Interventions to foster positive psychological capital in the organizational context: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Introduction: Psychological capital is a significant concept in organizational literature, known for improving work outcomes and workers' mental health, thus offering organizations a competitive edge. Objective: This review aimed to identify instruments, types of intervention and results associated with the promotion of Psychological Capital in organizations. Method: This research covered articles published from 2004-2023, involving working adults over 18, and in Portuguese, English, or Spanish. Using databases PubMed, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science, 3.240 articles were identified, with 11 selected through the PRISMA methodology. Results: The primary studies involved an average of 189 workers (SD=202), mainly using the Psychological Capital Questionnaire-24 for data collection, with ANOVA as the most frequent statistical method (63.63%). Conclusion: This review highlights the benefits of PsyCap interventions and synthesizes how they have been applied, revealing a key gap: the lack of replicable models due to insufficient methodological detail. The findings emphasize the need for a structured, evidence-based PsyCap program to guide future research and practice. The study was limited to the work context, which may have restricted the scope and excluded interventions from other settings.