Effect of work engagement on meaningful work and psychological capital: perspectives from social workers in New Zealand

Abstract

Purpose

This paper investigates the effect and the predictive capacity of work engagement on personal and job resources, in the form of psychological capital (PsyCap) and meaningful work in the non-profit organisations (NPO)s settings.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 303 social workers working in New Zealand's NPOs. The hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

Results of this study reveal that work engagement is positively related to both PsyCap and meaningful work. It shows that work engagement is instrumental in enhancing one's PsyCap at the same time improving one's perception of work. The model demonstrates good predictive power.

Originality/value

This study advances our understanding of the relationship of outcomes to resources as postulated in the JD-R theory. This is the first few studies to examine the effect of work engagement on PsyCap and meaningful work, as well as the mediating effect of PsyCap on the relationship between work engagement and meaningful work. At the same time, it provides conceptual clarity on the role of specific job resource and personal resource, demonstrating that resources do not operate in isolation but can build more resources. This study also contributes to the field of human resource management using a predictive PLS-SEM technique.

Citation

Tan, K.-L., Lew, T.-Y. and Sim, A.K.S. (2021), "Effect of work engagement on meaningful work and psychological capital: perspectives from social workers in New Zealand", Employee Relations, Vol. 43 No. 3, pp. 807-826. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-11-2019-0433