Positivity at the workplace

Abstract

Purpose Recognising the value of positive organisational behaviour at the workplace, this paper aims to provide a major review of the current state of research on positivity, and subsequently proposes new pathways for more theory building relating to important constructs conceptually related to positivity. Following the integration of emerging but disparate research on workplace positivity and related concepts, the paper develops a conceptual framework depicting the relationships amongst authentic leader behaviours, organisational virtuousness, psychological capital, thriving and job performance. Design/methodology/approach The paper offers a systematic critical review of published studies representing the literature addressing authentic leadership, organisational virtuousness, thriving, psychological capital and job performance. The paper relied on computerised keyword searches in the main business source databases of Emerald, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost and SpringerLink. Findings This paper leads to a conceptual framework proposing direct relationships between authentic leadership, psychological capital, organisational virtuousness and job performance. Further, authentic leadership is proposed to potentially nurture organisational virtuousness, psychological capital, employee thriving and job performance, given the theoretical linkages between these conceptually relevant variables related to positivity. Additionally, organisational virtuousness and psychological capital are projected to mediate the relationship between authentic leadership and employee thriving. Finally, organisational virtuousness, psychological capital and employee thriving are designated as mediators of the relationship between authentic leadership and job performance. Research limitations/implications This paper proposes a conceptual framework focusing on one form of positive leader behaviour and also assumes specific causal pathways using a positivistic research approach to understanding the leadership–performance relationship. The paper did not examine all possible antecedents of positivity at the workplace. Practical implications The proposed conceptual framework should form the basis of many organisational interventions, especially in relation to boosting authentic leadership, organisational virtuousness, psychological capital, employee thriving and job performance. By suggesting the association between authentic leadership, psychological capital and organisational virtuousness, this paper highlights potential benefits from effective leaders’ commitment to enhancing psychological capital and organisational virtuousness and engendering thriving behaviour and job performance. Originality/value This novel paper has the potential to stimulate the empirical studies on workplace positivity through the association of authentic leadership, psychological capital, organisational virtuousness and thriving.

A Study on Influence of Psychological Capital of Chinese University Teachers Upon Job Thriving: Based on Motivational Work Behavior as an Intermediary Variable

“…This kind of intentional, selfdirected behavior is more likely to bring vitality and awareness of active learning at work, which people will actively produce (Spreitzer et al, 2012). From the path analysis, the path parameter between motivational work behavior and work prosperity is 0.782, which also supports the establishment of this hypothesis (Sehrish & Michael, 2019). The results of the study show that those who can actively selfdirect and work voluntarily at work are also more likely to experience learning at work, for they are more willing to find new methods or approaches to solve the problem.…”

All you need is love: the relationship between agape and work outcomes

“…There is a need to build theory that explains how positivity manifests at work through effective leadership (Shahid and Muchiri, 2019). Despite agape having a rich background in several disciplines such as theology, philosophy and history, management research has surprisingly devoted very little attention to scholarly research on it.…”

Reframing positive leadership within the context of Australian not-for-profit organisations

“…Thus, the strength of NFPs rests on the leader’s ability to skilfully navigate their organisations through prosperous and turbulent times (Ronquillo, 2011). Considering the proven benefits of positive forms of leadership in fostering work engagement and organisational performance within for-profit organisations (Muchiri et al , 2019; Piccolo and Colquitt, 2006; Schmitt et al , 2016; Shahid and Muchiri, 2019; Shahid et al , 2020), it is plausible that positive leadership will have similar positive impact on NFPs.…”

“…We classify the two facets of positive leader behaviours (i.e. transformational and servant) as positive as they are known to positively influence a variety of outcomes including employee satisfaction and citizenship behaviours (Chen et al , 2015; Hu and Liden, 2011; Shahid et al , 2020; Shahid and Muchiri, 2019) and employee engagement (Carter, 2012; Tims et al , 2011; Pham-Thai et al , 2018). By focusing on transformational and servant leadership, we highlight the need for NFPs to emphasise those leader styles, behaviours and interpersonal dynamics that motivate their followers as well as engender their followers’ confidence and subsequent positive individual, team and organisational outcomes (Hannah et al , 2016).…”

“…Our review builds on recent calls for increased theory building on the impact of leadership in the workplace (Avey et al , 2011; Shahid and Muchiri, 2019; Shahid et al , 2020), and we do this by proposing potential pathways through which positive leadership, external and environmental factors and organisational values engender organisational performance within NFPs. We use two approaches to positive leadership, transformational and servant leadership, and illustrate how they could potentially impact NFPs.…”