Optimism as a Predictor of Employee Engagement in the Media Industry: An Empirical Study.

BACKGROUND: Employee engagement is a critical determinant of productivity and performance in media organisations, which operate under unique pressures of round-the-clock functioning and rapid digitalisation. Optimism, as a psychological resource, has been shown to foster resilience, coping and proactive behaviour, yet its relationship with engagement in the Indian media sector remains underexplored. PURPOSE: This study-which was based in media organisations in Delhi-National Capital Region-investigated whether optimism predicts employee engagement in media organisations and identified the contribution of each dimension of PEROMA (positive emotions, engagement, relationship network, meaningfulness, achievement) to engagement outcomes. METHODS: Data were collected from 350 media professionals using two standardised instruments: the Optimism Index (OI), consisting of positive emotions, engagement, relationship network, meaningfulness and achievement; this was measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The other instrument used was the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, assessing vigour, dedication and absorption, which was measured on a 7-point scale. Data were analysed through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to establish factor structure, followed by structural equation modelling to test the hypothesised relationships. RESULTS: Optimism was significantly associated with employee engagement, with a standardised regression weight of 0.911, indicating that 91% of the variance in employee engagement is explained by optimism. Engagement was significantly predicted by all five components of PEROMA, of which achievement had the greatest impact or influence (84.9%), followed by engagement (60.4%), positive emotions (67.6%), relationship network (72.1%) and meaningfulness (65.8%). Internal consistency reliability was confirmed by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.953. CONCLUSION: In the Indian media sector, optimism is a significant predictor of employee engagement. Given the cross-sectional design, causal direction cannot be established, and longitudinal research is needed to confirm these pathways. Media organisations should design targeted interventions to strengthen optimism as a diagnostic and developmental tool. The OI scale has validated diagnostic reliability in this context. This relationship can be tested in other sectors and in different regions.