Work-family Enrichment and Psychological Capital: Investigation of the Mediating Role of Stress Vulnerability

Background and Objectives: Work-family enrichment is based on the assumption that work and family are interdependent since the gained experiences, skills, and opportunities from the workplace, improve an individualchr('39')s family life. On the other hand, a positive mood and behavior and a sense of achievement in personal life affect onechr('39')s performance in the workplace. This study aimed to investigate the effect of work-family enrichment on psychological capital by considering the mediating role of vulnerability to stress. Methods: The present descriptive-correlational study was performed on 482 employees of Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran, 2019. Data collection tools were three standard questionnaires, namely work-family enrichment, psychological capital, and vulnerability to stress. To evaluate the conceptual model of the research structural equation modeling technique was used. Results: The effect of work-family enrichment and family-work enrichment on vulnerability to stress were estimated (P=0.146 and P=0.531, respectively), indicating that both relationships were inverse and significant (P˂0.01). It was also revealed that the direct effects of work-family enrichment and family-work enrichment on psychological capital were positive and significant (P=0.339 and P=0.334, respectively). Moreover, the results of the Sobel test, which was applied to calculate the indirect effect, showed that vulnerability to stress plays a partial mediating role in work-family enrichment and family-work enrichment. Conclusion: It was revealed that work-family enrichment and family-work enrichment affect employeeschr('39') psychological capital directly and influence it indirectly through stress vulnerability. Regarding this, organizations should seek to implement strategies to create a constructive interaction between the employeeschr('39') work and personal life and manage the stress to promote their psychological capital