DefinePK

DefinePK hosts the largest index of Pakistani journals, research articles, news headlines, and videos. It also offers chapter-level book search.

Navigating the New Normal: Psychological Capital's Mediating Role in the Work-From-Home Paradigm


Article Information

Title: Navigating the New Normal: Psychological Capital's Mediating Role in the Work-From-Home Paradigm

Authors: Fatima Tahir, Muhammad Ussama Majeed, Hamza Ahmad Qureshi, Sumaira Aslam

Journal: The Critical Review of Social Sciences Studies (CRSSS)

HEC Recognition History
Category From To
Y 2024-10-01 2025-12-31

Publisher: Bright Education Research Solutions

Country: Pakistan

Year: 2024

Volume: 2

Issue: 2

Language: English

DOI: 10.59075/nfwaqe21

Keywords: Productivitypsychological capitalJob demandJob ResourceRemote WorkWork Engagement and Stress

Categories

Abstract

Working from home (WFH) has become the expected trend as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. The impact of family conflict, social isolation, distracting environment, job autonomy, and self-leadership on employees' productivity, work engagement, and stress levels have been examined in this study with a mediating role of Psychological capital. There has been little study on the impact of Psychological capital as a mediator and its influence on remote work productivity, work engagement, and stress. The data was collected from employees of IT sector organizations. Through online and print surveys, a sample of 429 respondents was gathered using the convenience sampling method. The dependent variables were workers’ productivity, work engagement, and Stress, the mediating variable was Psychological Capital and the independent variables were family-work conflict, social isolation, distracting environment, job autonomy, and self-leadership under the framework of the Job Demand and Resource model. The PLS-SEM tool was used to investigate the association between research variables. The SPSS tool was used to run the descriptive statistics of respondents. Through this study, it was able to conclude that Job Demand and Job Resources significantly impact productivity, work engagement, and stress through psychological capital. Job Demand negatively impacts productivity, and work engagement and positively impacts stress while Job Resource positively impacts productivity, and work engagement and negatively impact stress.


Research Objective

To investigate the mediating role of Psychological Capital (PsyCap) in the relationship between Job Demands (JD) and Job Resources (JR) and employees' productivity, work engagement, and stress levels in the work-from-home (WFH) paradigm.


Methodology

Quantitative research using a survey method. Data was collected from 429 IT sector employees in Lahore, Pakistan, using online and print questionnaires with a Likert scale. The Job Demand and Resource (JD-R) model was employed. Statistical analysis was conducted using PLS-SEM for hypothesis testing and SPSS for descriptive statistics.

Methodology Flowchart
                        graph TD
    A["Data Collection Surveys"] --> B["Data Cleaning and Preparation"];
    B --> C["Data Analysis"PLS-SEM, SPSS""];
    C --> D["Hypothesis Testing"];
    D --> E["Results Interpretation"];
    E --> F["Discussion and Conclusion"];                    

Discussion

The study confirms the JD-R model's applicability to the WFH context. It highlights the detrimental effects of job demands like social isolation and family-work conflict, and the positive influence of job resources such as job autonomy and self-leadership. The mediating role of Psychological Capital is crucial in buffering the negative impacts of job demands and enhancing the positive effects of job resources on employee outcomes. The findings suggest that organizations should focus on enhancing job resources and fostering PsyCap to improve WFH productivity and well-being.


Key Findings

- Job Demands (family-work conflict, social isolation, distracting environment) negatively impact productivity and work engagement, and positively impact stress.
- Job Resources (job autonomy, self-leadership) positively impact productivity and work engagement, and negatively impact stress.
- Psychological Capital significantly mediates the relationships between Job Demands and Job Resources with productivity, work engagement, and stress.
- 10 out of 12 hypotheses were accepted, indicating significant relationships and mediation effects.


Conclusion

Psychological Capital plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between job demands and resources and employee outcomes (productivity, work engagement, stress) in the WFH paradigm. The study provides empirical evidence supporting the JD-R model and emphasizes the importance of managing WFH challenges and leveraging its opportunities for organizational advantage.


Fact Check

- Sample size: 429 respondents from the IT sector in Lahore, Pakistan.
- Data collection methods: Online Google Forms questionnaire and paper questionnaire.
- Statistical tools used: PLS-SEM and SPSS.


Mind Map

Loading PDF...

Loading Statistics...