Work-life and life-work enhancements among medical doctors in Vietnam during Covid-19: Sen's capability approach

Abstract

Given various benefits of work-life and life-work enhancements, many studies have investigated their antecedents, moderators, and mediators. Despite of much research endeavors, there are still some significant gaps in these research topics that need to be fulfilled. Particularly, in comparison to the conflict aspect, the attempts at studying the positive facets of work-life balance are relatively fewer. Additionally, the question of whether sense of competence, mindfulness and flow at work, job complexity, meaningful contacts, and meaningful contributions effectively help doctors achieve work-life and life-work enhancements has not been fully answered. Also, the capability approach has been applied in many areas, but not yet extensively in the domain of work. To fill the gaps in the literature and to develop an understanding of work-life and life-work enhancements to contribute to and apply theoretical knowledge to various health sector workforces, this dissertation used Sen’s capability approach (1985) to investigate the roles of sense of competence, mindfulness at work, flow at work, job complexity, meaningful contacts, and meaningful contributions in work-life and life-work enhancements. It also examined the mediating roles of meaningful contacts and meaningful contributions in the relationships between mindfulness at work and work-life enhancement and between job complexity and work-life enhancement and the mediating roles of mindfulness and flow at work in the relationships between sense of competence and work-life and life-work enhancements. Two studies (study 1 and study 2) were conducted with doctors in various provinces in Vietnam. The datasets were used to validate the measures by employing Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and test the proposed relationships among studied constructs by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Study 1 was employed to test the relationships of mindfulness at work and job complexity on both meaningful contacts and meaningful contributions and, subsequently, on work-life enhancement. The results produced by SEM, based on a sample of 254 doctors in various provinces in Vietnam showed that meaningful contacts and meaningful contributions mediated the impact of mindfulness at work on work-life enhancement and of job complexity on work-life enhancement. Study 2 was conducted to test the impact of sense of competence on both mindfulness and flow at work and, subsequently, on both work-life and life-work enhancements. The findings by SEM, based on a sample of 254 doctors in various provinces in Vietnam indicated that mindfulness and flow at work mediated the effects of sense of competence on both work-life and life-work enhancements, but sense of competence did not have any direct effect on both. The research results from study 1 and study 2 contributed to the work-life enhancement and life-work enhancement literature by shedding light on new facilitators of work-life and life-work enhancements and the mediating roles of mindfulness at work, flow at work, meaningful contacts, and meaningful contributions, which have not been thoroughly examined by previous studies; and offering additional empirical evidence for the capacity approach explaining work-life and life-work enhancements in a transitioning economy like Vietnam. As a result, several significant implications could be contributed to academics and practitioners.