Optimism as a Predictor of Employee Engagement in the Media Industry: An Empirical Study

Background Employee engagement is a critical determinant of productivity and performance in media organisations, which operate under unique pressures of round-the-clock functioning and rapid digitalisation. Optimism, as a psychological resource, has been shown to foster resilience, coping and proactive behaviour, yet its relationship with engagement in the Indian media sector remains underexplored. Purpose This study—which was based in media organisations in Delhi-National Capital Region—investigated whether optimism predicts employee engagement in media organisations and identified the contribution of each dimension of PEROMA (positive emotions, engagement, relationship network, meaningfulness, achievement) to engagement outcomes. Methods Data were collected from 350 media professionals using two standardised instruments: the Optimism Index (OI), consisting of positive emotions, engagement, relationship network, meaningfulness and achievement; this was measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The other instrument used was the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, assessing vigour, dedication and absorption, which was measured on a 7-point scale. Data were analysed through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to establish factor structure, followed by structural equation modelling to test the hypothesised relationships. Results Optimism was significantly associated with employee engagement, with a standardised regression weight of 0.911, indicating that 91% of the variance in employee engagement is explained by optimism. Engagement was significantly predicted by all five components of PEROMA, of which achievement had the greatest impact or influence (84.9%), followed by engagement (60.4%), positive emotions (67.6%), relationship network (72.1%) and meaningfulness (65.8%). Internal consistency reliability was confirmed by a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.953. Conclusion In the Indian media sector, optimism is a significant predictor of employee engagement. Given the cross-sectional design, causal direction cannot be established, and longitudinal research is needed to confirm these pathways. Media organisations should design targeted interventions to strengthen optimism as a diagnostic and developmental tool. The OI scale has validated diagnostic reliability in this context. This relationship can be tested in other sectors and in different regions.