Does work engagement enhance general well-being and control at work? Mediating role of psychological capital

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) between work engagement (WE) and general well-being (GWB) as well as between WE and control at work (CAW). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 200 medical employees involved in rendering healthcare services. Structural equation modeling was done to test the hypotheses. Findings Analyses of the data revealed that PsyCap mediates fully between WE and CAW and partially between WE and GWB. Research limitations/implications The results show that PsyCap plays a positive role in transferring the impact of engagement levels to GWB and CAW. The results augment the broaden-and-build theory by explaining how positivity at the workplace can help the engaged employees improve well-being and CAW. Practical implications Hospitals in India are encouraged to recruit psychologically capable (high in PsyCap) employees. Such psychologically capable and engaged employees have greater CAW and have higher general well-being. Originality/value This study is among the few preliminary studies which have focused on the mechanism through which well-being and CAW of employees involved in healthcare services in India get affected.