RESILIENCE, STRESS MANAGEMENT, AND MENTAL WELLBEING IN RETAIL EMPLOYEES: A PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study investigates the predictive link between resilience and mental wellbeing among customer service employees (CSE) in India’s retail sector, focusing on the mediating roles of stress management and performance attitude.  The data was collected from 252 employees in various Indian cities using a structured questionnaire derived from the resilience at work (RAW) Scale. Mediation analysis was conducted via Hayes’ Process Macro (Model 4), alongside predictive analytics via PLS-SEM.  The findings confirm a strong positive association between resilience and mental wellbeing, with stress management emerging as a partial mediator. Although resilience influences performance attitude, it does not mediate wellbeing. With limited existing research on resilience among retail employees, this study contributes to the literature on resilience by demonstrating high prediction accuracy. It underscores employee resilience as a crucial resource for retail organisations, applying human resource management practices to develop resilience for stress management, performance orientation, and maintaining mental wellbeing in high-pressure retail environment, thereby extending the Conservation of Resources theory.