Energizing the Psychological Battery of High-Intensity Knowledge Workers: Sustaining Performance Amid Challenges

Abstract

High-intensity knowledge workers, such as lecturers, are expected to maintain a fully charged psychological battery to sustain effort in challenging circumstances. Various concepts explain how individuals sustain effort under such conditions, often focusing on grit, hardiness, self-control, and resilience to understand performance during adversity. Previous research has identified key points that can generate empirically sound propositions, but overlapping attributes among these concepts make them difficult to differentiate. This often leads to confusion and debate over how these factors collectively contribute to success, especially when practitioners try to apply these ideas in real-life settings. This study employs a peer-to-peer research method to resolve existing confusion and debate. It proposes a model of psychological endurance, a unified theory that explores how multiple concepts contribute to sustained goal-directed behaviours and individual success. Central to this model is the metaphor of a psychological battery, which powers and sustains optimal performance despite adversity. We found that grit and hardiness are linked to the maximum charge of the psychological battery, indicating how long an individual can sustain effort. Self-control regulates energy management, increasing the effort required to maintain endurance, while resilience reflects the ability to recharge. These factors are influenced by both psychological and physiological stressors in the environment that deplete the psychological battery. These concepts create an innovative framework for exploring related psychological theories and, ideally, for improving interventions aimed at enhancing psychological endurance.