How to feel good at work: The role of hardy personality in the motivational process over time

In recent times the Job Demand–Resources model has been expanded with the addition of personal resources as a predictor of work engagement. At the same time, work engagement seems to foster both kinds (i.e., job and personal resources) over time, creating a motivational positive cycle. The main aims of this work were to present an Italian validation of the Hardy Personality scale, and to evaluate the longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between job resource, hardy personality (as personal resources) and work engagement. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses performed on the data, collected on a sample of 754 workers (63% female), confirmed the three dimensions of the Hardy Personality scale (Commitment, Challenge, and Control). Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis on two waves data of 89 healthcare workers confirmed the solid-scale test-retest and indicated that the relationship between job resource, hardy personality and engagement is indeed reciprocal over time. These results show that hardy personality is a central resource for well-being and motivation in the workplace, in particular, to face the challenges of the current labor market. Moreover, they have important implication for organizational contexts, where the promotion and facilitation of these resources could allow workers to feel more able in dealing with their work goals.