Why do leaders need to invest in employees Psychological Capital?

I am pretty sure you have heard or know something about human resources, or shall I say human capital as it is the trendy term now. Also, I am aware that you all associate human resources with the management of people who work in organizations and are equipped with the right knowledge, skills, and attitude. However, you probably have not heard of "Psychological Capital". The main purpose of this blog is to highlight the importance of Psychological Capital in organizations, especially in the economic and health crisis we live in right now.

Psychological Capital has been shown to be necessary for employees’ performance and well-being. Psychological Capital refers to a collection of individual resources that can help improve performance, which leads to success. It includes four completely different resources, namely: hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. These resources form the acronym HERO, as if everyone has an inner hero that can be developed to support them and lead them to success. Psychological Capital is closely related to a person's well-being, satisfaction, engagement, and happiness. Psychological Capital is generally outlined as a "positive psychological state of the individual" which simply put, is a combination of the four psychological resources previously mentioned that help employees achieve what they need to realize. By having the desire to thrive and the ability to recognize, clarify, and pursue success (hope), having the strength to put the effort to accomplish difficult tasks (effectiveness), sustaining the determination and responding to challenges to realize given goals (resilience), and having a positive expectation of success in the moment and in the future (optimism).

Making heroes in the workplace starts with awareness of Psychological Capital and how to improve it. With the right intellectual and emotional tools, high performance work practices, and leadership, employers can measure and benefit from psychological capital progress and yields. The World Health Organization is proactively considering integrating the HERO framework into its management approach to inspire other business leaders to follow its lead.

 

Charles J. Tawk

Partner

 

Mr. Charles Tawk is a Partner with Meirc Training & Consulting. Charles holds a Master of Science in Human Resource Management and Training from the University of Leicester- UK and a Bachelor degree of laws from the Lebanese University. Charles is a senior certified professional by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM-SCP)-USA, a certified training practitioner (CTP™) from the Institute of Performance and Learning- Canada, certified in occupational health and safety from Nebosh-UK, and a registered organization development consultant with the International Society for Organization Development and Change (ISODC)-USA.

 

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