We can be heroes at work: the relationship between psychological capital, motivation and well-being during the great resignation

Abstract

Purpose

The Great Resignation has led to a significant increase in the number of people quitting their jobs due to reasons such as stagnant wages, rising cost of living, job dissatisfaction and safety concerns. Therefore, the aim of this study is that it is important to help people develop better cognitive resources to face adversity.

Design/methodology/approach

The Great Resignation has led to a significant increase in the number of people quitting their jobs due to reasons such as stagnant wages, rising cost of living, job dissatisfaction and safety concerns. Therefore, it is important to help people develop better cognitive resources to face adversity. In this study, we administered a questionnaire to 250 employees to determine the variables that could help them build cognitive resources. These variables included the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and affiliation), psychological capital, motivation regulation (within the self-determination theory) and well-being (assessed by self-esteem, positive emotions, positive automatic thoughts and vitality). The results revealed that satisfaction of basic needs is associated with better psychological capital and more self-autonomous behavior, which leads to higher psychological well-being. These findings are discussed in the paper, emphasizing the importance of management and work context that satisfy the basic needs and help to build resources with psychological capital.

Findings

The results revealed that satisfaction of basic needs is associated with better psychological capital and more self-autonomous behavior, which leads to higher psychological well-being. These findings are discussed in the paper, emphasizing the importance of management and work context that satisfy the basic needs and help to build resources with psychological capital.

Originality/value

Highlight the importance of consequences of the Great Resignation and the need to internationalize this concept.

Citation

Plessis, C. and Altintas, E. (2024), "We can be heroes at work: the relationship between psychological capital, motivation and well-being during the great resignation", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-06-2023-0240