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The added value of the positive: A literature review of positive psychology interventions in organizations
Abstract
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 traits, or (c) the building of civic virtue and positive institutions. A systematic literature search identified 15 studies that examined the effects of such an intervention in organizational contexts. Subsequent analyses of those studies revealed that positive psychology interventions seem to be a promising tool for enhancing employee well-being and performance. As a side-effect, positive psychology interventions also tend to diminish stress and burnout and to a lesser extent depression and anxiety. Implications of those findings for theory and praxis and recommendations for future research on positive psychology interventions in organizations are discussed.
... They suggested organizing training or workshops on mental health, specifically workshops on understanding emotions, on how to cope with change and low moods, as well as on how to take care of their mental health and family members. Having established the importance of psychological intervention, it is possible to consider such intervention underpinning positive psychology theories and approaches which also has proven to be beneficial for individual to regain life purpose (77,78). According to Maier and Seligman (79), learned helplessness leads to the belief that nothing one does matters. ...
... Positive psychology places great importance on human strength and virtues, such as courage, perseverance, hope, and optimism for the future, in maintaining positive mental health as well as promoting psychological resilience (81). Furthermore, cultivating these positive human traits through positive psychology coaching and interventions has been found to enhance wellbeing, as well as reduce stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms (77,78,93,94). Lastly, building on the Latent-deprivation Model, the research suggests adding psychological wellbeing as a new and one of the key latent function and benefits to the revised model under the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has triggered several employment-related issues, followed by different response strategies. With retrenchment measures being a common response strategy during economic downturns, many individuals have been faced with unemployment. This study aimed to explore the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic related retrenchment on the psychological wellbeing of the Malaysian workforce, using a qualitative research approach and based on the Latent-deprivation Model. A purposive sample of 30 retrenched participants was interviewed via telephone during Malaysia's Movement Control Order (MCO). Thematic analysis was subsequently conducted to identify key themes in the data set. Six themes emerged from the thematic analysis: (1) Retrenchment leading to the deterioration of psychological wellbeing; (2) Unemployment, financial strain and economic uncertainty; (3) Emotions related to the COVID-19 virus; (4) Coping with lifestyle change; (5) Recommendations to improve the psychological wellbeing and mental health of the retrenched workforce, and (6) Career and financial support at the recovery phase. The present study provides valuable insight into the wellbeing of retrenched workforce who are forced to cope with both unemployment and a global pandemic, and workforce perspectives regarding types of support needed during the recovery phase.
... The lack of attention to the organizational level perhaps illustrates one of our key concerns with Positive Psychology-its lack of attention to structural and cultural conditions which influence the individual's capacity for positivity. Nonetheless, reviewing extant literature on efforts to develop "positive" work organizations via specific interventions, Meyers et al. (2013) identified some studies located at the organizational or group levels, which chiefly involved Appreciative Inquiry (AI) interventions. AI is based on the idea that "meaningful and fundamental change occurs through discovering and valuing the strengths, assets, vision, and ideals of individuals in an organization" (Carter et al., 2007, p. 195). ...
... Findings such as those of Donaldson and Ko (2009) and Meyers et al. (2013) have deepened the criticism that Positive Psychology is individualistic, such that not only has it failed to address the issue of how institutions might be made more "positive"-it has also neglected the institutional and structural conditions and the power inequalities within which individuals are exhorted to improve their own well-being (Becker & Marecek, 2008a, 2008bKristjánsson, 2013), and these are points we will discuss in depth later in the chapter. ...
Social constructionism; neo-liberalism; project of the self; self-care; organizational sociology
... It is now crucial to consider that mental health exists on a complex continuum, ranging from ill-being to an optimal state of wellbeing. Mobile interventions based on positive psychology are still fairly nascent, however, conclusions from offline trials are promising (Bolier et al., 2013;Meyers et al., 2013;Kaplan et al., 2014). Only 1 month of intervention based on positive psychology showed effect sizes from small to moderate for mental well-being and depression (Bolier et al., 2013). ...
In this perspective, we aim to bring together research on mobile assessments and interventions in the context of mental health care in youth. After the COVID-19 pandemic, one out of five young people is experiencing mental health problems worldwide. New ways to face this burden are now needed. Young people search for low-burden services in terms of costs and time, paired with high flexibility and easy accessibility. Mobile applications meet these principles by providing new ways to inform, monitor, educate, and enable self-help, thus reinventing mental health care in youth. In this perspective, we explore the existing literature reviews on mobile assessments and interventions in youth through data collected passively (e.g., digital phenotyping) and actively (e.g., using Ecological Momentary Assessments—EMAs). The richness of such approaches relies on assessing mental health dynamically by extending beyond the confines of traditional methods and diagnostic criteria, and the integration of sensor data from multiple channels, thus allowing the cross-validation of symptoms through multiple information. However, we also acknowledge the promises and pitfalls of such approaches, including the problem of interpreting small effects combined with different data sources and the real benefits in terms of outcome prediction when compared to gold-standard methods. We also explore a new promising and complementary approach, using chatbots and conversational agents, that encourages interaction while tracing health and providing interventions. Finally, we suggest that it is important to continue to move beyond the ill-being framework by giving more importance to intervention fostering well-being, e.g., using positive psychology.
... In general, it has been shown that positive psychology interventions enhance well-being and decrease depressive symptoms (for a meta-analysis see Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). Other research has suggested that these interventions enhance performance, while diminishing stress, burn-out as well as anxiety (for a review see Meyers, van Woerkom & Bakker, 2013). Moreover, prior research suggests that interventions that are aimed at harnessing post-crisis opportunities, like being forced to rebuild personal and societal life, are particularly helpful in restoring collaborative resilience and strengthen a common desired future (Goldstein, 2012). ...
... The shift in interest from repairing what was broken to nurturing things going well emerged as the result of Martin Seligman's 1998 inaugural speech as president of the American Psychological Association, and the later publication of Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi's (2000) introductory article in American Psychologist (Meyers et al., 2013). In this article, the authors characterized positive psychology as a "science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions" (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 5). ...
The purpose of this narrative study was to examine the experiences of elementary general music educators in high-poverty schools (schools where more than 75% of students are eligible for Free or Reduced-Priced Lunch). This inquiry was guided by three research questions: (1) How do participants describe their experiences teaching in a high-poverty school? (2) What rewards and challenges do participants identify related to teaching in a high-poverty school? and (3) What meanings and values do participants attribute to music education in their school and community? Positive psychology was employed as the conceptual framework for this dissertation, as well as a lens to study and understand the phenomenon of teaching music in a high-poverty school from a balanced perspective that acknowledges both challenges and rewards. Four elementary school music teachers (two White females, one Multi-racial African American male, and one White male) from high-poverty schools in North Carolina contributed their stories. Data were gathered through individual interviews, teacher artifacts including a teacher journey concept map and photo story, and a focus group interview. An analysis of narratives was conducted to identify themes within individual stories, as well as those found threaded across stories. Findings indicated the journey to teaching in a high-poverty school was different for each participant. An important factor for success was experience including pre-service and prior teaching experience as well as longevity in their current position. Within-school relationships (with students and adults in the building) were found to be vital elements of the teaching experience. Participants described their positions as multi-faceted, indicating additional responsibilities beyond delivering music curriculum. Participants were aware of negative stigma surrounding their schools, but adamant that it did not match their daily experiences as teachers in the building. Connections with students were described as “heightened” in the high-poverty setting. Participants often attributed this to their commitment to student-centered content, and to an awareness and knowledge of students’ lives outside of school. Participants received support from administration and colleagues but indicated a need for music-specific professional development. Rewards and challenges were often interwoven as participants explained how both perspectives were connected. Though several challenges were identified by each of the participants, it was unanimously agreed that rewards outweighed challenges. Overall, participants found meaning and purpose in their role as an educator through the successes and challenges they experienced. Suggestions for the practice of teaching elementary music in a high-poverty setting include: (a) to engage in organized discussions with peers and colleagues, (b) to foster connections with administrators, (c) to seek out trauma-informed pedagogy professional development, and (d) to explore the growth and successful elements of teaching positions in addition to challenges through a positive psychology lens.
... The positive leader helps, gives support, and challenges others to unfold their potential. Job satisfaction is an important element to foster positive actions and outcomes (Meyers et al., 2013). ...
This article presents the Positive Leadership Action Framework (PLAF) to structure Positive Leadership (PL). The novelty of the PLAF is that it incorporates the connections of PL to positive outcomes (financial and economic performance and social well-being) and organizational virtuousness. Also, it acknowledges its conditional nature on the virtues to achieve flourishing within the organization and society at large. We argue that the leader’s actions function as the engine for positive change within the organization, bridging the gap between individual virtues and organizational virtuousness and creating a feedback loop among both. To develop a positive organization, a leader needs to create positive assumptions among (and about) coworkers, positively impact the personal and professional development of employees, and balance positive formal and informal conditions at work. To do so, it is a sine qua non condition that the positive leader fosters his/her personal development by exercising the virtues and developing practical wisdom. In this way, the positive leader automatically provides followers with a vision of the final end towards the common good and achieves to set his/her organization on a pathway towards excellence.
... Studies with adults in the general population and health promotion can be found in the field of positive psychology in an organisational setting, where positive effects on job-related parameters and wellbeing were found. Stress as an outcome parameter only played a minor role and so did social relationships [58,59]. Studies on Loving Kindness Meditation, a form of meditation that fosters the experience of positive emotions, has shown positive effects on health and social relationships in adults. ...
Persistent stress and insufficient coping strategies have negative consequences for physical and mental health. Teaching adults the skills needed to sustainably improve stress-buffering aspects of their character could contribute to the prevention of stress-related diseases. In this non-randomised, observational, prospective cohort study, participants of a training programme for developing social and personal skills, to which they previously self-assigned, are assessed. The 12-month training programme focuses on improving perceived stress level (primary outcome), health behaviour, presence of common somatic symptoms, satisfaction with life, quality of social relationships, and wellbeing by addressing life goals, meaning in life, sense of coherence, social and personal resources, and transcendence. Study participants are recruited from the training groups via the training organiser. Companions, persons with whom they share a close relationship, are recruited to assess the interpersonal diffusion effects of the training. Matched individuals not participating in the training are the control group. Parameter assessment follows a pre-, post-, and follow-up (6 months) design. Designed to improve health-related outcomes in adults by addressing personality characteristics and using Lozanov’s superlearning principles to improve learning efficiency, this training programme is, to the study team’s knowledge, the first of its kind. From a research perspective, the outcomes of this study can provide new insights into primary prevention of stress-related diseases and how the effects of these measures are passed on through common personal interaction. The trial has been pre-registered (registration number: NCT04165473).
... Positive psychology argued that the field of psychology has focused too much on the psychopathological aspect of humans and failed to recognize the positive domains of human qualities including gratitude, contentment, hope, and inspiration, among others (Csikszentmihalyi & Seligman, 2000;Maddux, 2002). Over the years, research on positive psychology and its influence in different psychology subfields have grown exponentially in recognition that the positive aspects of people play a role in human growth and flourishing (Gable & Haidt, 2005;Meyers et al., 2013;Seligman et al., 2009;Wong, 2011). Recently, Kaufman and colleagues (2009) developed the Light Triad Scale (LTS) which aims to measure the extent to which people possess a loving and beneficent orientation toward other people using samples in the US. ...
The Light Triad Scale (LTS) measures the concept of the Light Triad, which was conceptualized as personality traits that reflect a person’s loving and beneficent orientation toward others, consisting of Faith in Humanity, Humanism, and Kantianism. As a novel construct, the Light Triad has yet to establish its structural validity in non-Western countries and needs to demonstrate its association with environmental psychology constructs. This study aims to: (1) examine the structural and criterion validity of the LTS in the Philippines and (2) determine the influence of the Light Triad on environmental concerns and green purchase intentions. Data were collected through an online survey completed by 447 Filipino adolescents. Comparing three models (i.e., one-factor, two-factor, and intercorrelated three-factor models), the present findings corroborated the original model which proposed an intercorrelated three-factor model of the LTS. The LTS demonstrated criterion validity by establishing correlations with relevant measures of environmental psychological constructs. Additionally, path analysis showed that Humanism and Kantianism predicted green purchase intentions via an increase in environmental concern. Measurement and conceptual strengths, future directions, and limitations are discussed.
... Although this result was inconsistent across different facets of well-being, the associations were always positive, which is in line with previous literature that suggested the frequency of HWBenhancing activities to be an important feature for the success of such activities (Lyubomirsky & Layous, 2013). This result is also in line with previous findings on positive associations between engaging in HWB-enhancing activities and actual levels of well-being (Bolier et al., 2013;Ghielen et al., 2017;Lyubomirsky et al., 2005;Lyubomirsky & Layous, 2013;Meyers et al., 2013;Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). In contrast, the idea that trying (too much) to be happy might lead to lower levels of well-being (Joshanloo & Weijers, 2014;Martin, 2008;McGuirk et al., 2018) cannot be supported by our results. ...
Can people choose to be happy? To date we have no definite answer to this very old question. In this paper, we introduced and tested a new theoretical model of the pursuit of happiness and well-being (HWB) in which we integrated individual HWB definitions, HWB-related intentions, and HWB-enhancing activities. Further, we tested different characteristics of HWB-enhancing activities that have previously been discussed in the literature as potentially relevant for the successful pursuit of HWB: the breath (i.e., how many different facets of HWB are positively affected by one single activity), variety (i.e., how many different HWB-enhancing activities people conduct in daily life), and frequency (i.e., overall number of HWB-enhancing activities) of HWB-enhancing activities. The results of an experience sampling study support our preregistered hypotheses: Individual definitions of HWB were predictive of intentions and well-being related behaviors in everyday life. Further, the engagement in broader and a higher number of HWB-enhancing activities was associated with higher levels of daily well-being. The variety of HWB-enhancing activities, however, did not predict daily well-being. Overall, we demonstrated that defining and pursuing HWB in a multifaceted manner is related to higher levels of well-being.
... The results further highlight the feasibility to design interventions aimed at improving self-regulatory job search behaviors, such as metacognitive activities . Despite the increasing interest for positive psychology in the context of work and organization (Meyers et al., 2013;van Woerkom et al., 2021), integrating positive psychology and the broaden-and-build theory (Frederickson, 2003) within the context of job search is still relatively new. We hope that our study inspires future research to continue to include positive psychology into job search research. ...
Due to the current tightness in several labor markets around the globe there are more jobs available than ever before. This brings about countless employment opportunities, but also uncertainty and higher risks. Limited knowledge about the available job opportunities often results in considerable uncertainty for job seekers, especially for recent graduates. Since the risks of landing a low-quality job are similar to being unemployed and can hinder future career success, it is of utmost importance that job seekers find a fitting job. Although the ability to find a fitting job depends on a variety of factors, a key determinant that is controllable by individuals is job search behavior. Research has generally focused on the quantitative aspects of job search behaviors, operationalized as the time and effort that people spend on a number of job search activities. Research shows that job seekers who spend more time looking for a job receive more job offers, are more likely to find a job, and find a job faster. However, the effects are rather small, and job search quantity seems to be unrelated to employment quality. Thus, spending a lot of time on job search activities does not necessarily mean that the search is done effectively. Along these lines, several leading scholars have called for more research looking at job search quality. Many of these studies start from the idea that job seekers should search smarter, not harder. Although this seems obvious, empirical research is still scarce and fragmented. In this dissertation, we conceptualize job search quality as a multidimensional model consisting of four dimensions: goal establishment, planning, goal striving, and reflection. We set out to investigate the added value of job search quality, the outcomes of job search quality, the antecedents of job search quality, and how job search quality can be facilitated. To address these objectives, four empirical studies were conducted. Our studies show that (a) the four dimensions of job search quality show added value beyond job search intensity and metacognitive activities, (b) job search quality is positively related to several job search outcomes, including employment quality, (c) personality, attitudinal factors, and contextual factors were identified as antecedents for job search quality, and (d) job search quality can be facilitated by conducting a positive psychology intervention.
... 를 반영한다 (Lomas et al., 2021 (Lomas et al., 2021;Meyers, van Woerkom, & Bakker, 2013;Waters, 2011;Wissing, 2022 ...
Objectives Researchers have described 24 years of the development of positive psychology in three waves, from its introduction in 1998 to the present. This study investigates how major research topics in positive psychology have changed over time by referring to journals that represent positive psychology. Further, it explores its development process to provide implications for future research. Methods A total of 788 journal articles published between 2006 and 2021, since the publication of the Journal of Positive Psychology, were collected. Network analysis was conducted on 1,508 keywords extracted from these journal articles using NetMiner 4.3. Results During the first wave of positive psychology between 2006 and 2010, studies on well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction were actively conducted. Many researchers focused on revealing individuals’ positive traits and experiences that could explain the abovementioned areas. Throughout the second wave between 2011 and 2015, studies on character strengths flourished, and the appearance frequency of keywords related to personal strengths and virtues drastically increased. During the third wave between 2016 and 2021, keywords referring to study participants and methodologies were diversified, the connectivity between different research topics became apparent, and in-depth studies of existing research topics were continuously pursued. Additionally, the frequency of keywords related to interventions highly increased. Conclusions This study discusses the most debated topics over the past 16 years in the field of positive psychology by systematically organizing and presenting the research trends in positive psychology using keyword network analysis.
... Although stratified sampling was not performed, if the composition of these profiles were extrapolated to the whole working population, we would obtain that the two most beneficial profiles regarding subjective well-being (Profile 1 and Profile 2) jointly represent 33.8% of the total. This suggests that, from the point of view of the adjustment to work, positive interventions on resources and demands, or on predisposing factors such as AL (Meyers et al., 2013) could potentially benefit a large group of the working population. ...
The job demands-resources theory considers an open group of personal and job demands and resources. Thus, it allows us to include personal resources not yet covered (i.e., vigor at work) or less explored (i.e., emotional abilities), as well as personal demands not yet explored (i.e., overcommitment). Additionally, from this theory, it is proposed that leaders may influence employee wellbeing. Therefore, of particular interest is to analyze positive leadership styles, such as authentic leadership (AL). This study addresses three research objectives: 1) to identify profiles of employees from a person-centered approach, combining personal resources (self-perception of emotional abilities, vigor at work and self-efficacy) and personal demands (overcommitment) with job resources and demands; 2) to analyze the relation of the identified profiles with indicators of work-related subjective well-being; and 3) to acknowledge whether the AL style determines the pertaining to a profile probability. A large heterogeneous sample of Spanish employees ( N = 968) responded to a questionnaire. Data were analyzed by adopting a person-centered approach using latent profile analysis. The results revealed five patterns of job and individual characteristics: Profile 5 (very low personal resources, and low job resources and demands); Profile 4 (low resources and high demands); Profile 3 (mid-level personal resources, high job resources and low demands); Profile 2 (high personal resources, mid-level job resources and high demands); and Profile 1 (high resources and low demands). Analyses showed that workers differed significantly in well-being depending on their profile membership, with Profile 1 having the highest well-being. Profiles that yielded the worst outcomes were Profile 4 and Profile 5 , especially the latter. Finally, the results indicated that AL increased the probability that a profile would show a high well-being level.
... Table 2 shows the intercorrelations between all study variables for descriptive purposes. According to Meyers [42], a moderate correlation between the dependent variables is required for MANOVAs to generate appropriate results. Pre-and post-results showed moderate and significant associations between the profile of class-related boredom, learningrelated boredom, and intrinsic motivation, indicating that these correlations are accurate enough to proceed with one-way MANOVA (Table 3). ...
(1) Background: The influence of academic boredom and intrinsic motivation on students’
learning and achievements is receiving more attention from scholars. Nevertheless, studies on how
intervention decreases academic boredom and promotes intrinsic motivation during study remain
unexplored. (2) Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether positive education
intervention based on the PERMA model would help Chinese college students with learning-related
academic boredom, class-related academic boredom, and intrinsic motivation. (3) Methods: This
study is quasi-experimental research with a control group including pre-test and post-test. The
study was conducted with 173 students, including 86 (n1 = 86) experimental and 87 (n2 = 87) control
group students. (4) Results: Results revealed that students in the intervention condition reported
significant reductions in learning-related academic boredom and class-related academic boredom,
and significant increases in intrinsic motivation in comparison to their counterparts in the control
group. (5) Conclusions: These findings indicate that positive education intervention for college
students is a promising approach to reducing academic boredom and increasing intrinsic motivation
among Chinese college students.
... The literature identifies an intervention of positive psychology as any method or activity that leads to build positive individual capacities, like self-efficacy (Meyers et al. 2013). We identify organization support practices as such interventions. ...
The objectives of this study were to investigate organization support received by employees during the COVID-19 lockdown and its effect on self-efficacy. The study was conducted in Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 lockdown; a sample of employees who performed work in the form of work-from-home responded to the survey questionnaire. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling techniques. The findings led to identify four organization support practices implemented during the COVID-19 lockdown. These were named as work collaboration and coordination, work direction, psychological wellness, and physical wellness. These four practices significantly enhanced the self-efficacy of employees. The findings of the study imply that the traditional theories of social cognitive theory and positive psychology have enduring theoretical resonance to better understand contemporary phenomena with novel applications.
... Moreover, all members of the health system-clinical providers, administrators, and managers-need to demonstrate this appreciation for all levels of hospital workers, which in turn, can lead to improved worker outcomes. Research on organizational and positive psychology has shown the effects of positive validation to motivate employees to feel more engaged and committed to their organization (Meyers et al., 2013). The specific types of interventions that enhance employees' well-being and can improve performance outcomes include acknowledgment of workers' contributions and the implementation of human resource programs to support workers during COVID-19 such as clarified PTO policies, mental health supports, and other employee-assistance programs. ...
Background
Frontline health care workers are particularly vulnerable to burnout and diminished well-being as they endure COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors. While physicians and nurses are the public face of those experiencing burnout in hospitals, these stressors also affect low-wage workers such as food and housekeeping/janitorial service workers whose roles largely remain “invisible” when conceptualizing the essential health workforce and understanding their needs. This study sought to understand the experiences of frontline essential workers to better support them and prevent burnout.
Methods
Using a semi-structured interview guide, we conducted 20 in-depth qualitative interviews with workers in three U.S. states. Thematic content analysis was conducted to code and analyze interviews.
Results
Workers had an average of 5.8 years in their jobs, which included food services, housekeeping/janitorial, and patient transport roles. Analysis revealed four prominent stressors contributing to worker burnout: changes in duties and staff shortages, fear of contracting or transmitting COVID-19, desire for recognition of their job-related risk, and unclear communication on safety precautions and resources. Protective factors included paid time-off, mental health supports, sense of workplace pride, and self-coping strategies.
Conclusion/Application to Practice
As health systems continue to grapple with care delivery in the context of COVID-19, identifying best practices to support all workers and prevent burnout is vital to the functioning and safety of hospitals. Further consideration is warranted to create policies and multipronged interventions to meet workers’ tangible needs while shifting the culture, so all members of the health workforce are seen and valued.
... Importantly, increasing interest in bolstering positive psychological outcomes is not simply the converse of reducing psychiatric symptoms; instead, the field of positive psychology has expanded to include an array of positive outcomes, including optimism, gratitude, kindness, and positive thinking (Bolier et al., 2013). Interventions designed to target these positive outcomes have proven effective in civilian organizational settings (Meyers et al., 2013). Refining these approaches for application with high-risk occupations like the military, particularly in the context of the post-deployment period, may be beneficial for returning soldiers. ...
Occupational models of soldier health have emphasized the importance of conceptualizing adjustment to stressful events in terms of positive outcomes, not just the absence of negative outcomes. However, research on adjustment following deployment has primarily examined negative outcomes, and comparatively little attention has been paid to identifying factors associated with positive outcomes following combat deployment. To better understand predictors of positive adjustment, we analyzed surveys from 550 soldiers administered four months and seven months following a combat deployment to assess how changes in perceived leadership quality, unit cohesion, and perceived organizational support affected three indices of positive adjustment: agency, work effectiveness, and life satisfaction. At the bivariate level, unit cohesion, leadership, and perceived organizational support were positively associated with all three indicators of positive adjustment. Longitudinal difference score models with the three occupational factors included simultaneously revealed that changes in unit cohesion were positively associated with agency and life satisfaction, changes in ratings of non-commissioned officer leadership were positively associated with change in all three well-being outcomes, and changes in perceived organizational support were positively associated with agency and work effectiveness. Findings highlight the importance of cohesion, leadership, and organizational support for enhancing positive outcomes among recently deployed soldiers.
... JD-R and positive psychological interventions in the workplace have been shown to be beneficial for workers' mental health [41,42], although conclusions and claims about their (in)effectiveness require more attention to contextual factors and other moderating and mediating variables [43]. To this end, the H-WORK project adopts a realist evaluation approach [44], which aims to identify mediators (i.e., working mechanisms) and contextual factors (i.e., moderators) that influence the interventions' outcomes. ...
Background: Developing a psychologically healthy workplace involves strengthening job resources to improve workers’ well-being. Providing resources, encouraging engaging work, and fostering positive actions are vital principles of Positive Psychology. The European H2020 project H-WORK designed a multilevel intervention strategy to be delivered in SMEs and public organisations.
Aims: The current contribution illustrates the applied protocol from the H-WORK Assessment Toolkit (HAT) to the identification of proper multi-level interventions from H-WORK Intervention Toolkit (HIT) in one of the largest Italian public healthcare organisations in terms of size and care complexity.
Method: During the need analysis phase, interviews were conducted with middle and senior managers (N = 21), then 4 focus groups with a cognitive mapping exercise were implemented with nurses, doctors, and healthcare assistants (N = 29).
Results: Three preparatory meetings allowed to identify and implement multi-level interventions reaching in total 150 workers. Positive stress management was offered at the individual level through mindfulness techniques, event reappraisal, and positive coping strategies. At the team level, training sessions allowed team members to learn techniques for dealing with interpersonal conflicts. At the leader level, group sessions followed by micro-coaching individual sessions helped leaders to strengthen their resources and improve positive leadership skills.
Conclusion: The longitudinal research will identify key indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of the multilevel strategy based on positive psychology: distal measures, proximal measures, and process measures focusing on organisational mechanisms and contextual aspects.
... Positive Psychology is carried out through exercises, techniques and interventions in a variety of domains, like Health. Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) are training programs that aim to improve the individual's quality of life and well-being through the cultivation of positive components, such as gratitude and kindness (Meyers et al., 2013). PPIs not only enhance positive emotions, but also help reduce negative emotions such as anxiety, stress, and depression (Seligman et al., 2006). ...
... Furthermore, PPIS that were based on behavioural or acceptance and commitment therapy, as well as reminiscence interventions, were particularly effective [16]. Unlike traditional psychological interventions that target only clinical populations, PPIs can be effectively employed across various populations and have been used in education [17], organisations [18], clinical populations [4,5], healthy populations [19], local communities [20], and at-risk groups [21]. Thus, a key strength of PPIs is their breadth and flexibility. ...
Positive psychology interventions are an effective means for cultivating flourishing, addressing low levels of wellbeing, and preventing languishing. Peer-led interventions can be a particularly advantageous delivery method of positive psychology interventions, as participants tend to respond more favourably to people that they can identify with personally. Such interventions have been applied in a variety of settings and populations, but the literature on peer-led positive psychology interventions has not yet been summarised. This paper provides a narrative overview of peer-led positive psychology interventions. We reviewed relevant peer-led interventions, assessed the available evidence on their effectiveness, and highlighted promising opportunities for peer-led positive psychology interventions. We found that the majority of the studies were observational in design but showed a high level of acceptability for participants across the reviewed domains. In particular, schools, workplaces, the aged care sector, and community settings are noted as promising target domains for these interventions. However, more studies—particularly high-quality research—will be needed to comprehensively test the effectiveness of peer-led positive psychology interventions. We discuss opportunities for future research in this field.
... Böylece içsel olarak arzulanan bir işi yaparken pozitif duygulara sahip olunduğunu ve bunun arttırılıyor olması sonuçlarca yorumlanabilir. Pozitif psikolojinin önleyici programlarınca geliştirilen ve organizasyonlarda pozitif etkiyi arttırmayı hedefleyen uygulamalarda, çalışanın iyi oluşunun arttığı görülmüştür (Meyers, 2013). Akış deneyiminin iyi oluş ilişkisi (Csikszentmihalyi, 2020), İçsel İş ...
... For example, life satisfaction questions may be easier for some participants to understand and answer than questions measuring mental disorders. Life satisfaction scales tend to be concise and are increasingly used in national and international surveys, as well as in educational and organizational settings (Jarden et al., 2021;Meyers et al., 2013). Research shows that even single-item measures provide a valid assessment of life satisfaction (Jovanović, 2016). ...
The longitudinal relationships between depressive symptoms and life satisfaction were examined using the random intercept cross-lagged panel model. This model allows the study of the relationship between the two variables both at the within-person and between-person levels. Data were obtained from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS). Analyses were conducted at lags of 3 (N = 8,492) and 6 years (N = 4,878), with data collected over a period of approximately 15 years. At the within-person level, the bidirectional associations between the two variables were significant in the 3-year lag analysis, whereas in the 6-year lag analysis, only life satisfaction predicted future depressive symptoms. An implication is that dissatisfaction with life may signal the possibility of developing depressive symptoms in the future. Increasing life satisfaction may act as a preventive measure against future depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms may also be an indicator of future deterioration in subjective well-being.
... Böylece içsel olarak arzulanan bir işi yaparken pozitif duygulara sahip olunduğunu ve bunun arttırılıyor olması sonuçlarca yorumlanabilir. Pozitif psikolojinin önleyici programlarınca geliştirilen ve organizasyonlarda pozitif etkiyi arttırmayı hedefleyen uygulamalarda, çalışanın iyi oluşunun arttığı görülmüştür (Meyers, 2013). Akış deneyiminin iyi oluş ilişkisi (Csikszentmihalyi, 2020), İçsel İş ...
Araştırmanın temel amacı Fauville vd.’nin (2021) geliştirdiği Zoom Exhaustion & Fatigue Scale isimli ölçüm aracının Türk kültüründe geçerlik ve güvenirliğini sağlamaktır. Araştırmanın evrenini Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi’nde görevli akademisyenler oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada zaman ve maliyet kısıtları nedeniyle kolayda örnekleme yöntemi tercih edilmiştir. Araştırma kapsamında Türkçeİngilizce çeviri ile ters çeviri işlemleri tamamlandıktan ve madde toplam korelasyonları incelendikten (.55 ile .88 arasında) sonra ifadeleri son haline getirilen ölçek, örnekleme elektronik ortamda ulaştırılmıştır. Gerekli analiz varsayımlarını karşılayan 62 katılımcıya ilişkin verilerle ileri analizler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Ölçeğin geçerleme sürecinde verilere uygulanan Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizi sonucu, orijinaline uygun şekilde 15 ifade (en düşük madde faktör yükü .62) ve 5 alt boyut ile yapı geçerliği sağlanmıştır. İç tutarlılık katsayısı 5 alt boyut için .82 ile .94 arasında değişim göstermiştir. İlgili katsayı ölçeğin tamamı için .95 şeklinde hesaplanmıştır. Bulgulardan hareketle ölçeğin Türk kültürü için geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçüm aracı olduğu tespit edilmiştir.
... Positive psychology interventions (PPI) are intentional activities that aim to cultivate positive feelings, behaviors, or cognitions . In a review of published papers on 15 PPIs conducted at places of work, in the period 2000-2011, improvements had been found, after interventions, in happiness, positive mood, positive emotions, vigor, positive self-perception, psychological capital (PsyCap-hope, optimism, and self-efficacy) and resilience, and reductions in stress, depression, and anxiety (Meyers et al., 2013). ...
The meta-analysis by Cénat et al. (2021) indicates that populations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have a significantly higher
prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress, and psychological stress compared to the general population
under normal circumstances. Similarly, studies with large samples carried out in different countries indicate that, throughout the
confinement, there is a progressive worsening of mental health (Ammar et al., 2020). In addition to international studies on the
subject encouraging this promotion of well-being, we also briefly comment on the program and studies that we have carried out
in families, the ‘Resilience and Well-being Programme: Stay at Home’ (Sánchez -Hernández & Canales, 2020a; 2020b), to prevent
emotional problems before in confinement by COVID-19. Another part of the article would briefly comment on the line of research
on the self-care of mental health workers. In the article by Gilbody and colleagues (2021) they note that the mental health research
community has been successful in describing the nature of the impact of COVID-19, but less in generating solutions and providing
clinical trial data to establish what works to mitigate the impacts. It reflects on interventions to promote resilience in families in
the face of confinement and the need for emotional self-care of health professionals in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
... Böylece içsel olarak arzulanan bir işi yaparken pozitif duygulara sahip olunduğunu ve bunun arttırılıyor olması sonuçlarca yorumlanabilir. Pozitif psikolojinin önleyici programlarınca geliştirilen ve organizasyonlarda pozitif etkiyi arttırmayı hedefleyen uygulamalarda, çalışanın iyi oluşunun arttığı görülmüştür (Meyers, 2013). Akış deneyiminin iyi oluş ilişkisi (Csikszentmihalyi, 2020), İçsel İş ...
Çalışmanın temel amacı banka personellerinin nepotizm algılarını ölçmek ve iş yerindeki kişiler arası çatışma düzeylerine etkisini tespit ederek, ücret tatmininin bu etkileşimdeki düzenleyici rolünü belirlemektir. Nepotizm, kurumlarda adaleti algısını ortadan kaldıracak şekilde kullanılabilmektedir. Adaletin olmadığı kurumlarda da çatışmalar kaçınılmazdır. Bireyler bazı durumlarda kurum içerisindeki bu olumsuzlukları göz ardı etmektedirler. Kazanılan ücretin bireyleri tatmin edecek düzeyde dolgun oluşu veya tatminsizlik yaratacak şekilde düşük oluşu olumsuzluklara olan bakış açılarını değiştirebilmektedir. Performansa dayalı ücretlendirmenin yoğun olduğu bankacılık sektöründe kazanılan ücretin bu denklemde daha fazla rolü olduğu düşünülmektedir. Çalışma kapsamında banka personellerine online olarak 315 anket gönderilmiştir. Eldeki verilerin analizler için gerekli koşulları sağladığı tespit edilmiştir. Anket formunda kullanılan ölçeklerin geçerlilik ve güvenilirlik analizleri yapılmıştır. Sonraki aşamada değişkenler arasındaki ilişkilerin tespiti için korelasyon analizi yapılmış; hipotezlerin test edilmesi amacıyla da regresyon ve düzenleyici etki analizi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Analizler sonucunda nepotizmin iş yerindeki kişiler arası çatışmayı pozitif etkilediği ve ücret tatminin düşük düzeyde olduğu durumlarda bu etkileşimin arttığı tespit edilmiştir.
... Furthermore, Maria Christina Meyers, Ph.D., is assistant professor at the University of Tilburg, the Netherlands. Her research interests focus on strengths interventions (e.g., Meyers & van Woerkom, 2016;Meyers et al., 2013Meyers et al., , 2015. ...
The chapter at hand consists of four major subsections. First, the chapter starts with a brief description of the relevant countries of Western Europe (i.e., Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland) with respect to general characteristics (e.g., location, size, number of inhabitants, official languages, form of government, Human Development Index, averaged happiness according to the World Database on Happiness, policies that are in line with the basic, positive psychological assumptions). Second, the chapter continues by giving a methodological description about how major positive psychologists were identified for each of the countries in Western Europe (e.g., searching for relevant members of national or European Positive Psychology associations, authors in central academic journals, keynote speakers at conferences). Furthermore, the chapter provides an overview on relevant positive psychologists of each of the countries. This overview includes short biographies, and highlights the general contributions to the development of the field (e.g., foundation of an association, offering courses on Positive Psychology). Additionally, there is a description of the more specific contributions of each of presented positive psychologists (i.e., with respect to the development of new theories, research topics, assessment tools, and/or intervention methods). Third, suggestions for the future of Positive Psychology in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland are given. This includes a discussion on supporting and hindering conditions in this region that influence research on and dissemination of Positive Psychology. Fourth, the chapter closes with a section providing an overview and contact information about national associations and positive psychologists presented in the chapter at hand as well as reading recommendations.
... Positive psychology interventions (PPIs) are tools that cultivate positive subjective experiences, support the development of positive traits, or create positive institutions (Meyers et al., 2013). To develop an intervention in response to microaggressions that will maximize positive subjective experiences and the construction of positive institutional culture, we consider an allyship microintervention grounded in a positive psychological framework. ...
Allyship is gaining popularity as a tool to combat discrimination. We developed and tested a novel allyship positive psychology intervention (PPI). Importantly, we examined observers' perceptions of intervention effectiveness given that observers represent the majority in many settings. Study 1 (N = 787) tested an intervention that highlighted a female employee's identity-related strengths following a discrimination episode. Compared to communicating an organization's diversity policy or confronting the transgressor, highlighting the target's identity-related strengths was rated higher in terms of inclusion and vitality engendered in the target. Mediation analyses indicated that highlighting strengths was perceived as boosting the target's vitality by signaling the ally's sincerity and prompting inclusion. In Study 2 (N = 802), amongst various types of identity-related strengths, highlighting the target's psychological and intellectual capital was as effective as highlighting all types of identity-related strengths combined, due to perceived sincerity. Thus, this research offers a quick, parsimonious, actionable, and non-confrontational allyship PPI.
... Based on this definition, PPIs enhance the positive emotions and positive components in individuals's life, helping the general population prevent health problems and the patients to deal with them. PPIs educate the patients to recognize their talents, improve their social relationships, highlight their character strengths and commit to their values (Meyers et al., 2013), helping them enhance their well-being Psychology (Lomas et al., 2014). According to one systematic review in patients with breast cancer, PPIs enhance hope, well-being, optimism and quality of life (Casellas-Grau et al., 2014). ...
... This implies that coaches should be aware of the emotional state of their clients at the beginning of the program and support them in cultivating positive emotions. The positive psychology literature offers many options to accomplish this, for example by teaching clients gratitude exercises, positive writing, and loving-kindness meditation (Meyers et al., 2013;Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009;Zeng et al., 2015). In addition, our study showed that a second key to enhance participants commitment to between-session work might be a strong coach-client working relationship. ...
The aim of the current quasi-experimental field study was to investigate the immediate and 3-month follow-up effects of the resilience-building program ResilienceWise, using a 2 (group) 3 3 (time) mixed design. This blended program consisted of an individual assessment, four one-on-one sessions, and two modules in the online, selfhelp, psychological fitness program Psyfit (Bolier et al., 2013). The aim was to enhance resilience resources and positive adaptation in health-care office workers (n = 91) of a large Dutch insurance company during organizational change. The results of this experimental group were compared with the results of a no-program comparison group
(n = 140). Positive immediate and long-term effects were found on hope, self-efficacy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, positive affect, positive relationships, general health, and recovery from stress. Only a long-term effect was found on task performance. No effects were found on optimism and mindfulness. The strength of the coach–client relationship was related to most of the immediate program effects. This article reports additional results for a group that attended all one-on-one sessions but did not (fully) adhere to the online component of the ResilienceWise program (n = 67). For this group, we found no significant effects on the dependent variables, implying
that only the complete ResilienceWise program was effective. All in all, the current study confirms that resilience resources and positive adaptation can be enhanced in employees during organizational change. These findings extend the existing evidence that resilience-building programs can be effective and are promising for employees in
need of resilience during organizational change.
... Human evolutionary choice makes human beings have positive nature, empathy, self-control, moral sense, and reason, like learning, love creation, good at imagination and willing to plan the future. It also makes human beings have love, a sense of responsibility, understand communication and cooperation, have the ability of aesthetic and image thinking, and improve their mental health status [12,13]. Furthermore, humans have one of the oldest nerve channels, called the vagus nerve. ...
Background
Many previous studies have proved that positive psychology can promote mental health. However, little is known about how and when it promotes mental health in older adults.
Methods
The data of this study were sourced from the 2017 wave of Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), involving 1,537 older adults aged 60 and above. OLS regression model was used to explore the impact of positive psychology on mental health of the elderly. Moreover, stata 16.0 was used to measure the moderating effect of individualism on the relationship between positive psychology and mental health.
Results
After controlling for demographic characteristics, socio-economic status and lifestyle factors, the regression results suggest that positive psychology was associated with mental health (coefficient = 0.112, p < 0.01). In addition, the positive relationship was significantly stronger for people who were older, married, lived in urban areas, with higher education and higher subjective social class position, and higher exercise frequency. Moreover, the moderating effect analysis results suggest that individualism strengthened the relationship between positive psychology and mental health.
Conclusions
This study reveals that positive psychology has a positive effect on mental health among the elderly, and the positive health effect shows significant age, marital status, living areas, education background, social class position and physical exercise inequalities. Furthermore, this study also provides new evidence indicating that individualism positively moderates the relationship between positive psychology and mental health. Promoting positive psychology can be a promising way for China to promote psychological care for the elderly in the future.
... Während Positive Interventionen hinsichtlich ihrer Wirkung auf das Wohlbefinden und depressive Symptome bereits oftmals untersucht wurden, ist es um andere Kontexte und Ergebnisgrößen eher schwach bestellt. Es bleibt die Frage offen, inwieweit sich Positive Interventionen auch auf erfolgskritische organisationale Ergebnisgrö-ßen wie Arbeitsleistung, Arbeitszufriedenheit oder Commitment auswirken (Meyers et al. 2013). Der Fokus auf Arbeitnehmerstichproben scheint ein erster wichtiger Ansatzpunkt zu sein, um Effekte im Arbeitskontext zu evaluieren und die bisherige Forschung, die primär auf unlimitierten Stichproben einschließlich Kindern sowie depressiver Probanden basiert, zu erweitern (ebd.). ...
Zusammenfassung
Das Wohlbefinden von Mitarbeitenden ist ein entscheidender Einflussfaktor für diverse organisationale Erfolgsgrößen wie Arbeitsleistung oder -zufriedenheit. Dieser Artikel beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, ob und durch welche Wirkmechanismen Interventionen der Positiven Psychologie das Wohlbefinden in Arbeitnehmerstichproben erhöhen und organisationale Ergebnisgrößen beeinflussen können. Die Studienergebnisse unter Einbezug bisheriger Forschung legen nahe, dass Positive Interventionen bei langfristiger Anwendung das Potenzial haben, Wohlbefinden und persönliche Ressourcen von Beschäftigten zu steigern. Implikationen für die Praxis werden diskutiert.
... With all the reports, gratitude is an essential tool for assessment and intervention to promote healthy psychological adjustment (Meyers, van Woerkom, & Bakker, 2013) and increase well-being (Donaldson, Dollwet, & Rao, 2015;Killen & Macaskill, 2015;Layous et al., 2017;Lin & Yeh, 2014). Therefore, the use of valid and reliable measure to evaluate gratitude globally is essential. ...
This study aims to adapt the Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6) to the Philippines, gathering evidence of its validity and reliability. Two studies were conducted. Participants in Study 1 were 340 college students (Mage= 20.63; 62.1% female), who completed the GQ-6 and demographic questions. The exploratory factor analysis was performed, indicating a one-factor solution (a= .80). Participants in Study 2 were 813 college students (Mage= 19.99 years; 50.1% male), who answered the GQ-6, the Life Orientation Test-Revised, the Subjective Happiness Scale, and the Spirituality/Religiousness items. Results corroborated the one-factor structure (e.g., CFI= .98, RMSEA= .05) showing evidence of its association with life orientation (r= .29), subjective happiness (r= .08), and religiosity (r= .31). The scores from the GQ-6 also exhibited invariance across gender. In conclusion, the GQ-6 provide evidence of factorial and criterion validity and reliability, justifying its use in the Philippines.
... In diesem Kapitel fokussieren wir auf Interventionen, die auf individueller Ebene, also an der Person selbst, ansetzen. Eine Metaanalyse von Meyers et al. (2013) zu positiven Interventionen in Organisationen zeigt, dass die Studien meist die Effekte der Intervention auf das Wohlbefinden untersuchen. Im Arbeitskontext zielen positive Interventionen neben der Förderung des Wohlbefindens jedoch auch auf positive motivationale Faktoren wie Arbeitszufriedenheit, Arbeitsengagement und Flow-Erleben ab (Mills et al. 2013). ...
Soft skills have become important in complementing the technical skills of students in higher education. They can improve interactions, performance, and career development. This thesis aims to design and evaluate the possible effects of an online soft skills program with higher education students, divided into six studies: 1) understand the concept of soft skills from the perspective of Positive Cognitive-Behavioral Theory and indicate possible gaps in the literature; 2) analyze the psychometric properties of the Transversal and Professional Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (TPS-SE); 3) develop and evaluate the effects of the pilot program; 4) evaluate the effects of the intervention in a quasi-experimental study; 5) describe in detail the intervention for replication (TIDieR); 6) present the students' perceptions concerning the intervention. All students at the University of Algarve were invited to participate in the Soft Skills for Life program (SSL), which took place between 2018 and 2021. SSL is a web-based intervention that was streamlined by Electronic Tutoring (Moodle). For this, the intervention was divided into three different years, consisting of 12 modules in total, each relating to a set of skills that are deemed important to be developed in a university student. The program is composed of asynchronous sessions consisting of videos that seek to teach participants how to develop the skills with exercises that they should apply and practice in their daily lives. The results evaluated pre-intervention, post-intervention, and a three-month follow-up indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the following variables: soft skills (interpersonal, complex personal, and technical professional), positive psychological aspects (spirituality, optimism, life satisfaction, satisfaction with social support, and gratitude), and emotional aspects (emotional regulation, anxiety, depression, and stress). It is recommended that future studies could evaluate the maintenance of the development of soft skills in the long term and use a randomized sample.
Background
Although observational studies have already shown promising results of flourishing, a broader concept of health based on positive psychology, there is still a gap in the literature regarding studies that combine different topics of flourishing in a single intervention.
Objectives
To develop a comprehensive and integrate intervention based on positive psychology gathering different topics of flourishing to improve mental health outcomes in individuals with depressive symptoms.
Methods
The following steps were performed: (1) a comprehensive literature review; (2) the designing of a 12-session group intervention based on the values, virtues, and topics of flourishing; (3) assessment of the rationale, coherence, and feasibility by a panel of healthcare professionals answering semi-structured questions, and (4) application of an e-Delphi technique including mental health experts to reach a consensus of at least 80% for each item of the protocol.
Results
A total of 25 experts participated in the study, 8 in the panel with semi-structured questions and 17 in the e-Delphi technique. A three-round e-Delphi technique was required to reach a consensus for all items. In the first round, a consensus was reached for 86.2% of the items. The remaining items (13.8%) were either excluded or reformulated. In the second round, a consensus was not obtained on one item, which was reformulated and approved in the third round. Qualitative analyses of the open questions were performed and suggestions for the protocol were considered. The final version of the intervention was composed of 12 weekly group sessions with 90-min each. The topics included in the intervention were physical and mental health, virtues and character strengths, love, gratitude, kindness, volunteering, happiness, social support, family, friends and community, forgiveness, compassion, resilience, spirituality, purpose and meaning of life, imagining the “best possible future,” and flourishing.
Conclusion
The flourishing intervention was successfully developed using an e-Delphi technique. The intervention is ready to be tested in an experimental study to verify its feasibility and effectiveness.
The purpose of this research is to analyze budget governance for the empowerment of remote indigenous communities (KAT) in West Papua. This study uses qualitative data and quantitative data sourced from the Social Service of West Papua Province and the Directorate of Remote Indigenous Community Empowerment of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The data were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach. The results of the study indicate that budget management for KAT empowerment in West Papua includes (a) planning and budgeting; (b) budget execution; (c) administration; and (e) reporting and accountability. The KAT empowerment program in West Papua consists of (a) mapping and determining the location of KAT empowerment; (b) empowering KAT human resources; (c) socio-cultural, economic, and environmental empowerment; (d) assistance in structuring the social environment; (e) life insurance assistance; and (f) assistance with work equipment, household equipment, and seed assistance. The problems of KAT empowerment in West Papua include (a) the lack of budget for the implementation of empowerment; (b) minimal cross-sectoral roles; (c) low quality of human resources; and (e) dependence.
Purpose: Establishing the way the life history (LH) strategies and gratitude are related to each other. Design/methodology/approach: Life History Theory provides an evolutionary framework for understanding specific developmental paths of species and individuals. There are certain trade- offs during a lifespan of an individual, they must face (for instance, somatic or reproductive effort, quality or quantity of offspring, mating or parenting). Depending on the choices a person makes, they exhibit a slow or a fast life history (LH) strategy. A latent variable underlying a set of solutions (strategy) is called K-Factor and is used to measure individual differences with regard to the pace of one’s LH. People with a slow LH exhibit greater prosociality, tend to form long-term sexual relationships and their sexual maturation is slowed down. On the other hand, gratitude facilitates prosociality and altruism, builds social resources and acts as a moral barometer. In recent years we observe an increasing attention to the issue of gratitude both in academic publications and popular press in various fields including economics, management and organizational sciences. All these disciplines draw from relatively new and contemporarily flourishing field of psychology – positive psychology. We deployed the Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6) for the measurement of gratitude and the Mini-K Short Form for the measurement of LH strategies. 197 students took part in the study (138 females, 59 males). Findings: A positive correlation between slow LH strategy and gratitude was found in women. Originality/value: Investigations on the relationship between gratitude and LH strategies show a fragment of the landscape of human personality. Slow LH people seem to be more grateful and thus display more prosocial traits while restraining selfishness which can lead to achieving the delayed social benefits. On the other hand, low-K individuals in organizational context have smaller willingness/ability to reciprocate to their benefactors and to build social bonds. Such individuals presenting exploitative interpersonal style should be detected at the beginning of a selection process by HR specialists. Keywords: life history theory, life history strategies, gratitude, positive psychology, positive psychology interventions in organizations. Category of the paper: research paper.
The purpose of this paper is to explore performance coaching in sport, music, and business. The paper begins by describing some of the popular, lay methods used by coaches in each field, many influenced by The Inner Game books of Timothy Gallwey. Next, the paper discusses the scientifically grounded theories, principles, and methods that underlie performance coaching today, primarily derived from sport psychology, music psychology, organisational psychology, and coaching psychology. Finally, the paper examines the contribution that positive psychology has and could make by providing new theories, constructs, perspectives, and methods to the art and science of performance coaching in sport, music, and business.
Objective: To design a smartphone app and evaluate its effect on promoting mental well-being and awareness of anxious symptoms in adolescents. Materials and Methods: A pilot cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with two secondary schools (390 students, mean age 13.1 years) randomized to the intervention and control groups. An app was designed to encourage "Sharing, Mind, and Enjoyment (SME)" between students and their parents (e.g., express gratitude), including interaction and game elements. The app was used daily over 1 month. The waitlist control group was offered the app after completing all assessments. The primary outcomes were changes in SME behaviors measured at 1 month and 3 months. Secondary outcomes included subjective happiness, well-being, personal health and happiness, family health, happiness and harmony, self-perceived knowledge, and understanding of anxious symptoms. Two focus groups of students and three individual in-depth interviews of community partners were conducted. Results: Seventeen of 152 students (11.2%) in the intervention group used the app together with parents (adherent subgroup) and 69 (45.4%) used it without involving parents. The intervention group did not show significant difference in the change of SME behaviors at 1- or 3-month follow-up compared with the control group. However, the intervention group reported greater increase in the awareness of anxious symptoms at follow-ups than the control group (d = 0.52 at 1 month and d = 0.43 at 3 month, both P < 0.001). Post hoc analysis showed a significantly greater increase in SME-related behaviors in the adherent subgroup than the control group at 3 months (d = 0.46, P = 0.04). The interviews found favorable changes in app users, but motivation to use the app was low in general. Both students and community partners suggested primary school students would be more receptive users. Conclusions: The app did not show effectiveness in increasing SME behaviors of students, but increased awareness of anxious symptoms. Further improvements and tests are warranted. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03361475.
Positive Interventionen im Arbeitskontext zielen darauf ab, positives Erleben und Wohlbefinden von Beschäftigten durch ressourcenorientierte Übungen zu fördern. Dieses Kapitel fokussiert auf vier Typen positiver Interventionen: positives Denken, positive kognitive Umbewertung, Genießen und Dankbarkeit. Konkrete Beispiele der Interventionen werden vorgestellt und deren Wirksamkeit wird anhand von Evaluationsstudien diskutiert.
This article offers a systematic review of empirical research intending to identify and categorize the types of existing job crafting interventions (JCI). It highlights a range of substantial features, including methodological characteristics, intervention design and delivery characteristics, and resultant outcomes. It also attempts to uncover the mechanisms through which the interventions operate and boundary conditions determining intervention strength. Based on the results, the authors provide a conceptual framework synthesizing conclusions from existing works and establish that stimulating job crafting behaviors through interventions positively impacts an array of significant outcomes. It further proposes theoretically driven recommendations for empirical and theoretical advancements in the JCI literature, accentuating the processes whereby JCIs are predicted to address contemporary workplace issues and trends.
This paper provides a detailed overview of a case study of applying Continual Learning (CL) to a single-session Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) session (avg. 31 +- 10 minutes), where a robotic mental well-being coach conducted Positive Psychology (PP) exercises with (n = 20) participants. We present the results of a Thematic Analysis (TA) of data recorded from brief semi-structured interviews that were conducted with participants after the interaction sessions, as well as an analysis of statistical results demonstrating how participants' personalities may affect how they perceive the robot and its interactions.
Purpose
Drawing on and extending the socially embedded model of thriving, this paper aims to investigate how and when customer participation promotes hospitality frontline employees’ engagement in extra-role service behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-wave questionnaire survey was carried out among frontline service employees and their immediate supervisors in a four-star business hotel in Eastern China. Path analysis using Mplus 8.3 examined a multilevel moderated mediation model.
Findings
Customer participation has a positive effect on frontline employees’ experience of thriving, which in turn promotes their engagement in extra-role service behavior. Nevertheless, supervisors’ negative affect weakens the positive effect of customer participation.
Practical implications
Hotels could implement employee assistance programs, arrange training on emotional regulation and positive psychology and create a fun work environment to help alleviate supervisors’ experience of negative affect so as to lessen its adverse effect on frontline employees’ perception of customer participation.
Originality/value
First, this work is one of the few studies exploring how customer participation affects frontline employees’ well-being (in terms of thriving) and extra-role service behavior, which advances extant value co-creation literature. Second, the moderating role of supervisors’ negative affect enriches the limited understanding of when customer participation might not bring firm benefits. Third, by uncovering customer participation as an antecedent of employee thriving, this study extends thriving research that only attends to contexts located within organizations.
Principals are pivotal for creating schools that meet the needs of all students. However, the exodus of principals has been on the rise especially in the last two years as the pandemic accelerated turnover rates. Principals are experiencing greater levels of workload, stress, and burnout often without the tools for maintaining mental health. While many strategies for self-care are widely discussed—consistent exercise routine, eating healthy, and adequate sleep—many are not easily adaptable for principals who often experience time constraints and inconsistent schedules. The field of positive psychology has shown that interventions focused on human strengths and enhancing positive emotions can significantly boost well-being. The most promising aspect of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) is the ease with which these strategies can be integrated into the busy demands of the principalship. This article provides evidence for PPIs as potential strategies to emotionally and mentally support principals from individual and organizational approaches. Specifically, this article describes several PPI recommendations for principals to practice and begin building upon positive experiences in their daily lives such as savoring and cultivating sacred moments. The article also provides recommendations for school districts to consider such as cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused coaching; positive principal supervisor interventions; and systematic spaces to address principals’ complaints. While these recommendations are not comprehensive, we believe they serve as a starting point for principals to move beyond surviving and toward thriving in their careers.
In the wake of the pandemic, many lessons have been learnt, and different challenges have been incurred, leading to the creation of not only stress but also limiting the activities of old-age people. One of the most vulnerable sections of the society is the ‘aging population'. This theoretical chapter discusses the concerns and complexities affecting the aging population in the present pandemic (COVID-19) and how the concerns and complexities impact social and economic activities. The chapter also explores the stress variable. The chapter uses the current scenario and secondary sources to explore the research phenomenon in-depth. Recommendations to the policymakers are given at the end.
PURPOSE This study aimed to develop a positive psychological intervention program for a college ice hockey team and test its effects based on application to the team.METHODS The demands of 78 college ice hockey players were asked through open questionnaires. Collected results underwent integrated analysis to develop the desired program through the participants who were also observers of the team. The objectives of the program were established, and an appropriate program was developed based on the analyzed data, expert opinion, and precedent research. The developed program was applied to 26 players of a college ice hockey team to verify its effects. Tasks included writing experience reports and in-depth interviews. The Happiness Measures 1, Strength Knowledge, and Team Interaction Questionnaires were also administered. Collected qualitative data were categorized to follow inductive analysis procedures, while paired t-tests were performed for quantitative data using SPSS 25.0.RESULTS To improve the application of the program in real situations and maintain credibility and validity, the program was developed based on analyses of individual and team demands, methods of the participant as an observer, expert opinion, and other considerations. Statistically meaningful differences in positive psychological mind, happiness, recognition and utilization of strengths, team interactions, team cohesion, and so on were found using paired t-tests comparing data before and after the developed positive psychological intervention program.CONCLUSIONS Providing opportunities to recognize individual and team strengths and have valuable experiences for each player could enhance interactions between teammates and create a favorable team environment.
In this chapter, we explore the organisation of reflexivity across management education and work practices, considering the implications of this for managerial work and organisational learning. This addresses the privileged status of ‘professional reflexivity’ – as a fundamental element of management education, both in the educational process and as a key learning goal and competence in itself. While extant organization studies on reflexivity often focus on the cognitive and social aspects of reflexivity, this chapter relocates focus to the organization of reflexivity as a discursive-material performativity by proposing a communicative constitution of organization perspective (CCO). We contend that CCO offers new insights to extant approaches prevalent in the literature by enabling specific examination of the organisation and situated accomplishments of reflexivity. This offers analytical tooling, showing how reflexive practices are communicatively organised, investigating which resources are made present in the accomplishment of reflexivity, and the implications of this for practices and participants. Through an ethnographic case study of a management education programme, we analyze the communicative practices that organize ‘reflexivity’, the precarious work of performing reflexivity in management education, and the un/intended implications of this across educational and managerial contexts. The analysis of our case study elucidates not just the potentials, but also the side effects of organizing professional reflexivity as a target in management education. Grappling specifically with the practices of organising reflexivity in management education in this way, as well as the implications this may have for managerial work, offers insight into the scope such practices establish for organisational learning.
Organizational psychological capital—comprising hope, confidence, resilience, and optimism—is a vital resource for family firms in times of stress. Surprisingly, whether and how family firm idiosyncrasies impact organizational psychological capital remains unclear. Considering the theoretical paradigm of socio-emotional wealth, we investigate two important family firm characteristics as antecedents of organizational psychological capital: the family involvement in the top management team and the generation of the family firm. We further propose that these relationships are moderated by a board of directors’ tenure. Based on an empirical analysis of listed U.S. family firms, our results confirm a negative relationship between family membership in the top management team and organizational psychological capital. In addition, we find that descendant family firms exhibit higher levels of organizational psychological capital than founder family firms. The results also confirm the moderating role of board tenure. This study works toward a more holistic view of family firm heterogeneity and specifically how different types of family involvement shape a firm’s positive strategic resources.
Mitchell, J., Vella-Broderick, D., & Klein, B. (2011). Positive psychology and the internet: A mental health opportunity. e-Journal of Applied Psychology, 6, 30-41
We present a theory of how individuals compose their reflected best-self portrait, which we define as a changing self-knowledge structure about who one is at one's best. We posit that people compose their reflected best-self portrait through social experiences that draw on intrapsychic and interpersonal resources. By weaving to- gether microlevel theories of personal change and macrolevel theories of human resource development, our theory reveals an important means by which work orga- nizations affect people's capacity to realize their potential.
Emphasis on positivity in organizations in increasing, but the importance and credibility of a positive approach to change—exemplified by positive organizational scholarship—remains controversial. More empirical evidence is needed showing that positive practices in organizations produce desirable changes in organizational effectiveness. Two studies—one in financial services and one in the health care industry—are reported, which investigate the link between positive practices and indicators of organizational effectiveness. A positive practices instrument is developed, and evidence is found that positive practices do, in fact, predict organizational performance. More important, improvement in positive practices predicts improvements in certain indicators of effectiveness over time. The results are explained by the inherent amplifying, buffering, and heliotropic effects of positivity in human systems.
In a randomised controlled study, 41 executives in a public health agency received 360-degree feedback, a half-day leadership workshop, and four individual coaching sessions over 10 weeks. The coaching used a cognitive-behavioural solution-focused approach. Quantitative and qualitative measures were taken. This is the first published randomised controlled study in which coaching was conducted by professional executive coaches external to the organisation. Compared to controls, coaching enhanced goal attainment, increased resilience and workplace well-being and reduced depression and stress. Qualitative responses indicated participants found coaching helped increase self-confidence and personal insight, build management skills and helped participants deal with organisational change. Findings indicate that short-term coaching can be effective, and that evidence-based executive coaching can be valuable as an applied positive psychology in helping people deal with the uncertainly and challenges inherent in organisational change. Practical impactions are discussed and recommendations are made for the effective measurement of coaching outcomes.
Internet-based psychotherapeutic interventions have been used for more than a decade, but no comprehensive review and no extensive meta-analysis of their effectiveness have been conducted. We have collected all of the empirical articles published up to March 2006 (n = 64) that examine the effectiveness of online therapy of different forms and performed a meta-analysis of all the studies reported in them (n = 92). These studies involved a total of 9,764 clients who were treated through various Internet-based psychological interventions for a variety of problems, whose effectiveness was assessed by different types of measures. The overall mean weighted effect size was found to be 0.53 (medium effect), which is quite similar to the average effect size of traditional, face-to-face therapy. Next, we examined interacting effects of various possible relevant moderators of the effects of online therapy, including type of therapy (self-help web-based therapy versus online communication-based etherapy), type of outcome measure, time of measurement of outcome (post-therapy or follow-up), type of problem treated, therapeutic approach, and communication modality, among others. A comparison between face-to-face and Internet intervention as reported on in 14 of the studies revealed no differences in effectiveness. The findings of this meta-analysis, and review of additional Internet therapy studies not included in the meta-analysis, provide strong support for the adoption of online psychological interventions as a legitimate therapeutic activity and suggest several insights in regard to its application. Limitations of the findings and recommendations concerning Internet-based therapy and future research are discussed.
Despite its high media profile and growing popularity there have been no empirical investigations of the impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition or mental health. This exploratory study used life coaching as a means of exploring key metacognitive factors involved as individuals move towards goal attainment. In a within-subjects design, twenty adults completed a life coaching program. Participation in the program was associated with enhanced mental health, quality of life and goal attainment. In terms of metacognition, levels of self-reflection decreased and levels of insight increased. Life coaching has promise as an effective approach to personal development and goal attainment, and may prove to be a useful platform for a positive psychology and the investigation of the psychological mechanisms involved in purposeful change in normal, nonclinical populations.
This paper is about the elusive and highly sought after goal of happiness. For decades, since the famous Hawthorne studies, the happy/productive worker thesis has forcefully captured the imagination of management scholars and business executives alike. According to this "Holy Grail" of management research, workers who are happy on the job will have higher job performance than those who are less happy. Most typically, happiness has been measured as job satisfaction. We propose that this viewpoint is unnecessarily limiting and suggest an expanded view of the thesis, considering worker happiness as psychological well-being (PWB). We explore this perspective in greater detail, illustrating how happiness, considered as PWB, works to the benefit of both employers and the employees. We conclude with a discussion of several intervention strategies for promoting workplace happiness and increased productivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Teachers are in a very real sense the embodiment of leadership, providing direction, guidance, and feedback to their students in addition to acting as role models. Teachers may well thus benefit from developmental coaching that draws on theories of leadership. This study was both an experimental (randomly assigned conditions) and a quasi-experimental (pre–post) study. A randomized controlled design was used to explore the impact of coaching on goal attainment, mental health, workplace well-being, and resilience, and a quasi-experimental (pre–post) design was used to explore the impact of coaching on leadership styles. Forty-four high school teachers were randomly assigned to either coaching or a waitlist control group. The coaching used a cognitive–behavioral, solution-focused approach and was informed by theories of self-leadership and transformational leadership. Participants in the coaching group received multirater feedback on their leadership style and undertook 10 coaching sessions conducted by professional coaches over a 20-week period. Compared with randomly allocated controls, participation in coaching was associated with increased goal attainment, reduced stress, and enhanced workplace well-being and resilience. Pre–post analyses for the coaching group indicated that coaching enhanced self-reported achievement and humanistic–encouraging components of constructive leadership styles and reduced self-reported aggressive/defensive and passive/defensive leadership styles. Findings suggest that coaching, as a professional development methodology, has great potential to contribute to the development and well-being of society beyond the corporate and organizational settings with which leadership coaching and executive coaching are normally associated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
For decades, organizational scientists and practitioners alike have been fascinated by the happy productive worker thesis. According to this hypothesis, happy employees exhibit higher levels of job-related performance behaviors than do unhappy employees. However, despite years of research, support for the happy productive worker thesis remains equivocal. These ambiguous findings result from the variety of ways in which happiness has been operationalized. Researchers have operationalized happiness as job satisfaction, as the presence of positive affect, as the absence of negative affect, as the lack of emotional exhaustion, and as psychological well-being. Some of these measures exhibit appreciable associations with job performance; others do not. The circumplex framework is offered as a potentially useful taxonomy for researchers interested in better understanding and promoting a happy and productive workforce. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This field experimental study examined the role that positive leadership plays in producing effective leader and follower outcomes. Specifically, a sample of engineers (N = 106) from a very large aerospace firm were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions. Two conditions involved assigning these engineers to a low and high problem complexity condition. The other two conditions represented high versus low conveyed leader positivity. The results indicated a positive relationship between the leaders' positivity and the followers' positivity and performance as well as a negative relationship between problem complexity and follower positivity. The study limitations, needed future research, and practical implications of these findings conclude the article.
Two studies were conducted to analyze how hope, resilience, optimism, and efficacy individually and as a composite higher-order factor predicted work performance and satisfaction. Results from Study 1 provided psychometric support for a new survey measure designed to assess each of these 4 facets, as well as a composite factor. Study 2 results indicated a significant positive relationship regarding the composite of these 4 facets with performance and satisfaction. Results from Study 2 also indicated that the composite factor may be a better predictor of performance and satisfaction than the 4 individual facets. Limitations and practical implications conclude the article.
The current study examined the effect of practicing compassion towards others over a 1week period. Participants (N=719) were recruited online, and were assigned to a compassionate action condition or a control condition which involved
writing about an early memory. Multilevel modeling revealed that those in the compassionate action condition showed sustained
gains in happiness (SHI; Seligman et al. in Am Psychol 60:410–421, 2005) and self-esteem (RSES; Rosenberg in Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1965) over 6months, relative to those in the control condition. Furthermore, a multiple regression indicated that anxiously attached
individuals (ECR; Brennan et al. 1998) in the compassionate action condition reported greater decreases in depressive symptoms following the exercise period. These
results suggest that practicing compassion can provide lasting improvements in happiness and selfesteem, and may be beneficial
for anxious individuals in the short run.
KeywordsCompassion–Compassionate action–Attachment–Happiness–Self-esteem
A number of positive psychology interventions have successfully helped people learn skills for improving mood and building personal resources (e.g., psychological resilience and social support). However, little is known about whether intervention activities remain effective in the long term, or whether new resources are maintained after the intervention ends. We address these issues in a 15-month follow-up survey of participants from a loving-kindness meditation intervention. Many participants continued to practice meditation, and they reported more positive emotions (PEs) than those who had stopped meditating or had never meditated. All participants maintained gains in resources made during the initial intervention, whether or not they continued meditating. Continuing meditators did not differ on resources at baseline, but they did show more PE and a more rapid PE response to the intervention. Overall, our results suggest that positive psychology interventions are not just efficacious but of significant value in participants' real lives.
One of the most promising ways to increase well-being is to engage in valued and enjoyable activities. Behavioral activation (BA), an intervention approach most commonly associated with the treatment of depression, is consistent with this recommendation and can easily be adapted for non-clinical populations. This study reports on a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies to examine the effect of BA on well-being. Twenty studies with a total of 1353 participants were included. The pooled effect size (Hedges's g) indicated that the difference in well-being between BA and control conditions at posttest was 0.52. This significant effect, which is comparable to the pooled effect achieved by positive psychology interventions, was found for non-clinical participants and participants with elevated symptoms of depression. Behavioral activation would seem to provide a ready and attractive intervention for promoting the well-being of a range of populations in both clinical and non-clinical settings.
The effect of a grateful outlook on psychological and physical well-being was examined. In Studies 1 and 2, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conditions (hassles, gratitude listing, and either neutral life events or social comparison); they then kept weekly (Study 1) or daily (Study 2) records of their moods, coping behaviors, health behaviors, physical symptoms, and overall life appraisals. In a 3rd study, persons with neuromuscular disease were randomly assigned to either the gratitude condition or to a control condition. The gratitude-outlook groups exhibited heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures across the 3 studies, relative to the comparison groups. The effect on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding. Results suggest that a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits.
Organizational development and change may be initiated from two different starting points. A diagnostic approach begins with an examination of problems to assess and correct dysfunction. In contrast, the Appreciative Inquiry approach begins by identifying an organization’s strengths as resources for change. An experimental study was conducted to compare the processes and outcomes that arise during the first phase of each approach. Results show that both approaches lead to different but favorable and complementary outcomes. Both participant gender and the gender construction of the dyads in which individuals participated moderate these effects in unexpected ways. The implications for understanding the processes by which both methods work, and the potential for combining them, are discussed
Psychological capital: Investing and developing positive organizational behavior Several years ago, a growing number of psychologists became concerned that the field had overemphasized the negative at the sacrifice of the positive. In seeking the illusive solutions of healing mental illness and dysfunctional behavior, both academic and practicing psychologists had almost completely ignored strengths and developing and helping healthy, productive people reach even higher levels of functioning. The field had largely ignored the elements that contribute to flourishing, instead focusing on what made individuals fail. The jump start for a more positive psychology came in 1998 when then president of the American Psychological Association Martin Seligman challenged the field to better understand what was right with people instead of solely concentrating on what was wrong with people (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Sheldon and King, 2001). Indeed, what Seligman was calling for was a more balanced approach to studying what constituted the ...
This chapter examines how the conscious practice of gratitude can help transform individuals' emotional lives. It evaluates previous research that indicates that gratitude has a causal influence on mood, especially positive mood. It stresses the need for a critical examination of research on gratitude and well-being and argues that the cultivation of grateful emotions might be efficacious in the treatment and prevention of depressed affect.
Psychological capital with components of hope, self-efficacy, optimism, and resiliency has recently emerged as a core construct in taking positive psychology to the workplace. A distinguishing feature is that it is "state-like" and thus open to development. We analyze whether such psychological capital can be developed through a highly focused, 2-hour web-based training intervention. Using a pretest, posttest experimental design (n = 187 randomly assigned to the treatment group and n = 177 to the control group), we found support that psychological capital can be developed by such a training intervention.
In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory and findings suggest that the capacity to experience positive emotions may be a fundamental human strength central to the study of human flourishing.
In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory and findings suggest that the capacity to experience positive emotions may be a fundamental human strength central to the study of human flourishing.
This article reports the results of a comprehensive meta-analysis of turnover antecedents, extending an earlier one by Hom and Griffeth (1995). As such, this updated meta-analysis represents the most wide-ranging quantitative review to date of the predictive strength of numerous turnover antecedents. Importantly, the present investigation identifies various moderators of antecedent-turnover correlations. The implications of these findings for both theory and practice are discussed.
In a randomised controlled trial, the internet-based ResilienceOnline (ROL) program was evaluated among sales managers from an Australian industrial organisation. This program is designed to enhance resilience by teaching seven skills to help improve ability to cope with challenges and setbacks and maximise potential achievements. Sales managers were allocated to complete the ROL program (n = 26) or to be in a waitlist-control condition (n = 27) and were compared on pre-and post-intervention measures of happiness, quality of life, depression, anxiety, stress and work performance. Sales managers found the resilience training very enjoyable and believed it would improve their work performance and life skills. However, a high proportion of sales managers did not complete the ROL program and it was not found to significantly reduce distress or improve quality of life or work performance.
The purpose of this study was to determine if time-limited cross-functional teams socially constructed a perception of efficacy and cohesiveness through inquiry into best practices and peak experiences relative to teams focused on organizational problems and gap analysis. In a short-duration, alternative treatment, quantitative, quasi-experiment, six cross-functional teams, each with 6 participants, completed an ambiguous human-relationship-oriented task. Three teams employed appreciative inquiry (AI), and three teams employed creative problem solving (CPS). The findings supported the efficacy of AI. Aggregated results of individuals in teams employing AI reported higher levels of midtask group identification and posttask group potency than teams employing CPS. In this study, inquiry had an immediate effect on team member affective responses.
Positive organizational scholarship is the study of that which is positive, flourishing, and life-giving in organizations. Positive refers to the elevating processes and outcomes in organizations. Organizational refers to the interpersonal and structural dynamics activated in and through organizations, specifically taking into account the context in which positive phenomena occur. Scholarship refers to the scientific, theoretically derived, and rigorous investigation of that which is positive in organizational settings. This article introduces this new field of study and identifies some of its key contributions.
This study assessed the dispositional gratitude and its relationships with orientations to happiness and burnout in a sample of 96 Chinese school teachers in Hong Kong and investigated the effectiveness of an eight‐week gratitude intervention programme using a pre‐test/post‐test design with outcome measures of subjective well‐being in the same sample of teachers. The results indicated that the dispositional gratitude of teachers correlated substantially and positively with a meaningful life orientation to happiness and with personal accomplishment, and correlated substantially and negatively with the two negative components of burnout: emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. The effects of the gratitude intervention were evident in the increase in scores on satisfaction with life and on positive affect, especially for teachers in the low‐gratitude group. Implications of the findings on the relationships between gratitude and burnout and the effectiveness of gratitude intervention for teachers of different levels of dispositional gratitude are discussed.
When making capital investment decisions organizational leaders are trained to consider the financial return on investment. Yet, the same expectation typically does not exist for investments in leadership training. We suggest that decisions regarding leadership training and development ought to use a similar approach as the process leads to organizations incurring cost for an anticipated benefit, like any other investment. In the current paper, we describe how to estimate the return on leadership development investment (RODI) and the implications for measuring organizational effectiveness from such analyses. Using different guiding assumptions, scenarios, length of the intervention, and level of management participating in the leader development program, the expected return on investment from leadership development interventions ranged from a low negative RODI to over 200%.
Appreciative Inquiry is a constructive inquiry process that searches for everything that “gives life” to organizations, communities, and larger human systems when they are most alive, effective, creative and healthy in their interconnected ecology of relationships. To appreciate, quite simply, means to value and to recognize that which has value – it is a way of knowing and valuing the best in life. In the language of Positive Organizational Scholarship it means a research focus – a positive bias – seeking fresh understanding of dynamics described by words like excellence, thriving, abundance, resilience, or exceptional and life-giving (Cameron, Dutton & Quinn, 2003). In this context the word appreciate means to value those things of value – it is a mode of knowing often connected to the idea of esthetic appreciation in the arts. To appreciate also means to be grateful or thankful for – it is a way of being and maintaining a positive stance along the path of life’s journey. And not incidentally, to appreciate is to increase in value too. Combining the three – appreciation as a way of knowing, as a way of being and as an increase in value- suggests that Appreciative Inquiry is simultaneously a life-centric form of study and a constructive mode of practice. As a form of study, Appreciative Inquiry focuses on searching systematically for those capacities and processes that give life and strength and possibility to a living system; and as a constructive mode of practice, it aims at designing and crafting human organizations through a process in which valuing and creating are viewed as one, and where inquiry and change are powerfully related and understood as a seamless and integral whole. But the key to really understanding Appreciative Inquiry is to put the emphasis on the second word in the inseparable pair. While many are intrigued with the Appreciative Inquiry positive bias – toward the good, the better, the exceptional, and the possible – it is the power of inquiry we must learn more about and underscore. Inquiry is all about openness, curiosity, creative questioning; its spirit involves what Whitehead once called “the adventure of ideas.”
Purpose
– This study seeks to examine the effects of a “personal effectiveness” training on both assertiveness and Psychological Capital (PsyCap) that were monitored before and after the training.
Design/methodology/approach
– In addition to self‐ratings, other‐ratings were assembled to explore two ways in which they can contribute to the monitoring of intervention effects. To verify self‐reported results, and to predict participants' performance through the use of self‐other agreement.
Findings
– Overall, rater and ratee scores showed a similar increase on assertiveness and most components of PsyCap. Self‐other agreement measures showed an increase in agreement for assertiveness and PsyCap after the training. Lastly, the type of relationship between rater and ratee appeared to have significant influence on the consistency between raters, such that agreement was higher for cohabiting partners than colleagues, supervisors or friends.
Originality/value
– This study has created a better understanding of the role that the self‐other agreement and PsyCap can play in monitoring intervention effects.
Describes how experiences of positive emotions, like joy, interest, pride, contentment, and love, can transform individuals as well as organizations. B. Fredrickson's (1998) broaden-and-build model of positive emotions provides the foundation for this application. This model suggests that positive emotions broaden people's modes of thinking and, in turn, build their personal and social resources. Because an individual's experiences of positive emotions can reverberate in other members of an organization and across interpersonal transactions with customers, positive emotions fuel optimal organizational functioning, helping organizations to thrive and prosper. The article concludes by encouraging psychologist-managers to explore ways to cultivate positive- emotions within members of their organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Emotional processes influence a wide range of mental and physical systems, which makes them difficult to understand from a single perspective. In this special issue of the Review of General Psychology, contributing authors present 4 articles that draw from several areas within psychology in the service of understanding a topic relevant to emotion. In this overview, the authors argue that the long neglect of the scientific study of complex processes such as emotion might be linked, in part, to the fractionation of the field into specialized subdisciplines. Just as emotions were of central concern in the early years of psychology (which was a generalist's era), as psychology moves toward more integration in the late 20th century broad phenomena such as emotions are once again central interests. The 4 articles of this special issue are briefly reviewed as exemplars of an integrated approach to understanding emotional phenomena. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The pursuit of happiness is an important goal for many people. However, surprisingly little scientific research has focused on the question of how happiness can be increased and then sustained, probably because of pessimism engendered by the concepts of genetic determinism and hedonic adaptation. Nevertheless, emerging sources of optimism exist regarding the possibility of permanent increases in happiness. Drawing on the past well-being literature, the authors propose that a person's chronic happiness level is governed by 3 major factors: a genetically determined set point for happiness, happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and happiness-relevant activities and practices. The authors then consider adaptation and dynamic processes to show why the activity category offers the best opportunities for sustainably increasing happiness. Finally, existing research is discussed in support of the model, including 2 preliminary happiness-increasing interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
There is growing evidence that human resources are crucial to organizational success, and may offer the best return on investment for sustainable competitive advantage. The purpose of this article is to analyze what constitutes competitive advantage from traditionally recognized sources. We then turn to treating human resources as a capital investment for competitive advantage. Specific attention is given to increasingly recognized human and social capital and the newly proposed positive psychological capital. After providing the theoretical and research background, attention is given to guidelines for how to practically manage human, social, and positive psychological capital for competitive advantage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This department highlights nursing leaders who have demonstrated the ability to inspire and lead change. This competency is seen in the ability to create, structure, and implement organizational change through strategic vision, risk taking, and effective communication. Each article showcases a project of a nurse leader that demonstrates change in a variety of environments ranging from acute care hospitals to home care and alternative practice settings. Included are several "lessons learned" applicable to multiple settings that provide insight for other nurses in executive practice.
The importance of virtuousness in organizations has recently been acknowledged in the organizational sciences, but research remains scarce. This article defines virtuousness and connects it to scholarly literature in organizational science. An empirical study is described in which the relationships between virtuousness and performance in 18 organizations are empirically examined. Significant relationships between virtuousness and both perceived and objective measures of organizational performance were found. The findings are explained in terms of the two major functions played by virtuousness in organizations: an amplifying function that creates self-reinforcing positive spirals, and a buffering function that strengthens and protects organizations from traumas such as downsizing.