JOB DEMAND RESOURCE MODEL: PREDICTING MEANINGFUL WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL

Abstract

This cross-sectional study proposes a JD-R model of psychological capital (as an employee-related POB outcome) involving the simultaneous processes of employees‘ positive psychological states. These proposed causal associations include the motivational process and the limitational process. The motivational process proposes to investigate the linkages between perceived transformational leadership style of the supervisors as a salutogenic job resource and psychological capital as an employee-related POB outcome, where the cognitive personal resource of meaningful work will act as a catalyst. On the other hand, the limitational process will simultaneously act out through the detrimental impact of the perceived workplace ostracism as a hindrance job demand on the positive psychological states of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (named as ‗psychological capital,‘ an employee-related POB outcome). Here, the cognitive personal resource of meaningful work will buffer the effect of hindrance job demand on POB outcome. The present study targeted a total of 350 employees including, the young professionals working as software engineers on different projects from the IT/ITeS organizations located in three different IT hubs, namely Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Delhi (India). It involved the assessment of four variables, namely, workplace ostracism, transformational leadership, meaningful work, and psychological capital, to analyze the hypothesized JD-R model. Data analysis involved testing measurement models, hierarchical linear regression, multiple mediations, and moderation analysis for hypothesis testing. The findings from the measurement model testing provided significant insights into the composition of each of the constructs involved in the present study. Workplace ostracism emerged out as a uni-dimensional construct with a total of eight items. The transformational leadership form utilized in the study came out to be a two-factor model with a total of 15-items; the Work and Meaning Inventory (WAMI) emerged as a two-factor model with nine items. Also, the psychological capital questionnaire turned out to be a two-factor model with a total of 15-items. The confirmatory factor analysis and reliability-validity estimation affirmed the results of exploratory factor analysis for each of the scales utilized. The results from hierarchical linear regression for predicting meaningful work declare that charisma as a dimension of transformational leadership style contributes majorly to the cognitive personal resource of meaningful work. However, the other dimension of transformational leadership, named vision, and the hindrance job demand of workplace ostracism do not significantly predict meaningful work. Hierarchical linear regression results predicting the occurrence of psychological capital also reveal that workplace ostracism as a hindrance job demand negatively and significantly influences the positive psychological states, labeled as ‗psychological capital.‘ At the same time, both the dimensions of transformational leadership and the ‗positive significance and motivations‘ dimension of meaningful work significantly predict the occurrence of psychological capital among IT employees in India. Interestingly, the age of the employees emerged as a significant contributor to the sense of meaningful work and the positive psychological state of psychological capital among employees from the IT industry in India. The specific indirect effects of each dimension of meaningful work further that both ‗positive significance and motivations‘ and ‗self-realization/positive meaning‘ significantly mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and psychological capital, thus, promoting the motivational process at work. Similarly, the specific conditional (or interaction) effects of each dimension of meaningful work reveal that ‗positive significance and motivations‘ for work as a part of meaningful work alone significantly buffers the detrimental impact of workplace ostracism on the psychological capital of employees, thus, helping mitigate the limitational process at work. Therefore, the present study provides a novel insight into the application of the JD-R theory in the Indian work context, with a specific focus on the younger workforce in the IT industry. It introduces unconventional psychological constructs as major components of the JD-R theory, causally associating them in the often-overlooked work context of the ‗Orient.‘ It equips the HR managers and leaders with the culturally fitted tools for psychological assessment of the employees in the IT industry in India. The findings have major implications for promoting age-inclusive nurturing and flourishing workplaces. The recommendation from the present study enables HR managers to create psychological preparedness amongst employees through varied management practices for talent retention and career enhancement of employees.