Iran Journal of Nursing

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Rahimi H, Baghsheykhi F, Azizi E, Haji Jafari S. Association of Psychological Capital and Job Adaptability in the Nurses of Kashan University of Medical Sciences Hospital, Iran. IJN 2019; 32 (118) :31-42
URL: http://ijn.iums.ac.ir/article-1-2905-en.html

Background & Aims: Job adaptability in nurses is a combination of psychological and non-psychological factors, which are of particular importance for the continuation of their successful employment. Non-psychological factors include all the tools and equipment that an employed individuals uses to perform the tasks in a job. Psychological or internal factors encompass the feelings or attitudes of individuals toward their job and determine their relationship with their job. On the other hand, stress and the subsequent incompatibility and low job satisfaction among nurses could threaten their physical and mental health and quality of life, acting as a barrier to achieving their individual and social development goals. The main assumption in the theory of job adaptability is that the individual intends to achieve and maintain a positive relationship with the work environment. Individuals put their needs into their work environment, and the work environment also imposes demands on the individuals. Job adaptability is optimal when the individual and environment have aligned working needs with their professional skills. Job adaptability is influenced by positive organizational behavior and positive psychological personality traits, which highlight the concept of psychological capital. Psychological capital is a phenomenon that has recently been expressed in the field of organization and management, showing a high potential for the improvement of the health and performance of various individuals employed in diverse work environments. This concept is measurable and effective in development and management to improve performance in modern work environments. Job adaptability plays a key role in continuing the successful employment of nurses, which could be affected by psychological capital. Various factors are involved in psychological capital, including the individual's belief in their ability to succeed, perseverance in pursuing goals, positive relationship, and enduring defined problems with characteristics (e.g., self-confidence and striving to succeed in challenging tasks [self-efficacy], optimism, hope, and resilience). Psychological capital is a positive aspect of human life and is defined by the personal understanding of individuals, having goals to achieve success, and perseverance in the face of adversity. In the present study, self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience were considered as the main components of psychological capital. Job adaptability is essential to the successful employment of nurses, which could be largely influenced by psychological capital. The present study aimed to investigate the association between psychological capital and job adaptability in the nurses employed at the hospitals affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Materials & Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 542 nurses employed at the hospitals affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences in 2018. In total, 190 nurses were selected via stratified random sampling. Out of 440 female nurses, 154 cases, and out of 102 male nurses, 46 cases were selected as the sample size. The estimated sample size was 190, while 178 questionnaires were returned with the rate of 0.93. Correspondingly, statistical analysis was performed on 178 participants, with the test power and significance level calculated to be 0.93 after the preliminary analysis and adequacy based on the test power. Data were collected using the standard psychological capital questionnaire (Luthans et al., 2007) with 23 items and job adaptability questionnaire (Dawis and Lofquist, 1984) with 35 items, which were scored based on a five-point Likert scale. The content validity of the tools was examined by 10 professors and specialists, and the construct validity was confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis. In terms of psychological capital, the component of hope (0.88), and in terms of job adaptability, the component of comfort value (0.65) had the highest weight and factor load. The reliability of the questionnaires was estimated at 0.85 for psychological capital and 0.83 for job adaptability using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson's correlation-coefficient, one-sample t-test, and regression analysis) at the significance level of P<0.05. In addition, t-test was applied for the comparison of the mean psychological capital with the hypothesized mean of four and job adaptability with the hypothesized mean of three. Pearson's correlation-coefficient was used to determine the correlation between psychological capital and job adaptability, and the regression analysis was employed to predict job adaptability based on psychological capital.
Results: Among all the nurses in the sample group, the majority were female and had a bachelor's of science degree, work experience of 1-10 years, and formal employment status, and were married or married with one child or no children. The mean psychological capital (5.41 ± 0.77) was above the average of four, and the mean job adaptability (3.23 ± 0.43) was above the average of three. Pearson's correlation-coefficient indicated a positive, significant correlation between the psychological capital and job adaptability of the nurses (r=0.43). In addition, the most significant association was observed between psychological capital and value orientation (r=0.43), while the least significant correlation was denoted between psychological capital and autonomy (r=0.15). In other words, the higher psychological capital status of the nurses resulted in the higher job adaptability.
Conclusion: According to the results, the implementation of programs for the improvement of the psychological capital of the nursing community could promote the job adaptability of nurses. Furthermore, a supportive view within hospitals toward nurses and the subsequent perception of being supported on behalf of nurses could effectively enhance their job adaptability. Since the status of psychological capital and job compatibility among the nurses was relatively favorable and the fact that psychological capital could be learned and developed, to achieve a more favorable and standardized situation in this regard, it is recommended that hospital officials invite experienced psychologists and professors in this field to consider regular training courses for nurses. In the process of the selection and recruitment of nurses, proper tests should also be used to measure their psychological capital level to employ supervisors with higher psychological capital.