Authentic Leadership and Psychological Capital: The Impact on Egyptian Employees' Work Well Being.

Abstract

The objective of this exploratory paper is to discuss the impact of psychological capital on Egyptian employees’ work well-being. Some scholars defined positive psychological capital as the individual’s positive psychological state that has four components which are efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience. Positive psychological capacities are states rather than fixed traits and they can be developed through the authentic leadership and trust. On the other hand, work wellbeing; is concerned with human potential power and happiness-oriented. The significance of this study lies in the fact that positive psychological capital should be an issue of concern to leaders of public organizations in Egypt due to its effect on employees’ work well being. The significance of the study is also due to the increasing deterioration in public employees’ job performance and productivity, which is reflected in the poor quality of services rendered to citizens and their dissatisfaction with many public services offered by these organizations. The research question will then focus on what is the impact of psychological capital on Egyptian employees’ work well being. The analysis of this study was drawn from different academic literature and in-depth interviews with three senior employees and leaders in different public organizations. Recommendations revealed that leaders of public organizations should give more attention to the importance of positive psychological resources as core psychological factors that affect their employees’ performance, satisfaction, turnover rate and employees’ work well being