Flourishing in the Workplace: A One-Year Prospective Study on the Effects of Perceived Organizational Support and Psychological Capital.

Henry C Y Ho,Ying Chuen Chan

doi:10.3390/ijerph19020922

Abstract

People working in urban areas often experience various work-related stressors, such as long working hours, high work pressure, and work-life interference, which can lead to severe mental and physical consequences. Identification of the protective factors that enable employees to flourish and thrive is especially important. The present study aims to identify the organizational and personal resources that contribute to employee flourishing. Adopting the conservation of resources theory and organizational support theory, it was hypothesized that perceived organizational support (POS) would promote employee flourishing through increasing psychological capital (PsyCap). A prospective study was conducted on a sample of 400 working adults from the social and personal services industry in Hong Kong. Data were collected at baseline, three months, and one year. Both Diener’s composite model of flourishing and Seligman’s PERMA model of flourishing were tested. Structural equation modeling showed that PsyCap at three months significantly mediated the effects of POS at baseline on flourishing and all dimensions of PERMA (positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishments) at one year. Findings suggest that PsyCap underlies the process through which POS influences flourishing, whereby the promotion of positive psychological resources in a nurturing and supportive organization contributes to psychosocial functioning in the long run.

Highlights

IntroductionPeople working in urban areas often experience various work-related stress, including long working hours, high work pressure, and work-life interference
The results provided evidence of construct validity for perceived organizational support (POS), psychological capital (PsyCap), flourishing, and PERMA
Since POS is an important contributor for personal resources and well-being among employees, organizations are suggested to implement employee-oriented practices that value the contributions of employees, acknowledge their accomplishments, recognize their personal goals and values, encourage them to voice out their opinions and concerns, provide assistance in times of need, show concern for their well-being, and foster a sense of belonging at work

Summary

Introduction

People working in urban areas often experience various work-related stress, including long working hours, high work pressure, and work-life interference. Organization (WHO) recently included occupational burnout, a syndrome resulting from chronic work stress, in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon that may influence health status [1]. Hong Kong, in particular, has received growing concern for occupational health as it is ranked as the most overworked city in the world [2]. Local surveys showed that over 40% of working adults reported high levels of job stress and burnout, over 40% suffered from anxiety, and 20% suffered from depression [3,4]. Research suggests that employee well-being is a key contributor to job performance, absenteeism, and turnover [5]. The pursuit of a happy and satisfied workforce is an important goal as an end in itself and as a means to employers’

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