Positive Psychology Interventions: A Case Study

The Solution: Positive Psychology Interventions

When using Positive Psychology, organizations need to take in mind that there are multiple measures to the methodology such as happiness, optimism, gratitude, positive affect, etc. When creating interventions, there are different measures that can be used for implementing Positive Psychology at work. Pryce-Jones and Lindsay (2014) looked at how the science of happiness in the workplace delivers strategic outcomes in change management, organizational, team and leadership development within a company. They provide an understanding of the theory and application of the science of happiness at work and show how strategic issues can be addressed within a small time frame and also highlight the benefit

of an approach which incorporates personal, social and organizational issues all at the same time. The science of happiness at the workplace delivers a return on investment and strategic outcomes when properly implemented (Pryce-Jones & Lindsay, 2014). This is still a new approach and it is an influential methodology which offers power at individual, team and organizational level. There is huge potential for making teams and organizations better places to work by using a simple and practical framework rooted in something that matters to every employee. These days, employees and leaders are using the terminology of the science of happiness at work, making easier conversations because there is a framework and language where previously there was not. This also means that it is much easier to have new, deeper and potentially more meaningful interactions in regards to happiness. By changing the language in the workplace, it creates different conversations, cultures and outcomes, which in results creates unity among everyone. Pryce-Jones and Lindsay (2014) found that support from the CEO of the company was critical to their success in implementing happiness at work. What was also important was that leaders could right away identify the immediate difference positively-oriented processes and conversations made at work. The leaders must be aware of the situations going on at work and cannot neglect or ignore their employees’ needs. They are the ones who need to facilitate the interventions and find ways to get their employees to engage of the process of increasing their happiness.
Looking further into happiness at work, Fisher (2010) researched the causes and consequences of happiness among employees at work, drawing on understandings from the expanding field of Positive Psychology literature based on happiness.

He also incorporated the measure of individual-level happiness of employees which could include work engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Fisher (2010) particularly looked into how happiness is influenced by both short-lived events and chronic conditions in the task, job, and organization in the workplace. Happiness is also influenced by stable attributes of individuals such as personality, as well as the fit between what the job and organization and also provide and the individual’s expectations, needs and preferences (Fisher, 2010). In order to implement Positive Psychology, an organization has to take into account that their employees have different personalities and that their expectations and needs differ from one another. Every person is going to react and respond differently due to their differences in personality, so organizations must take this factor into account when creating interventions to increase happiness levels in their employees. Employees can also find happiness in engagement to their role as well as how satisfied they feel with their job. An organization can increase their employees’ happiness levels by making sure their employees actually enjoy their job. If an individual finds enjoyment

and satisfaction in their job, they will feel motivated to work and perform harder for their organization.
Another factor an organization could look at is how to change the environment in the workplace. Froman (2010) answers the questions as to how workers and their organizations create a more positive and proactive workplace in order to bridge human and economic goals. The whole concept of this research was to find meaningful connections between a few concepts of Positive Psychology and the workplace in order to reduce stress and negative emotions, particularly after a downsizing occurs. Organizations have the potential to bring out the best in their employees by focusing on concepts such as strengths, hope, optimism, self-confidence, self-motivation, resilience, joy, and gratitude (Froman, 2010). In order for an organization to do well, they must create good conditions for their employees in order for them to thrive and be successful in ways that bring together economic and human development.
Alternatively, organizations can take more direct actions by implementing interventions to increase gratitude and optimism in their employees. Kaplan et al. (2014) determined if self-guided workplace interventions, such as gratitude, has an impact on well-being and positive affect. They had employees working at a university as well as people working in the healthcare field report three times a week what they were grateful for in their job for two weeks. They were also measured for positive affect and well-being before, after, and a month post intervention using self-report measures. Results found that positive affect and well-being increased for the participants who completed the gratitude intervention, with negative affect and well-being decreased (Kaplan et al., 2014). By reporting their gratitude in their job, the participants had to think and reflect about the positive aspects of their job and it would remind them why they chose that career paths as well as the benefits to their job. An organization can use the intervention of gratitude and have their employees reflect on the positivity in their job in order to increase their positive affect and well-being. By appreciating their job, employees will find themselves in a better mood and more likely to want to continue working for their organization and have an increased motivation in their work.
On the other hand, Segerstrom, Taylor, Kemeny, and Fahey (1998) explored the effects of optimism on mood and immune changes among law students in their first semester of school and found that optimism was associated with better mood, higher numbers of helper T cells.

These helper T cells which assist in active immune response to a threat to the internal systems, increasing an individual’s immune system. Results also found that optimism could be associated with immune change during stressful circumstances (Segrestrom et al., 1998). More importantly, the students who scored high on optimism using the life orientation test questionnaire had more optimistic expectations for success, were confident in their emotions in regards to their first semester of law school, and tended to have higher white blood cell count and function (Segrestrom et al., 1998). Overall what this research found was that how an individual appraises stressful events relates to associated immune changes. When an individual has a more optimistic outlook on their lives and their work situation, they can increase their immune system and live a healthier life. Segrestrom et al., (1998) mentioned the consequences of a weakened immune response especially for college students, and combined with the high stress levels that occur in law school, they are more likely to get sick. With the huge workload, the students have to go through, their stress levels increase. By keeping an optimistic outlook, students can

decrease their chances of getting sick by having a healthy immune system, and won’t need to worry about the delay in their school work while fighting off an illness. Organizations need to take into account that high stress levels in their employees can lead to more of their employees getting sick. By having their employees having a positive outlook and keeping their optimism high, organizations can strengthen their immune systems. With healthy workers and optimistic workers, an organization can continue having a productive working force that are high in motivation, and who are bringing in the profits wealth to the company.