Positive Psychological Capital and Economic Self-Sufficiency in Workforce Development Practice

Background: Positive psychological capital (PsyCap) include self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resilience (Luthans & Youssef, 2004) and they have been highlighted to have lasting effects in human resource development (Avey, Reichard, Luthans & Mhatre, 2011). Resilience is identified as a key factor that affects job satisfaction (Hudgins, 2016; Youssef, & Luthans, 2007) and self-control in the context of financial activities and employment (Moffitt et al., 2011). Also, research has consistently found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and occupational activities (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 2001). Despite the fact that extensive research has been carried out on psychological traits in human resource development, few studies have examined the relationships among these psychological factors as they relate to labor market outcomes. In the field of workforce development with low-income jobseekers, researchers have begun to examine how psychological strengths affect career-related factors and economic outcomes.  One body of work is on employment hope as it contributes to economic self-sufficiency (Hong, 2013; Hong, Hodge, & Choi, 2015), but little is known about how hope strengthens resilience in the process of job search, placement, and retention. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between two PsyCap variables—employment hope and resilience—and how they affect economic self-sufficiency.

Methods: The data was collected from 1,170 low-income job seeker who enrolled in a workforce development program from a large social service agency in Chicago, IL. The hypothesized relationships were tested by analyzing the paths from employment hope to ESS, from resilience to ESS, and from employment hope to resilience using a structural equation model (SEM) with STATA 14. Employment Hope Scale (EHS-14) (Hong et al., 2014), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC2) (Vaishnavi, Connor, & Davidson, 2007), and Economic Self-Sufficiency (ESS) Scale (Gowdy & Perlmutter, 1993) were used to measure these constructs. Maximum likelihood estimation method with missing values was used to estimate this model.

Results: This study examined the relationship between employment hope, resilience, and economic self-sufficiency. Among 1,170 low-income job seekers in total, 675 (57.59%) are male, and 435 (37.18) are female. The average age of low-income job seeker is 44.07. The results of structural equation model analysis show that the relationship between employment hope and resilience (1.0, p=000), resilience and ESS (.19, p=.000), and employment hope and ESS (.78, p=.000) were statistically significant. The model has an acceptable fit (𝒳2=141.25; df =25, p=.000; RMSEA=.063; CFI=.978; TLI=.969). Therefore, this model identifies the mediating effect of resilience between employment hope and ESS among low-income jobseekers.

Implications:  The present study set out with the aim of assessing the importance of psychological factors in economic self-sufficiency. The findings underscore the importance of employment hope and resilience in low-income jobseekers’ quest to achieve the economic self-sufficiency outcome. Mixing the hope and resilience building ingredient in job readiness programs using a coaching model to tap into internal and social resources will help them move forward toward goals against individual and structural barriers (Hong, Song, Choi, & Park, 2015).