labyrinth to get to the top, which might have developed their personal resources such as psychological capital. Women leaders experience an inter-role conflict when work and family demands are mutually incompatible, affecting negatively their well-being. This study aims to analyze the mediation role that work–family and family–work conflict plays between psychological capital and well-being (engagement and burnout) when moderated by the number of children. In total, 202 Spanish women leaders participated in the study. Results of the mediated moderation model using Model 14 of the macro PROCESS for SPSS software show that psychological capital buffers the negative effects that experiencing work–family conflict has on well-being when having children. The well-being of women leaders is not affected when dealing with family interfering work conflict and having children. As such, women leaders who have children rely on their psychological capital to successfully manage the family demands affecting their work and to reduce the negative effect of work–family conflict on their well-being. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed from the psychology of a sustainability perspective.

Work Volition and Career Adaptability as Predictors of Employability: Examining a Moderated Mediating Process

Slow economic growth and cost reduction have caused a global increase in employment insecurity. For university students in the process of preparing for employment, these conditions can be a source of enormous stress. The effort to improve the employability of university students who experience difficulties in seeking a job and developing a career, therefore, becomes consequently meritorious. In order to provide new findings of the key antecedents affecting employability, this study investigates the dynamics of work volition and career adaptability. Employability is predicted by integrating career adaptability, which originated in career construction theory, and work volition, which originated in the psychology of working framework. To test the research hypotheses, survey data were collected from 251 students registered at three universities in South Korea and analyzed using a structural equation model and Hayes’ process macro. Results indicated that the direct effect of work volition on employability and its indirect effect through career adaptability were significant. Next, the mediation effect of career adaptability between work volition and employability was varied positively by work volition. These results provide practical implications for efforts aimed at increasing the employability of university students and, as such, present a foundation for contribution to ensuring sustainable employability.

Perceived Serviceability of Outplacement Programs as a Part of Sustainable Human Resource Management

Work and employment are important elements of every working person’s life. If an employee loses his or her job, he or she loses an important and determining part of his or her life. To reduce the negative effects that affect the quality of an employee’s life, outplacement programs were established as a part of sustainable human resource management. Sustainable human resource management emphasises the importance of employee care. Outplacement, for its part, includes support for employees at their last stage in the organization. The main aims of the paper are to present the research results focused on the perceived usefulness of outplacement programs for dismissed employees, to analyse the relationships between the emotions felt by redundancies and other employees as well as the comparison of differences in emotions felt by different generations of dismissed employees. A valid collection tool (research questionnaire) was developed for research purposes and distributed to employees of industrial enterprises in the Slovak Republic. Overall, the research set was composed of n = 692 employees from different generational groups. The research results proved the existence of a relationships between the emotions felt by redundancies and other employees and differences in emotions felt by employees from different generational groups.

Self-Perceived Employability and Meaningful Work: The Mediating Role of Courage on Quality of Life

The concept of sustainability, from a psychological point of view, can be related to the promotion of personal resources that help people to find decent and meaningful work and live quality lives. In the psychological concept of sustainability and sustainable development, the sustainability of careers is related not only to individual career management, but also to the possibility for individuals to obtain a good quality of life despite the frequent changes and the unpredictability of the work context. The present study focuses on the constructs of self-perceived employability and meaningful work, analyzing their relationships with workers’ quality of life. An empirical study was conducted on 660 Italian workers using the following measures: Self-perceived employability scale, work and meaning inventory, courage measure, satisfaction with life scale, and the flourishing scale. The results showed direct effects of employability and meaningful work on the indicators of quality of life (life satisfaction and flourishing); moreover, indirect effects of employability and meaningful work on the quality of life were found to be caused by the mediation of courage.

Older Worker Identity and Job Performance: The Moderator Role of Subjective Age and Self-Efficacy

Older Worker Identity consists of the internalization of negative beliefs and attitudes towards aged employees by these same people. This research aims to explore the moderator role both of subjective age and self-efficacy in the relationship between older worker identity and job performance. The study was conducted with a panel design, including a sample of +40 Spanish workers (n = 200), with two waves (4-months interval). The findings supported the moderator role of subjective age in the relationship, while it failed to support the moderator role of self-efficacy. These findings underline that workers who actively manage their subjective age perceptions could age successfully at work. The implications of this study for counseling practices are discussed.