IMPACT OF WORKPLACE CURIOSITY AND FUTURE SELF CONTINUITY ON GRIT OF EMPLOYEES

Abstract

In the history of the mankind, humans have also been interested in decoding the formula that leads an individual to success. In the current business and entrepreneurial environment, such a knowledge is very crucial for both individuals and organizations. Recent research work proposed grit as a secret ingredient that led to success. Subsequent studies widely supported the idea that grit, a tendency to be passionate and perseverant towards the long-term goals, indeed is an antecedent of several positive outcomes in an organizational context including engagement, retention, citizenship behavior, and overall well-being. However, there are still some unfilled gaps in the literature associated with grit that needs to be addressed. First, although a number of studies have reported multitude of positive outcomes of grit, very few studies suggest some antecedents that could promote grit. And second, a sheer dearth of studies exploring the concept of grit, its possible antecedents, and the underlying mechanism in an Indian organizational context. Developing on the past studies, this stud aims to address these gaps by exploring the predictive impact of future self-continuity and workplace curiosity on grit level of Indian employees. Specifically, this study investigates how the perceived connectedness of an individual to the future self and the tendency to exhibit curiosity at the place of work could assist in enhancing one’s level of grit. In this endeavor, a genuine effort has been made to check how the dimensions of future self continuity (vividness of future self, positive affect to future self, and similarity to future self) and workplace curiosity (joyous exploration, deprivation sensitivity, stress tolerance, and openness to people’s ideas) could predict or promote employees’ grittiness. Moreover, this research proposes and hypothesizes a framework of grit where workplace curiosity mediates between future self continuity and grit. The present research also investigates the role of demographic variables (gender, age, and organization type) in influencing employees’ connectedness to their future selves, their tendency to be curious at workplace, and their level of grit.