Perceived organizational virtuousness and employee’s subjective well-being: examining the role of resilience, agility and collectivism

Purpose The study aims to examine underlying psychological mechanisms and boundary conditions in explaining the association between organizational virtuousness and subjective well-being. Drawing from the broaden-and-build theory, this study underscores the role of employee resilience and agility in mediating the association of organizational virtuousness with subjective well-being. Moreover, it tests the moderating role of an individual’s collectivistic orientation on the above-mentioned relationship. Design/methodology/approach In Study 1, data from a sample of 382 employees working in the Indian information technology sector were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling to test the mediation hypotheses. A scenario-based experiment is conducted in Study 2 ( N = 125) to triangulate and increase the internal validity of the findings in Study 1 and test for moderation. Findings Organizational virtuousness was found to significantly influence employee’s resilience and agility and consequently enhance subjective well-being. Results suggest that resilience and agility partially mediate the relationship between perceived organizational virtuousness and subjective well-being, the strength of which is positively moderated by collectivism. Practical implications Organizations can capitalize on strengths and virtues in the workplace to foster capabilities such as resilience and agility to enhance employees' subjective well-being, and in doing so, they should take the collectivistic orientation of employees into account. Originality/value Building on the premises of the broaden-and-build theory and the job demands and resources theory, this study introduces a novel aspect by investigating the underlying process that explains the positive influence of organizational virtuousness on employees’ subjective well-being. Moreover, it suggests that this relationship is strengthened for individuals with a higher collectivistic orientation.