Calling as a Predictor of Life Satisfaction: The Roles of Psychological Capital, Work-Family Enrichment, and Boundary Management Strategy

The current study examined the mediating role of psychological capital and work-family enrichment in the relation between calling and life satisfaction. Moreover, the moderating role of boundary management strategy, the tactics individuals utilize to manage role boundaries, in the relation between calling and work-family enrichment was investigated. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from members of the South Korean navy (N = 195). As hypothesized, people who have a calling obtained more psychological capital (hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism) from their work experience, which in turn positively related to work-to-family enrichment and life satisfaction. Although a statistically significant moderating effect of boundary management strategy was found, the pattern of the interaction was different from our original prediction; the positive relation between calling and work-to-family enrichment was stronger among those who strive to separate the work and family domains (i.e., separators) than among those who aim to integrate the two domains (i.e., integrators). The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.