The Psychological Capital of Chinese Workers: Exploring the Relationship with Performance

Everyone knows about China's huge population and the fast-growing economy. Although macro-level sociological and economic analyses have given some attention to the linkage between the two, at the micro level, the relationship between human resources and, more specifically, psychological capital of Chinese workers and their performance has been largely ignored. Within the context of three factories (two private and one state-owned) in the People's Republic of China, this exploratory study examined the relationship of a sample (n=422) of Chinese workers’ positive psychological capital states and their performance. Results indicated the workers’ positive states of hope, optimism, and resiliency, separately and when the three were combined into a core construct of psychological capital, significantly correlated with their performance, as rated by their supervisors. An analysis of workers in one of the factories (n=272) also found a significant relationship between the workers’ positive psychological capital and the performance outcome of relative merit-based salary. Limitations, future research, and practical implications conclude the article.

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	Luthans, Fred University Professor and George Holmes Distinguished Professor of Management Expertise: Organizational Behavior International Management Leadership Management CBA 271 P.O. Box 880491 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68588-0491, USA Phone: (402) 472-2324 Fax: (402) 472-5855 fluthans1@unl.edu	Luthans, Fred	Management
	Li, Weixing Assistant Professor of Practice Expertise: International Management Organizational Behavior International Strategic Management Management CBA 253 P.O. Box 880491 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68588-0491, USA Phone: (402) 472-6809 Fax: (402) 472-5855 wli3@unl.edu	Li, Weixing	Management