Psychological capital and performance of Portuguese civil servants: exploring neutralizers in the context of an appraisal system

Abstract

The literature suggests that psychological capital (PsyCap: self-efficacy, hope, optimism, resilience) predicts work performance. Our case study, carried out in the context of a performance appraisal system (SIADAP) recently implemented in the Portuguese Public Administration, does not corroborate this prediction. In the research 278 civil servants self-reported their performance and PsyCap and their supervisor-rated performance scores according to the SIADAP procedures. The main findings are: (a) no PsyCap dimension predicts supervisor-rated performance; (b) PsyCap predicts 39% of the variance of self-reported performance; and (c) there is no significant relationship between self- and supervisor-rated performance. The findings call attention to SIADAP features that may neutralize the impact of PsyCap on individual performance, or even make it irrelevant. Alternatively, it is suggested that PsyCap influences performance, but the supervisor-rated performance scores do not reflect real worker performance, which means that the SIADAP may actually reward the ‘wrong’ workers.

Keywords:

• civil servants
• performance appraisal
• Portuguese Public Administration
• psychological capital
• self-reported performance
• supervisor-rated performance

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Fred Luthans, Carolin Youssef and Bruce Avolio for their permission to use the PsyCap questionnaire, and to Carlos Alves Marques for his helpful comments. M.P.C. gratefully acknowledges support from Nova Forum.