013a paper (edited)

8/13/2019 013A Paper (Edited)

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Role of Psychological Capital in Managing Stress and Work-Life Balance Among

Medical Practitioners: An Eploratory St!dy

Sadhvi Pandey,* Nitika Sharma,**

A"stract

The objective of the study is to understand the co-relation between Psychological

Capital, Occupational Stress, and Work-ife !alance in "edical Practitioners and to

deter#ine whether Psychological Capital is a #oderator in Occupational Stress and

Work-ife !alance relationship$ The data was collected using %uestionnaires filled out

by &' "edical Practitioners fro# (ortis )ealthcare *private hospital+ and orthern

ailway Central )ospital *govern#ent hospital+ in .elhi$ The data analysed is based on

the "ean, Standard .eviation, and Correlation with the help of SPSS and /0cel$ The

results indicate Psychological Capital play a positive role in #anaging Stress and Work-

life balance a#ong "edical Practitioners$ The study helps us have an insight of the

degree of stress "edical Practitioners feel and how it affects their balance in work and

personal lives and also, how i#portant is the role of Psychological Capital in helping

"edical Practitioners #anage Occupational stress and Work-life balance$ The esults

can be used as basic infor#ation to further study the role of Psychological Capital in


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#anaging stress and work-life balance a#ong "edical Practitioners$ 1t is a research

based e0ploratory case study$

#ey$ords: Psychological Capital, Work-life balance, Occupational Stress, edical

Practitioners, !ospitals, and "ndia#

*Sadhvi Pandey is $ssistant Professor %!&'O() at (havan+s sha and akshmi ittal

"nstitute of anagement, Ne. /elhi# !er areas of interest include Psychological Capital,

!&, O( and "ndustrial a.s# She can be contacted at0sadhvipandey1yahoo#co#in

**/r# Nitika Sharma is $ssistant Professor %!&'O() in teaching and consultancy in

!uman &esource at (irla "nstitute of anagement 2echnology, 3reater Noida, "ndia#

She can be contacted at0 nitika#sharma1bimtech#ac#in

%isclaimer:This case has been written solely for class discussion, for educational and

develop#ent purposes and is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective

handling of an ad#inistrative situation or to represent successful or unsuccessful

#anagerial decision #aking or endorse the #anage#ent views$ The authors #ay have

disguised or ca#ouflaged so#e of the na#es, events, financial and other recognisable

infor#ation to protect the identity of individuals and confidentiality$

&ntrod!ction Le'el A
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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2he career recognised by all the countries and W!O4 as one of the #ost stressful is

those of a /octor4# 2his is because of long .orking hours each day and each .eek, huge

number of patients, lot of instruction .ork, research .ork, administrative .ork involved

by doctor, patient+s e5pectation, relationship .ith colleagues, and being sued by patient,

etc# Work-ife (alance %W() of the edical Practitioners, because of .hich, is highly

disturbed resulting into separations, divorces and clashes among the spouse# /espite

stress and W(, .hat makes the doctors steadily continue to .ork hard is still a 6uestion#

2he probable ans.er to it is Psychological Capital %PsyCap)# 2ill no. there are

researches done to study the stress level of employees in various corporate and other

organisations, and also at student level and house .ives# "n medical field, a little on stress

has been studied for doctors and nurses# So there is a large need to study this about the

edical Practitioners in edical 7ield# Surprisingly, researchers have not yet thoroughly

studied the role of Psychological Capital in mediating the stress level and W( among

edical Practitioners#

2he present study .ould be an e5ploratory research .here .e .ill find out the role of

PsyCap , the correlation of PsyCap .ith Stress and W( among edical Practitioners

and the effects of these on one another# 2his study includes a target population of 89

edical Practitioners in /elhi and NC& from Northern &ail.ay Central !ospital4

%3overnment !ospital) and 7O&2"S !ealthcare4 %Private !ospital)# 2he proposed study

.ill help us have an insight of the degree of stress that edical Practitioners feel and ho.

it may affect their balance in .ork and personal lives and ho. PsyCap acts as a mediator#


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2he results can be used as basic information to study the role of PsyCap in managing

Stress and W( among edical Practitioners in "ndia#

2he term Psychological Capital has recently emerged since a decade by uthans#4 2he

organisations today are .itnessing a great shift from economic capital to human capital

and further from human capital to social capital and finally positive psychological

capital#4 %uthans, uthans, and uthans, :99;< uthans and =oussef, :99;< uthans,

=oussef, and $volio, :99>)# Of late, business academics and practitioners have realised

the need of emphasising the strengths of an individual rather than focusing on their

problems or .eaknesses .hich can be best done by developing PsyCap #

Psychological Capital or PsyCap refers to individual+s positive psychological state of

development .hich is characterised by hope, optimism, resiliency, and self-efficacy#4

%uthans, =oussef, and $volio, :99>) "nterestingly, these four positive psychological

capacities called confidence, hope, optimism, and resilience are not ?ust measurable, but

also open to development, and can be managed for more effective .ork performance#4

%uthans, uthans, and uthans, :99;)

2hese four terms as defined by Scholars are stated here# Self-efficacy is an individual@s

conviction %or confidence) about his or her abilities to mobiliAe the motivation, cognitive

resources, and courses of action needed to successfully e5ecute a specific task .ithin a

given conte5t#4 %Sta?kovic and uthans, BDb, p# EE) !ope is $ positive motivational

state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful0 %B) agency %goal


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directed energy) and %:) path.ays %planning to meet goals)#4 %Snyder, "rving, and

$nderson, BB, p# :D>) &esilience is 2he positive PsyCap to rebound or F(ounce

back+ from adversity, conflict, and failure or even positive events, progress, and increased

responsibility#4 %uthans, :99:b, p# >9:) Optimism is an $ttribution style that e5plains

positive events in terms of personal, permanent, and pervasive causes and negative events

in terms of e5ternal, temporary, and situation-specific ones#4 %Seligman BDa)

"n the recent past, .ork or occupational Stress has dra.n the attention of researchers and

business organisations# 2hey are e6ually .orried as they understand Stress directly

affects the performance in different .ays# Stress in an organisation can lead to high staff

turnover, absenteeism and lo. morale#4 %Givimaki, Hahtera, Pentti, and 7errie, :999) "n

personal lives Stress may lead to cardiovascular problems#4 %uthans, :99:)

Psychological problems lead to Stress ike feelings of helplessness, mood changes,

anger, depression, an5iety, nervousness, irritability, tension, and boredom#4 %/ormann

and Iapf, :99:< oorhead and 3riffin, BD< uthans, :99:) &eaction to a stressful

situation may be e5hibited by indulging into aggressive acts like sabotage, interpersonal

aggression, hostility, and complaints#4 %Chen and Spector, B:) (ehavioural problems

linked .ith Stress may include under-eating or sometimes overeating, fatigue, increased

smoking and drinking, and drug abuse#4 %uthans, :99:< !ogh, (org, and ikkelsen,

:99J) "n short, Stress leads to ulcers, insomnia, an5iety, hypertension, depression, and

diabetes etc# $t times Stress forces people to commit suicide also# 2he reasons of Stress

are .idely kno.n# 2hese may be ?ob insecurity, role ambiguity, managerial style,

.orking hours, personality type, profile, interpersonal relations at .ork, .orking


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conditions, ?ob itself, and family reasons, etc# 2herefore, the psychological problems

associated .ith Stress, badly affects the performance, decision-making, and ?ob

satisfaction#4 %3reenglas and (urke, :99B)

Work-Life Balance is another emerging factor that .idely dra.s attention of

&esearchers and Corporates# W( has been defined differently by different Scholars#

$ccording to Girchmeyer %:999), living a balanced life is FF$chieving satisfying

e5periences in all life domains, and to do so personal resources such as energy, time, and

commitment to be .ell distributed across domains are re6uired++# Similarly, Clark %:999)

describes Work-7amily (alance as FFSatisfaction and good functioning at .ork and home

.ith minimum role conflict++#

3reenhaus %:99:) has defined Work-ife (alance as Satisfaction and good functioning

at .ork and at home .ith minimum role conflict4# 7elstead %:99:) defined Work-ife

(alance as the relationship bet.een institutional and cultural times and spaces of .ork

and non-.ork in societies .here income is predominantly generated and distributed

through labour markets4# &esearchers like 7elstead %:99:) and (ratton and 3old %:99J)

vie.s Work ife (alance as, the need to balance .ork and leisure'family activities#

2herefore any imbalance in Work-ife .ould lead to problems in relationships,

frustrations, unethical practices, divorce and separations, etc#

&esearch on the effect of PsyCap on .ork Stress is limited# $vey, uthans, and Kensen

%:99) found people .ho are lo. in PsyCap are more prone to perception of Stress


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symptoms, and therefore 6uit ?ob and e5hibit ?ob search behaviour# "n another study by

&oberts, Scherer, and (o.yer %:9BB), clarified PsyCap lessens the effect of ?ob stress on

uncivil behaviours# i iu, =ing Chang, Kialiang 7u, Kiana Wang and ie Wang %:9B9)

conducted a survey to e5amine ho. PsyCap, a positive psychological state, mediates the

association bet.een occupational stress and depressive symptoms among Chinese

Physicians# 2hey studied D Physicians in iaoning Province, China and found both the

effort or re.ard ratio %L&&) and over commitment .ere significantly associated .ith

depressive symptoms among male and female physicians# "n another survey on doctors in

2hailand in :99J, health condition of 2hai doctors indicated JE#: per cent of doctors in

2hailand had physical health problems like hypertension, asthma, diabetes and cancer#

%Wattanasirichaigoon, &aksakom, Polboon, Sithisarankul and Hisanuyothin :99; 9#:DJ* 9#BE8

Resilience 9#BJ; 9#:B8 9#:>B 9#BDD -9#B9: 9#:8 9#BBD

(ptimism 9#9 9#BJE 9#J9J* 9#B9D -9#98 9#:>E 9#9B

&esult presented in the 2able BJ#: indicates there is significant positive relationship

bet.een Self efficacy and /uty hours and shifts %r #J9J, p Q 9#98), Self efficacy and

Organisational commitment %r 9#J9, p Q 9#98), !ope and Organisational commitment

%r 9#:D8, p Q 9#98) and Optimism and /uty hours and shifts %r 9#J9J, p Q 9#98)# 2hus

.e can say, PsyCap is positively related .ith W(# "t clearly means if PsyCap is higher,

.ork-life is balanced# !ence, .e re?ect Null hypothesis and accept $lternate hypothesis#

!ypothesis Statement J0 Work Stress affects the W( in edical Practitioners#

+a"le ,.: Correlation Matri of Work-life Balance and Work Stress


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2amily

S!ppor

t

Work

C!lt!r

e

%!ty

*o!rs

and

Shifts

2amily

Commi

tments

*ealt

h

(rgani3ationa

l Commitment

('erloa

d

Role ('erload -9#B:: -9#:B; 9#99; -9#BJ8 9#BBD -9#98B 9#BB9

Role

Am"ig!ity

-9#B:E -9#B89 9#9:9 9#9E; 9#BJ9 -9#9JB 9#9JB

Role Conflict -9#B;E -9#B8E 9#99; 9#9:8 9#9>D -9#9:D 9#9D9

/nreasona"le

0ro!p and

Political

Press!res

9#9J8 9#9>E 9#:: 9#:9 9#9J 9#99: 9#::E

Responsi"ility

for Persons

9#9E8 9#B88 9#J9E* 9#B>; -9#98> 9#B:8 9#BD

/nder

Participation

9#9: -9#BJB 9#9EJ 9#9BD 9#BE 9#9; 9#9J:

Po$erlessness -9#9EJ -9#:9> 9#9J: -9#9BE 9#J9;* -9#9D 9#9J

Poor Peer

Relations

9#99 -9#9>: 9#9E8 9#9:> 9#BB 9#BD 9#9DD

&ntrinsic

&mpo'erishme

nt

-9#9E: -9#B> 9#99D 9#9J; 9#BB; 9#9>B 9#BJ:

Lo$ Stat!s -9#9;B -9#BJ: 9#9:B 9#999 9#9EE 9#BE8 9#B99

Stren!o!s

Working

Conditions

-9#9JB -9#:9: 9#9>B 9#9:B -9#998 9#9;: 9#9;;

/nprofita"ility 9#B>9 9#9DD 9#JB;* 9#:B9 9#9D9 9#BB: 9#B8


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&esult presented in 2able BJ#J indicates there is significant positive relationship bet.een

&P and /uty hours and shifts %r 9#J9E, p Q 9#98), P and !ealth issues %r 9#J9;, p Q

9#98), and /uty hours and shifts %r 9#JB;, p Q 9#98)# 2hus .e can say .ork Stress is

positively related .ith W(# "t clearly means higher the .ork Stress, higher is the affect

on the W(# !ence, .e re?ect Null hypothesis and accept $lternate hypothesis#

Recommendations for 2!t!re Research le'el "

2he present study indicated significant relationships bet.een the constructs of PsyCap,

occupational Stress and W(, .hich led to confirmation of most hypothesis# "t is

therefore possible those relationships may essentially serve as a base for future studies

using a larger sample, in different occupations and industries, conducted .ith different

measurement instruments for these constructs# !o.ever, replication of results needs to be

pursued in further research# 2he sample siAe in this research study .as not huge#

2herefore larger samples can be used in future research# Since PsyCap is relatively a ne.

sub?ect of research and not much has been done on it by the researchers, therefore much

more can be done in this area using different parameters in different studies# !ence there

is a serious need for continued research in this area and domain# "t shall be a useful input

for research#

Limitations le'el "


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Lvery study has some limitations# 2his study also has certain limitations about the

research design, .hich may have affected the results#

2he first limitation of this study .as, the data .as collected through self-report

measurement instruments# $lthough collecting data this .ay is being used often in social

sciences research, still it is criticised for fe. reasons# %(abbie and outon, :99B) 2he

first reason is the problem of common method variance are made by the researcher % 2o

correlation bet.een the variables in 6uestion) may be artificially inflated# Second, self-

report data is likely to be prone to response biases from the respondents# 2his should be

ackno.ledged and understood .hen the results are being analyAed and dra.n to any

conclusion %/onaldson and 3ran-Hallone, :99:)#

7urther, social desirable responding is the response bias that could influence the results of

studies# 2his occurs, .hen respondents give favourable impression of them by over

reporting admirable attitudes and behaviours, and intentionally underreport those

attitudes or behaviours they feel are not socially acceptable or respected %Iammuner and

3alli, :998)4# Social desirable responding, therefore, becomes a bigger concern .hen

studies, like this one, only consist of self-report measures# "t is advisable, that .hile

interpreting the result< it should be kept in mind there are limitations due to the data

collection method#

$nother issue is employees may hide their e5periences of Stress or W( or PsyCap

because they are afraid if their management or colleagues come to kno. about their


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responses might also kno. about their .eaknesses# 2hey even fear this may influence

their credibility, reputation, and the possible promotions#4 %Offermann and !ellmann,

BE)

$nother limitation of the study is, sometimes it is difficult for a respondent to respond

only from the given options# Sometimes they are confused about similar or e6uivalent

variables# $t times a respondent may have a response other than the given ones#

ast limitation is, it is likely those individuals .ho e5perience high stress levels and .ork

pressure may have decided not to participate in this study and declined to complete the

6uestionnaires# 2his may influence the utility of research results#

Concl!sion le'el "

$ significant positive relationship .as found bet.een factors of PsyCap and W(# "t

clearly means if PsyCap is higher, Work-ife is balanced# 2hough the edical

Practitioners have a busy and hectic schedule throughout, but it can be managed through

PsyCap# 2herefore edical Practitioners need to develop PsyCap to balance Work-ife#

Psychological Capital therefore is positively related .ith W(# On the other side, there

.as significant negative relationship found bet.een variables of PsyCap and .ork Stress#

2his signifies if PsyCap is high, .ork Stress may be minimised#


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"t proves there is a significant relation bet.een PsyCap and .ork Stress# ife of edical

Practitioners, no doubt, it is stressful, but high PsyCap can manage Stress level among

them# On the contrary, there .as a significant positive relationship bet.een .ork Stress

and W(# 2hus .e can say .ork Stress is positively related .ith W(# 2he results of

this study provide evidence that increased occupational Stress is associated .ith increase

in Work-ife imbalance# (oth Stress and Work-ife imbalance are kno.n to put negative

impact on the organisation as a .hole< therefore addressing these in time, is advisable#

Ackno$ledgement

2he authors .ish to thank authorities of &enkare %$ 7ortis !ealthcare Lnterprise) and

Northern &ail.ay Central !ospital, Ne. /elhi for their permission to carry out the

survey of their doctors through a 6uestionnaire or intervie.s as research#

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013a paper (edited)

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