Abstract

The current research assumes that a theoretical model of sense of control can be constructed by integrating employees’ positive self-control components (such as self-efficacy) and negative self-control components (like learned helplessness and perceived powerlessness). Toward this objective, a model is proposed that is grounded in the tenets of integrative self-control theory (SCT): it is argued that intrapsychic conflicts among these self-control components are pertinent to constructing self-control among the employees working in the private sector of Bangladesh. The study collected data from 577 employees using a structured questionnaire. The selection of respondents was dependent on their willingness to participate and their organization’s permission. The study used a causal research design to quantify the variables of interest. A recursive model was constructed within a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework to estimate the strength of associations. Results indicate that self-efficacious employees exhibit a lower level of learned helplessness. Similarly, employees who have a high sense of self-efficacy report feeling less powerless. A positive correlation exists between employees’ perceptions of their learned helplessness and perceived powerlessness. While learned helplessness is linked to perceived powerlessness, self-efficacy weakens this connection. Thus, learned helplessness and perceived powerlessness are found to be the two activation and exertion clusters contributing to the sense of control failure, where enhancing the self-efficacy of employees can minimize its effect in the workplace.