Does grit foster employee well-being? Role of basic need satisfaction and psychological empowerment – a moderated mediation study

Purpose Recent research has established the importance of grit as a psychological resource in yielding a number of beneficial outcomes. However, the mechanisms linking grit with its consequences are yet to be explored fully. Drawing upon self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 2000) and the self-concordance model (Sheldon and Elliot, 1999), the present study aims to examine the impact of grit on employee well-being via the indirect path of need satisfaction. Further, the study explores the moderating role of psychological empowerment in the relationship between grit and need satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach The data were gathered from Indian service sector employees ( n = 798). Standardized instruments were used to measure the variables under investigation. Findings The findings ascertained a positive relationship between grit and employee well-being in the organizational context. The structural equation modeling analysis suggested that need satisfaction partially mediated the path leading from grit to employee well-being. Further, the findings obtained from PROCESS Macro analysis revealed a conditional moderating effect of psychological empowerment in bolstering the hypothesized mediation path involving grit, need satisfaction, and employee well-being. Originality/value The present study contributes to positive organizational behavior literature by uncovering the inter-linkage between grit and well-being in terms of intermediary mechanism. The theoretical and managerial implications, along with the limitations of the study, have been discussed.