Towards understanding causality between work engagement and psychological capital

Page 1 of 10 Original Research Towards understanding causality between work engagement and psychological capital Authors: Johannes J. de Waal1 Jaco Pienaar1 Orientation: It is of theoretical and practical interest to establish the sequential relationship between work engagement and positive organisational behaviour, as represented by the psychological capital (PsyCap) construct. Affiliations: 1 WorkWell Research Unit, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, South Africa Research purpose: The main aim of this study was to conceptualise and investigate the causal relationship and temporal order in the relationship between PsyCap and engagement by means of longitudinal data. Correspondence to: Jaco Pienaar Email: Postal address: Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa Dates: Received: 22 Mar. 2013 Accepted: 02 Aug. 2013 Published: 04 Oct. 2013 How to cite this article: De Waal, J.J., & Pienaar, J. (2013). Towards understanding causality between work engagement and psychological capital. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 39(2), Art. #1113, 10 pages. http:// dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajip. v39i2.1113 Copyright: © 2013. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Read online: Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to read online. Motivation for the study: The rationale for establishing the sequence of engagement and psychological capital lies in the fact that training interventions to enhance the organisational well-being of employees may need to be focused on either one or the other. Research design, approach and method: A longitudinal study with a cross-lagged panel design was conducted; data was gathered by means of a survey that was constructed for the purpose of the study. The survey contained the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), and a measure of PsyCap. All employees within a chemical factory (N = 1003) were approached to provide data; 163 employees participated. Main findings: Results revealed that PsyCap at Time 1 (T1) did not significantly predict engagement at Time 2 (T2). Evidence does however exist that initial levels of employee engagement predict subsequent PsyCap. Practical/managerial implications: Results suggest that employee interventions aimed at protecting and fostering employee engagement may have implications for subsequent employee psychological capital. Contribution/value-add: As an empirical, longitudinal study to address the temporal order between PsyCap and work engagement, this study makes a contribution especially to theory, but also with practical implications by indicating that engagement precedes employee psychological capital. Introduction Key focus of the study The South African and international business environments currently demand much more from employees than during any previous time in history (Rothmann, 2003). Modern organisations expect their employees to take a proactive approach, show initiative, develop a sense of responsibility and be committed to the execution of high performance standards (Bakker, Schaufeli, Leiter & Taris, 2008). Organisations therefore require employees who feel energetic and are dedicated to and absorbed by their work, that is, who are engaged with their work (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2008). To encourage engagement in organisations today, personal resources such as optimism, self-efficacy and resilience could be employed, as it is suggested that these personal resources facilitate work engagement (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008). Such resources fall under the rubric of employee psychological capital (PsyCap) (Luthans, 2002a; Luthans, Luthans & Luthans, 2004; Youssef & Luthans, 2007). However, the temporal order between PsyCap and engagement has not been extensively researched, although some authors have theorised a likely reciprocal relationship (Bakker, Schaufeli, Demerouti & Euwema, 2007; Sweetman & Luthans, 2010). In other words, it is still unknown whether engagement leads to, is the consequence of or reciprocally interacts with employees’ PsyCap. This study reports on an investigation into this sequential ordering of PsyCap and work engagement. Background to the study A key differentiator of competitive advantage and sustained organisational performance in the modern global economy is an organisation’s employees or human capital (Luthans et al., 2004; Minervini, Meyer & Rourke, 2003). The importance of employees’ work engagement is http://www.sajip.co.za doi:10.4102/sajip.v39i2.1113 Page 2 of 10 highlighted by empirical evidence which proposes that engagement is positively linked to positive organisational outcomes, including job performance (Bakker & Bal, 2010; Halbesleben & Wheeler, 2008), client satisfaction (Salanova, Agut & Peiro, 2005), financial returns (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti & Schaufeli, 2009) and positive organisational behaviour, such as personal initiative and learning (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008; Sonnentag, 2003). Given the meta-analytic relationship between employee engagement and indicators of performance such as customer satisfaction, turnover, safety and productivity (Harter, Schmidt & Hayes, 2002), organisations are realising the importance of employee engagement in contributing to the sustainment of their competitive edge in the global market (Schabracq & Cooper, 2000). Positive organisational behaviour (POB) is defined as: ‘the study and application of positively oriented human resource strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively managed for performance improvement in today’s workplace’ (Luthans, 2002a, p. 59). Luthans and colleagues have offered evidence that dimensions of POB are indeed open to development and, importantly, related to performance (Luthans, Avey & Patera, 2008; Luthans, Avey, Avolio & Peterson, 2010; Peterson, Luthans, Avolio, Walumba & Zheng, 2011). Bakker and Demerouti (2007) have advanced that such employee positive psychological resources should buffer against the effects of stress, whilst Avey, Luthans, and Jensen (2009) provide some empirical evidence for this combative effect. Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti & Schaufeli (2007) also illustrate that personal resources could mediate between job resources and work engagement. Conceptually, Sweetman and Luthans (2010) advance that employee PsyCap, as an indicator of POB, can be thought of as a job resource that should help individual employees to obtain goals, buffer demands and facilitate personal growth. What is still lacking is a thorough understanding of the interaction of PsyCap and work engagement. Research purpose Original Research construct: psychological capital (PsyCap), consisting of hope, optimism, resiliency and self-efficacy (Luthans et al., 2004). It has conceptually and empirically been shown that PsyCap is the underlying second order construct, with better predictive power than any of the individual co (...truncated)