A growing body of research in the field of positive organizational behavior demonstrates that employers and employees who focus on “Psychological Capital” (PsyCap) are able to better cope with stress and overcome challenges at work. When this happens, employees experience higher job satisfaction and employers have better staff retention.

The Psychological Capitol of a Workplace HERO
Lead researcher Fred Luthans, PhD (George Holmes University Distinguished Professor of Management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) has defined PsyCap as an individual's positive psychological state of development. It is composed of 4 other key psychological resources that, when developed, can make both managers and employees “workplace H.E.R.O.s.”

The four key resources, while empirically distinct, have an underlying common process that, in combination, contributes to the higher-order construct of PsyCap:

Hope. A belief in the ability to persevere toward goals, finding the tools necessary to reach goal, and when necessary, redirecting paths toward goals to achieve them.

• Efficacy. Having self-confidence that one can put in the necessary effort to meet challenges and succeed.
• Resilience. The ability to sustain effort through difficulty and to bounce back from adversity or failure to attain success.
• Optimism. Having a positive attitude about one’s potential for success now and in the future.

Luthans and his colleagues have established a clear positive relationship between PsyCap and a number of desired workplace outcomes, including employee well being, attitudes and behaviors within a job function, reducing employee stress and turnover. Given the power of PsyCap, it’s worth the time to learn how to measure it and develop it in employees at every level within an organization. For example, scoring high on this measure is linked to several markers of success such as being promoted, winning awards and be held in positive regard by one’s peers. So, how do you develop a workplace HERO?

Strategies for Developing a PsyCap
“One strategy is to play to your strengths and the strengths of others,” says Marla R. Gottschalk, Ph.D. an industrial and organizational psychologist. She suggests allowing employees “time to reflect on [strengths and assets].” Additionally, employers shouldn’t let an employee’s effort and progress toward a goal go unnoticed—celebrate even small successes.

“It’s also important,” says Dr. Gottschalk, “to express gratitude to those who contribute to your [success] and worklife well-being.” And be sure to give employees the space they need make adjustments in their worklife environment so they can become successful.

Invest in PsyCap Training
Training programs aimed at developing PsyCap have been developed and tested for both online and traditional workshop delivery. Through the use of positive feedback, vicarious learning, and modeling, employers can use these training programs to increase efficacy in themselves and in their employees.

In the 2-hour training programs Dr. Luthans has created, participants are coached on how to set goals that foster hope while also learning how to be realistic in their optimism. They learn how to cope with setbacks by creating contingency plans, thereby increasing optimism. Participants also learn how to make positive attributions and how to assess why things did, or didn't go well. To increase resiliency, the training program uses specific tools to teach people how to make accurate assessments of their strengths and to experience success in their goal setting.

Invest in developing PsyCap and reap the rewards of an innovative, dynamic and high functioning team of heroes in your workplace.

• Psychological Capital: Developing the Human Competitive Edge
• Fred Luthans, Carolyn M. Youssef, and Bruce J. Avolio
• Oxford University Press, 2007
• Luthans discusses PsycCap in this video
• Articles for business and for scholars.