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Purpose

With growing stress at work, the need for scholars to focus on humanising organisations is pressing. Scholars agree five factors lead to humanising organisations. This study dwells upon one factor – employee strengths at work (ESAW) – problematizes, identifies the gap in its conceptualisation, deploys critical social systems theory and reconceptualizes the construct of ESAW by taking key contextual factors into consideration. Thereafter, this study aims to develop a conceptual model and makes propositions related to the mediating effects of ESAW on the association of leadership style and employee performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Aimed at contributing to humanising organisations, this conceptual study problematises the construct of competency and the trait-based conceptualisation of strengths in identifying gaps in the construct of competency for humanising organisations. Next, the study deploys the technique of construct mixology for evolving the new construct of ESAW. To empirically test ESAW in the field, the authors deploy the critical social systems theory and develop a conceptual model. Further, drawing upon the conceptual model and the extant literature, the authors develop many propositions for enabling future research.

Findings

The study develops a new construct of ESAW that holds the promise of contributing to humanising organisations. By embedding the current trait-based conceptualisation of employee strengths to the context of the organisation, the new five-factor construct of ESAW is indigenous to the field of organisation science, hence, has a higher relevance. The study develops a conceptual model and makes propositions for empirically testing the new construct in the field that future researchers may focus upon.

Research limitations/implications

There is a compelling need for humanising organisations. This conceptual study attempts to bring back the focus of researchers on humanising organisations, within the framework of the market-driven economy. The new construct of ESAW has huge potential for theory-building and empirical testing.

Practical implications

Deployment of ESAW will contribute to humanising organisations. The construct of ESAW is relevant to practice as it has evolved from the domain of organisation science, unlike the earlier trait-based conceptualisation of strength that emerged in personality psychology. Practitioners can deploy the construct of ESAW and achieve the two seemingly conflicting objectives of enabling employee well-being while also ensuring superior performance.

Social implications

Any contribution toward humanising organisations forebodes increasing the social capital and the personal well-being of employees. If employees are happy at work, their productivity increases. As per the broaden and build theory of Fredrickson, higher well-being and productivity at work creates a spiral of positivity that transcends the working life of an employee. Hence, the study has huge social implications at times when the social fabric is stretched because of multiple demands on an employee.

Originality/value

Constructs developed in other fields and adopted in organisation science have less relevance than those evolved in the domain of organisation science. Past deficient conceptualisation and practices persist unless scholars logically challenge it an alternative and improved conceptualisation provided. The new construct of ESAW uses the method of construct mixology after unravelling the assumptions that impedes humanising organisations.