From Stress to Strength: Examining the Role of Psychological Capital in Sustainable Work-Life Quality Among Higher Education Faculty

Abstract

Purpose: The institutional, technological and performance-related changes being experienced by the higher education sector have never been as high, which adds further pressure to the jobs and jeopardizes the long-term health and status of the faculty members against its sustainability. This paper utilizes the Psychological Capital (PsyCap) of Psychological Capital as a personal resource that is vital in reducing job-related stress and promoting sustainable work-life quality based on preliminary assumptions of the Positive Organization Behaviour and Conservative resources (COR) theory. Design/methodology/approach: Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to assess direct and mediating variables using survey data of 182 full-time faculty members of government and non-government and autonomous higher education institutions in India.  Findings: The results indicate that PsyCap significantly reduces job stress and positively influences sustainable work–life quality. Job stress has a pernicious effect on sustainable work-life quality and mediates the correlation between PsyCap and sustainable work-life quality to some extent. The model accounts 18 and 46 percent of the variation in job stress and sustainable work life quality respectively. Implications: Theoretically, the research is a continuation of PsyCap research because it shows that it has a buffering and resource-sustaining effect on maintaining long-term work-life quality in a high-demand academic environment. Implications in the practical aspects of faculty development, institutional policy and mental health interventions are addressed. Originality/Value: The choices of defining sustainability in terms of psychological endurance and adaptive capacity as opposed to episodic balance make the study add to an emerging discussion on human sustainability of higher education systems that are being reformed continuously.