Workplace stress is a growing conce

Workplace stress is a growing concern for human resource managers. Although
considerable scholarly and practical attention has been devoted to stress management
over the years, the time has come for new perspectives and research.
Drawing from the emerging fi eld of positive organizational behavior, this
study offers research fi ndings with implications for combating occupational
stress. Specifi cally, data from a large sample of working adults across a variety
of industries suggest that psychological capital (the positive resources of
effi cacy, hope, optimism, and resilience) may be key to better understanding
the variation in perceived symptoms of stress, as well as intentions to quit
and job search behaviors. The article concludes with practical strategies aimed
at leveraging and developing employees’ psychological capital to help them
better cope with workplace stress.
the World Health Organization has
declared occupational stress to be
a worldwide epidemic. Certainly
the impact of an increasingly pressured
work environment is evident
throughout American industry. One
recent analysis noted that 20% of payroll
of a typical company goes toward dealing
with stress-related problems (Riga, 2006),
and Americans identify work as their most
significant source of stress because of heavy
workloads, uncertain job expectations, and
long hours (American Psychological Association,
2007). Extensive research over the
years has focused on identifying stressors
(e.g., Colligan & Higgins, 2006), coping
mechanisms (e.g., Nelson & Sutton, 1990),
and ways that both individual employees
and organizations can effectively manage
stress (e.g., Kram & Hall, 1989). Yet, despite
this attention, remedies to combat occupational
stress remain elusive.
Taking a new approach, this study draws
from both positive psychology and the
emerging study of positive organizational
behavior to investigate whether the recently
identified core construct of psychological
capital (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman,
2007; Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007) may
be a key factor in better understanding not
only how employees perceive stress symptoms,
but also the impact of stress on intentions
to quit and job search behaviors.
Specifically, we propose that human resource
development (HRD) strategies aimed at
enhancing the components of employees’
overall psychological capital or PsyCap
(efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience)
may reduce their perceptions of the symptoms
of stress, as well as limit subsequent
turnover.
First, we will review the background of
positive organizational behavior, specifically
the theoretical underpinnings of the core
construct of psychological capital, and briefly
summarize workplace stress with particular
focus on stress-associated intentions to quit
and job search behaviors. Our study specifically
focuses on physiological, cognitive, and
emotive stress symptoms rather than exclusively
cognitive appraisals of job demands
themselves being stressful. After presenting
the methodology and results in testing the
study hypotheses, we conclude with some
practical implications of the findings, paying
particular attention to HRD guidelines to
help build and support employees’ PsyCap,
which will help combat their stress and reduce
turnover.