Marianne Van Woerkom

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Tilburg University

Abstract Purpose – The relationship between managerial coaching and team performance may be mediated by team reflection because coaching is often thought to lead to reflection, which has been found to lead to improved performance. In contrast, this relationship might be moderated by team reflection, because poorly reflective teams are more likely t...

A different skillset that includes Emotional Intelligence (EQ) might be required for leaders to succeed in their increasingly complex jobs. While a range of studies examined the relationship between EQ and leadership, there have been few recent efforts to review them comprehensively and systematically. With empirical research evolving quickly and t...

Knowledge workers, whose optimal performance necessitates periods of deep, uninterrupted focus, are confronted with significant challenges in today’s work environment. Their roles demand not only uninterrupted focus but also active collaboration and communication with their peers, often through the very digital tools that disrupt their focus. Drawi...

Character strengths are positive traits and qualities that are an integral part of an individual’s personality. These strengths can function as protective factors against mental disorders by providing traumatized refugees with resources and tools to cope with stressors and daily challenges. The purpose of the current study was to explore the role o...

Even though teachers’ teamwork is widely valued, because most teachers are used to working autonomously and in relative isolation, it is difficult to stimulate. This article examines the role of team-oriented human resources management (THRM) in fostering teamwork among teachers. THRM refers to all policies and practices that promote team performan...

Career decision‐making self‐efficacy (CDMSE) is an important resource that can reduce the uncertainty that career starters face when transitioning from education to work. However, scant knowledge is available on how CDMSE can be enhanced through character strengths interventions. In this project, an online strengths intervention was developed to he...

Although the attention for neurodiversity in human resource management (HRM) is growing, neurodivergent individuals are still primarily supported from a deficit‐oriented paradigm, which points towards individuals' deviation from neurotypical norms. Following the HRM process model, our study explored to what extent a strengths‐based HRM approach to...

Modern careers are enacted in turbulent and stressful environments and workers face increasing uncertainty in navigating their careers. Therefore, it is essential to support workers in coping with stress by enhancing their resilience. We propose that strengths-based leaders help their workers to find their own unique pathway to developing resilienc...

Purpose While the career literature does acknowledge that personal strengths may function as protective factors that increase the likelihood of positive career outcomes, the topic of strengths has predominantly been studied in the context of career guidance for adolescents and young adults. However, the evolution of strengths persists throughout th...

Managers are increasingly expected to coach their employees. However, managers are often ill equipped and lack the necessary support from their organization to effectively implement coaching behavior. Based on strengths theory, we propose that a strengths spotting intervention could help managers to develop their coaching behavior. In addition, bas...

Purpose To improve the inclusion of vulnerable workers in the labor market, employer behavior is key. However, little is known about the effectiveness of strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) practices that employers use to employ vulnerable workers. Therefore, this exploratory study investigates the association between strategic HRM practices...

This protocol investigates the efficacy of a mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) program named BAMBOO. The goal of this program is to increase resilience and mental well-being among refugees. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of refugees fleeing to Europe and applying for permanent residence. In the Netherlands, a wide...

BACKGROUND: Despite the societal importance to improve understanding of the role of employers in the inclusion of workers with a distance to the labor market, scant knowledge is available on the effectiveness of human resource management (HRM) bundles for the inclusion of vulnerable workers. OBJECTIVE: This paper studies which HRM bundles are appli...

Although extant research shows detrimental consequences of workaholism, well‐known workaholism scales have been commented on for the lack of construct clarity and validity. The Multidimensional Workaholism Scale (MWS), a new measure developed in the United States, offers both conceptual and psychometric advantages over previous workaholism scales,...

Drawing on self‐determination theory, this study examines how using personal strengths at work in the morning is associated with different types of performance throughout the workday. Momentary satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence are proposed as mechanisms that differentially link strengths use to four different perfo...

Research findings indicate an age-related decline in worker’s growth and learning. In this paper, we investigate to what extent these results may be affected by measures (e.g., growth need strength scale) that are influenced by educational approaches to workplace learning, framing learning as intentional processes of knowledge acquisition guided by...

Recently, strengths used at the team level, that is, collective strengths use, has been introduced as a novel construct that consists of the sub-dimensions of strengths awareness, credibility, and coordination, and influences individual as well as team performance. In this study, we developed a scale to measure this novel construct; moreover, we em...

The teaching profession is characterized by high demands and teachers who thrive are better able to navigate their demanding context than teachers who survive. Based on theories on strengths use we propose that strengths interventions which help teachers to identify, use, and develop their strengths can enhance their thriving (vitality and learning...

This paper describes a field experiment with a self‐leadership training aimed at helping human service professionals to improve their detached concern and proactivity. Whereas detached concern refers to a state in which human service professionals blend compassion with emotional distance in their interaction with clients, proactivity refers to self...

Strengths-based leadership helps employees identify, utilize, and develop their strengths. Does such leadership facilitate employee work engagement and performance? In this study, we integrate Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) and Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theories to hypothesize that strengths-based leadership is positively related to employee task...

Background: Although the new model of sustainable employability (SE), which builds on the capability approach, has received growing attention, research on how to enhance workers’ SE is scarce. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether (1) inclusive leadership and high-involvement HR practices are positively associated with SE and whether (2) s...

Purpose Current models of inclusive workplaces are primarily based on the perceptions of vulnerable workers, whereas attention for employer’s perceptions is lacking. This scoping review addresses this issue by mapping the literature that covers employer’s perceptions on the application and importance of organisational policies and practices aimed a...

Even though well-being can be seen as a multidimensional construct, made up of a variety of interacting aspects, most studies examine total scores on well-being measures, treating well-being as a latent variable. This so-called common cause perspective assumes that aspects of well-being are mere effects of a common cause, namely well-being itself....

Since workers are increasingly suffering from burnout, there is a need for insights into how burnout can be decreased to improve subjective well-being. The broaden-and-build theory proposes that gratitude increases well-being through an upward spiral. Few studies have examined whether gratitude decreases burnout and what mediating behaviors explain...

Research indicates that Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) in the work context have a small positive impact on improving desirable work outcomes, and a small to moderate effect on reducing undesirable work outcomes, suggesting that the effects of PPIs are not trivial, but also not large. Whereas this may be related to the difficulty of changi...

The Strength Use and Deficit Correction (SUDCO) Questionnaire has been shown to be a reliable instrument for the measurement of its four dimensions perceived organizational support for strengths use, perceived organizational support for deficit correction, strengths use behavior, and deficit correction behavior in the context of organizations. We a...

Forensic healthcare workers deal with patients with severe psychiatric and behavioral problems that put them at an increased risk of developing work-related stress and burnout. Working with this target group of patients during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic with far-reaching restrictive measures can negatively affect the psycholog...

The Strength Use and Deficit Correction (SUDCO) Questionnaire has been shown to be a reliable instrument for the measurement of its four dimensions perceived organizational support for strengths use, perceived organizational support for deficit correction, strengths use behavior, and deficit correction behavior in the context of organizations. This...

Waarom bestaan banen al voordat we de kwaliteiten kennen van de mensen die deze banen gaan vervullen? Waarom hebben veel organisaties slechts oog voor de talenten van 5-10% van hun medewerkers? En waarom managen zij de competenties van hun medewerkers vooral door naar de negatieve afwijkingen van de gouden standaard te kijken? Dit zijn de vragen di...

Aim: To investigate the effects of a napping facility and therapy glasses on fatigue and well-being at the end of the night shift. Background: Night shift work has adverse effects on fatigue and well-being. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted, and data were collected on 243 night shifts of 95 nurses who had either access to a nap...

Strengths-based performance appraisal focuses on identifying, appreciating, and developing employee’s qualities in line with the company goals. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), we hypothesized that strengths-based performance appraisals will bring about a stronger motivation to improve (MTI) performance, by making subordinates feel support...

Dit artikel leidt het themanummer ‘Het verlagen van werkdruk door de inzet van positieve interventies’ in. Terwijl het verlagen van werkdruk in veel sectoren prominent op de beleidsagenda staat, beperkt het beleid van veel organisaties zich tot werkdrukinterventies die worden ingezet zodra negatieve gevolgen van hoge werkdruk (denk bijvoorbeeld aan...

This article describes a quasi-experiment that evaluates the relationship between a job crafting intervention and work engagement. More particularly, we focused on three different types of job crafting: crafting towards strengths, crafting towards interests, and crafting towards development. Building on the conservation of resources theory, we hypo...

Prior research in Western contexts has pointed to the benefits of supporting employees in the use of their personal strengths at work. This manuscript aims to investigate the invariance of the relationship between employees’ perceived organizational support for the use of their strengths and their well-being (work engagement, burnout, and satisfact...

Competence-based education (CBE) is an innovation in (vocational) education aimed at improving students’ competences. Little is known, however, about the processes leading to successful implementation of CBE and about its outcomes. This study investigates the effects that the level of CBE implementation has on student satisfaction (regarding the qu...

Micro, meso and macro level interventions aimed at promoting person-job (P-J) fit

HR managers have different beliefs about the nature, value, and instrumentality of talent—referred to as ‘talent philosophies’. In line with cognitive psychology, we reason that talent philosophies are similar to mental models that influence how HR managers interpret and use talent management (TM) practices within their organizations. In this artic...

Personal strengths are those characteristics that allow us to be at our best, that is, to deliver high performance while feeling happy and energized. Research has indicated that employees who perceive organizational support for strengths use (POSSU) display higher levels of well-being, and, in turn, performance. However, we do not yet know whether...

Personal growth is not only a central individual need but also a key requirement for organizational success. Nevertheless, workplace interventions aimed at stimulating the personal growth of employees are still scarce. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of an intervention that aimed at the identification, development, and use of emplo...

Growing evidence suggests that workload has an adverse effect on quality of care and patient safety in nursing homes. A novel job resource that may improve quality of care and patient safety and alleviate the negative effect of workload in nursing homes is team support for strengths use. This refers to team members’ beliefs concerning the extent to...

Items team support for strengths use, workload, quality of care, patient safety, control variables. (DOCX)

Participation in professional development activities is important for teachers to continuously improve their knowledge and skills. However, teachers differ in their attitude towards learning activities. This paper examined how different goal orientation profiles are related to participation in professional development activities (acquiring informat...

Orientation: The positive psychology paradigm suggests a balanced focus on employee strengths and deficits. However, an overemphasis on strengths has raised questions regarding the value of a focus on strengths use, deficit improvement or a combined approach with a balanced focus on both. Research purpose: The primary objective was to examine whet...

Flow at work refers to a short-term peak experience that is characterized by absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation, and is positively related to various indicators of job performance. In an organizational context, research has predominantly focused on situational predictors of flow – including challenge job demands and resources...

Goal orientation is an important predictor of motivation at work. This study introduces goal orientation profiles in the work domain, evaluates their stability over time and assesses the impact of managerial coaching behavior on change in employees' goal orientation profiles. We hypothesize that coaching managers inspire, facilitate, and guide empl...

This paper reviews studies of strengths interventions published between 2011 and 2016. Strengths interventions aim to promote well-being or other positive outcomes by facilitating strengths identification, and sometimes also strengths use and/or development. The present review provides an overview of the different strengths interventions that are i...

Dans cet article, nous passons en revue la théorie et la recherche concernant l’utilisation des forces dans un contexte organisationnel. Nous identifions d’importants antécédents ayant trait à l’utilisation des forces, y compris des initiatives personnelles, du soutien organisationnel, de l’autonomie et des occasions de développement. De plus, nous...

In this article, we explore the use of strengths interventions, defined as activities and processes that target the identification, development, and use of individual strengths, as an organizational tool to increase employee well-being. Engaging with one’s strengths is assumed to be a pleasant activity that elicits positive emotions like joy, pride...

Purpose – Transformational leaders spark the intrinsic motivation of employees, thereby stimulating their extra-role performance. However, not all employees are lucky enough to have a transformational leader. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent mindfulness can function as a substitute for transformational leadership. By being...

We introduce 2 novel types of job crafting—crafting toward strengths and crafting toward interests—that aim to improve the fit between one’s job and personal strengths and interests. Based on Berg, Dutton, and Wrzesniewski (2013), we hypothesized that participating in a job crafting intervention aimed at adjusting the job to personal strengths and...

Op iedere werkvloer krijgen medewerkers te maken met dingen die niet gaan zoals verwacht, bijvoorbeeld door veranderingen of tegenslagen. Sommige medewerkers hebben dan de kracht om te blijven proberen om hun doelen te bereiken. Die kracht wordt vaak gedreven door hoop en optimisme. Hoop is het positieve vertrouwen van een persoon dat hij of zij ee...

Dissatisfaction with performance appraisal is at an all-time high (Adler et al., 2016). In this commentary we argue that one of the reasons why performance appraisal is unable to get the most out of employees is the way in which employees are evaluated against a uniform set of criteria, leading to a focus on deficits and little attention for unique...

Although the positive psychology tradition emphasizes the importance of a balanced approach regarding individual strengths and weaknesses, there is no valid instrument to measure these phenomena in organizations. The purpose of the present studies is to develop and validate an instrument that measures four dimensions, namely perceived organizationa...

Competence-based education (CBE) is the leading paradigm for education reform of Vocational Education and Training in European countries. This study addresses the association of collective team identification, task interdependence, team learning, and team size, with the implementation of CBE (N ¼ 1008 teachers, 93 teams). Information processing in...

Absenteeism associated with accumulated job demands is a ubiquitous problem. We build on prior research on the benefits of counteracting job demands with resources by focusing on a still untapped resource for buffering job demands—that of strengths use. We test the idea that employees who are actively encouraged to utilize their personal strengths...

Building on the focal article by Hyland, Lee, and Mills (2015), we propose conservation of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989) as a framework that may explain why mindfulness contributes to work motivation and performance in an organizational context. We argue that mindfulness is especially beneficial in dynamic work contexts because it provides...

The present study among 65 civil engineers investigates the impact of organizational support for strengths use on weekly work engagement and proactive behaviour. Positive psychology postulates that strengths use makes people feel authentic and efficacious. We argue that employees use these positive psychological states as resources that fuel work e...

Absenteeism associated with accumulated job demands is a ubiquitous problem. We build on prior research on the benefits of counteracting job demands with resources by focusing on a still untapped resource for buffering job demands-that of strengths use. We test the idea that employees who are actively encouraged to utilize their personal strengths...

Personal growth initiative (PGI), defined as being proactive about one's personal development, is critical to graduate students' academic success. Prior research has shown that students' PGI can be enhanced through interventions that focus on stimulating developmental activities. Within this study, we aimed to investigate whether an intervention th...

This article explores the use of strengths interventions as an organizational tool to increase work-related well-being. We hypothesized that participating in a strengths intervention leads to long-term increases in work engagement and decreases in burnout, and that both relationships are facilitated by short-term increases in positive affect. To te...

This article builds on the argument that research on the link between HRM and performance benefits from investigating how HR practices are envisioned by managers (in terms of underlying philosophies), and how they are perceived by employees (in terms of psychological climates). Our study focuses on the effects of a strengths-based HR philosophy ass...

Despite many routinised and rule-based workflows, there are often unique features and new experiences in the workplace. These deviations originate from exceptional cases or lasting changes. It is not until these experiences are reflected on that they lead to learning in terms of modified beliefs, mental models and knowledge. This need for reflectio...

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t In order to contribute to the theoretical understanding of talent management, this paper aims to shed light on the meaning of the term 'talent' by answering the following question: Is talent predominantly an innate construct, is it mostly acquired, or does it result from the interaction between (specific levels...

This study examines the impact of real-team--as opposed to a team in name only--characteristics (i.e., team boundaries, stability of membership, and task interdependence) on team processes (i.e., team learning and emotional support) and team effectiveness in the long-term care sector. We employed a longitudinal survey in which the real-team charact...

Although workplace errors may have serious consequences for individuals and organisations, they also make it possible to learn (Keith and Frese, Journal of Applied Psychology 90(4):677–691, 2005), correct false assumptions, and stimulate exploration and new discoveries. In a social context like work teams, the team’s approach to mistakes is of part...

This paper systematically reviews research investigating the effects of positive psychology interventions applied in the organizational context. We characterize a positive psychology intervention as any intentional activity or method that is based on (a) the cultivation of positive subjective experiences, (b) the building of positive individual tra...

This chapter reports the results of a study of the relationships between team coaching, team cohesion, and team learning in teacher teams within higher education. It was expected that when a team leader acts as a coaching leader, this may lead to a stronger attraction among the team members (Wageman, R., Hackman, J. R., & Lehman, E. (2005). Team di...

The issue of workplace learning has received increasing attention from academics and practitioners alike since the 1990s. A body of knowledge is starting to accumulate about the question of how learning in the workplace might be encouraged. This book brings together a range of state-of-the-art research papers all addressing interventions to support...

Team safety and team innovation are underexplored in the context of long-term care. Understanding the issues requires attention to how teams cope with error. Team managers could have an important role in developing a team's error orientation and managing team membership instabilities. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of team member s...

De belangstelling voor de begrippen reflectie en vooral ook kritische reflectie is de laatste jaren sterk toegenomen. Binnen het beroepsonderwijs, de volwasseneneducatie,management development enhuman resource development worden reflectie en kritische reflectie gezien als cruciale elementen in de leerprocessen van individuen en organisaties (Rigano...

There is a growing interest in the concept of critical reflection in the adult learning and management literature. In this article, the author examines four different intellectual traditions that inform the use of the term critical reflection on the different ideals they express and the different definitions of critical reflection they use. On the...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between supervisors' conflict strategies and subordinates' affective commitment and absenteeism. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypotheses, the authors conducted a survey of 173 higher educated employees in consulting and staff functions. They measured supervisory confli...

Coaching, and especially executive coaching , is one of the fastest growing industries in recent years and is being used more and more often for the development of workers. This chapter seeks to explain the effectiveness of the relationship between the coach and the coachee in collegial coaching. For this purpose 35 coachees and their coaches were...

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of disagreement and cohesiveness on knowledge sharing in teams, and on the performance of individual team members. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from a survey among 1,354 employees working in 126 teams in 17 organizations. Findings The results show that cohesiveness has a...

Team-based working has become a popular model of work organization. One of the expected yields of working in teams is collective learning. As team members work closely together they are likely to exchange information, which can enhance learning. One of the processes that may facilitate team learning is team conflict. In this study, 471 respondents,...

What makes a manager in an intercultural context an excellent performer? This question is the subject of the present study. The study examines the influence of the five dimensions of multicultural personality via transformational leadership on excellent performance in a sample of managers (N = 138) working in an expatriate assignment or in a job de...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different team learning activities relate to different types of team performance as rated by team members and managers. Design/methodology/approach The 624 respondents, working in 88 teams in seven different organizations indicate their perceptions of team learning and their performance ratin...