Purpose With growing stress at work, the need for scholars to focus on humanizing organizations is pressing. Scholars agree five factors lead to humanizing organizations. This study dwells upon one factor – employee strengths at work (ESAW) – problematizes, identifies the gap in its conceptualization, 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 humanizing organizations, this conceptual study problematizes the construct of competency and the trait-based conceptualization of strengths in identifying gaps in the construct of competency for humanizing organizations. 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 humanizing organizations. By embedding the current trait-based conceptualization of employee strengths to the context of the organization, the new five-factor construct of ESAW is indigenous to the field of organization 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 humanizing organizations. This conceptual study attempts to bring back the focus of researchers on humanizing organizations, 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 humanizing organizations. The construct of ESAW is relevant to practice as it has evolved from the domain of organization science, unlike the earlier trait-based conceptualization 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 humanizing organizations 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 organization science have less relevance than those evolved in the domain of organization science. Past deficient conceptualization and practices persist unless scholars logically challenge it an alternative and improved conceptualization provided. The new construct of ESAW uses the method of construct mixology after unravelling the assumptions that impedes humanizing organizations.

中文翻译：

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超越能力框架-在工作中概念化和部署员工优势

目的随着工作压力的增加，学者们迫切需要关注组织的人性化。学者们认为有五个因素可以使组织人性化。这项研究基于一个因素-员工在工作中的优势（ESAW）-问题化，确定其概念上的差距，部署关键的社会系统理论并通过考虑关键的上下文因素重新概念化ESAW的构造。此后，本研究旨在建立一个概念模型，并提出与ESAW对领导风格和员工绩效相关的中介作用的命题。设计/方法/方法旨在为人性化组织做出贡献，这项概念性研究对能力建设提出了问题，并在确定人性化能力建设中存在的差距方面基于特质的优势概念化成为问题。接下来，该研究将构造混合学技术用于演化ESAW的新构造。为了实地测试ESAW，作者运用了关键的社会系统理论并开发了概念模型。此外，作者利用概念模型和现有文献，提出了许多主张，以便将来进行研究。结果研究开发了一种新的ESAW结构，有望为人性化组织做出贡献。通过将当前基于特质的员工优势概念嵌入组织环境中，ESAW的新五要素结构是组织科学领域固有的，因此具有更高的相关性。这项研究开发了一个概念模型，并提出了对未来研究人员可能关注的领域中的新结构进行经验测试的命题。研究的局限性/含义迫切需要使组织人性化。这项概念性研究试图在市场驱动的经济框架内，将研究人员的注意力重新带到人性化的组织上。ESAW的新结构在理论构建和实证检验方面具有巨大潜力。实际意义部署ESAW将有助于使组织人性化。ESAW的构架与实践相关，因为它是从组织科学领域发展而来的，与早期在人格心理学中基于特质的力量概念化不同。从业人员可以部署ESAW的结构，并实现两个看似相互矛盾的目标，即既要确保员工的福祉，又要确保卓越的绩效。社会影响对组织人性化的任何贡献都将增加社会资本和员工的个人福祉。如果员工对工作感到满意，那么他们的生产率就会提高。根据Fredrickson的拓宽和构建理论，较高的幸福感和工作效率会产生积极的螺旋效应，超越员工的工作寿命。因此，由于对员工的多种要求，当社交结构被拉长时，该研究具有巨大的社会意义。原创性/价值在其他领域开发并在组织科学中采用的构架的相关性比在组织科学领域中发展的构架的相关性小。除非学者从逻辑上挑战它，否则过去存在的概念和实践上的缺陷仍然存在，除非提供了替代的改进概念。在揭开阻碍人性化组织的假设之后，ESAW的新结构使用了结构混合学方法。