The HERO in you: The impact of psychological capital training and perceived leadership on follower psychological capital development and burnout

Psychological capital has become a popular construct in the workplace, relating to important organizational outcomes such as job performance and organizational commitment. It is a higher-order construct comprised of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. A key characteristic of PsyCap is “state-like” and open to development. Studies show that interventions and leadership play a key role in individuals\u27 ability to develop their PsyCap. In the study, I examined whether an online, self-study training could help increase individual PsyCap and decrease burnout. Results indicated that the 40 minute training led to increases in psychological capital (N = 128; t[127] = 4.78, p \u3c .001, d = 21), and perceptions of transformational leadership have no impact on individual psychological capital scores. Additionally, the study found that burnout scores decreased as a function psychological capital training ( t[127)]= 5.77, p \u3c .001, d = .17), and changes in psychological capital scores predict changes in burnout (b = -.44, p = .021). Findings suggested that: (a) psychological capital scores increased due to participation training, (b) follower perceptions of transformational leadership style do not predict changes in PsyCap scores, and (c) psychological capital may be an effective resource against burnout. This research provides practical implications for using psychological capital training to increase individual psychological capital scores. It also lays the groundwork for further studies on psychological capital interventions on more distal outcomes such as job performance